With so many different types of food colouring to choose from, a colourful cake can be confusing! This guide explores the different varieties of food colours to choose from, and will help you select the best type and techniques for colouring your baking, cake decorating or sugarcrafting project.
Gels & Pastes
Our range of Food Colouring Gels and Pastes provide a vast array of options when it comes to colouring icing and cake mixes.
How to use Food Colouring Gels and Pastes
To use food colouring gel, you simply squeeze the gel through the nozzle, apply the amount you require for the desired shade. Pastes are even more concentrated than gels which means a little goes a long way, so it’s sometimes best to add the paste in stages and mix as you go to get the shade you are looking for. A toothpick can be used to add pastes to sugar paste, icing, buttercream and cake mixes.
Food Colouring Gel and Paste Products
We stock Food Colouring Gel and Paste products from some of the biggest brands on the market, providing you with an extensive choice of high-quality colourings.
Sugarflair Food Colouring Pastes
If you are looking for a highly concentrated food paste which is intended to be used primarily for colouring sugar paste icing and modelling pastes, then products from the Sugarfair Spectral collection are recommended. There are 29 standard colours to choose from within the Spectral range in addition to pastel and satin varieties. You can also choose Tatranil Spectral Colouring Pastes, with the only difference from the standard varieties being that they don’t contain the artificial food colour, Tartrazine. You can buy Spectral Food Colouring from Sugarflar in singles and multipack boxes which contain selected colours.
With a highly concentrated formula, you don’t need to use a large quantity of the Sugarflair Maximum Concentrated Paste Colours to obtain the desired results. This is particularly well suited for colouring fondant, flower paste, buttercream and cake mixes. It can also be used as paint if a small amount of water or rejuvenator spirit is added.
Our Sugarflair NatraDi Natural Food Colouring Paste is 100% natural and is suitable for sugar paste icing, buttercream and cake mixes. Available in popular colours, Sugarflair NatraDi Natural Food Colouring Pastes enable you to add colour to icing and cake mixes without using artificial ingredients.
To ensure your icing is as white as possible and not an off-white colour, which can be the case in some instances, Sugarflair Superwhite is a powder which can be added to icing.
There is also a non-edible Craft Paste colouring from the Sugarflair range which can be used to colour cake toppers and models.
Liquid Food Colouring
Products from our Liquid Food Colouring range are used to add colour to royal icing and buttercream. It can also be painted directly onto cakes. As liquid food colouring is not as concentrated as gels and pastes, it tends to be used to create a lighter pastel shade opposed to a more intense colour. They can be used in the same way as gels and pastes by simply mixing into icing and cake mixture.
Sugarflair Liquid Food Colouring
If you are looking to buy a colouring to be used specifically with high fat ingredients like buttercream, cake batter and chocolate, Sugarflair Oil Based Colours are the most suitable option. Whereas some water-based colourings will split when mixed with ingredients which have a high fat content, you will not have this problem with oil-based colourings as they disperse effectively to colour all parts of the icing or cake batter. They can also be used in sugar paste, flower paste, royal icing, marzipan, modelling paste and pastry too. Sugarflair Oil Based Food Colouring is available in a wide variety of colours which can be bought individually and as part of a set.
For an alternative to highly concentrated pastes, Sugarflair Sugar Tint Liquid is a water-based liquid food colouring which can be used with royal icing, buttercream and cake mixes. It can also be used as a paint and there are plenty of colours to choose from.
Acquire the perfect quick-drying colouring paint with Sugarflair Edible Liquid Colours. They are available in a variety of lustrous colours and can be used with sugar paste, modelling paste and flower paste.
There are also Sugarflair Maximum Concentrated Food Colours available in our liquid food colouring range and these are particularly well suited to cake mixes and buttercream. You have two colours to choose from, Super Red and Super Black
Food Colouring Dusts
We have a wide range of food colouring powders from reputable brands. Food colouring dusts add colour and shading to cake decorations and can also be used to colour icing flowers. There are both edible and non-edible colouring powders available.
How do you use Food Colouring Dusts?
In contrast to gels, pastes and liquids, Food Colouring Dusts are not usually mixed into icing and cake mixes but instead are brushed onto decorations to provide colour. They can also be mixed with a clear edible spirit to create a paint.
What are Lustre Dust Colours?
Lustre Dust Colours are basically the shiny version of standard dust colours. They are used in the exact same way as the standard variety but provide added sparkle and shine.
Chocolate Colourings
As a result of the high fat content in chocolate, oil-based colourings are the best option as unlike water-based colourings, they do not split and also provide a consistent colour throughout the chocolate. We have oil-based colourings which are used specifically for chocolate and also multi-purpose oil-based colourings.
Sugarflair Chocolate Paint
This is an oil-based food colouring which is used specifically for chocolate. It is designed to be painted directly onto chocolate and works with all chocolate varieties including white, milk and dark chocolate. It is 100% edible, each pot contains 35g and there are a range of colours to select from.
The other option you have when it comes to decorating chocolate is to use Sugarflair Oil Based Colours. We have already mentioned these earlier in the guide and their suitability for use with high fat ingredients such as chocolate and cake batter mixes.Food Colour Sprays
Non-Aerosol Food Colouring Sprays
You can add a real wow factor to cakes with edible glitter non-aerosol sprays. They can be sprayed over icing and decorations for the desired effect.
How do you use Colouring Sprays?
Using colouring spray is straightforward and easy, perfect for beginner cake decorators. Hold the spray approximately 10-20cm away from your cake or decoration and spray in short, gentle bursts for the best results.
Aerosol Food Colouring Sprays
We have a range of colour sprays to choose from which are used in the same way as our non-aerosol sprays. These sprays provide you with a quick and easy way of adding colour to cakes and decorations.
Edible Food Colouring Paints
How do you use Edible Food Colouring Paints?
If you are aiming to create intricate and delicate details, a brush should be used to apply Edible Food Colouring Paints. If you are intending to cover the entire cake in colour, an EasyCover sponge will be the best option. It is always best to ensure the icing has dried fully before applying food colouring paint.
Sugarflair Food Colouring Paints
Whether you are looking for a food colouring paint to add colour and detail to chocolate or royal icing, marzipan and set buttercream, there are a vast array of options to choose from with Sugarflair Food Colouring Paints.
Sugarflair Chocolate Paint is available in four different colours, Bronze, Gold, Pearl, Rose Gold and Silver. They are intended specifically for use with chocolate transfer sheets, moulds and for painting directly onto chocolate itself. These flavourless paints won’t affect the taste of your chocolate. There are also titanium-free varieties to select from.
With both matt and glitter styles available in an array of colours, our Sugarflair Food Colouring Paints provide you with plenty of options. You can use them for freehand painting with a decorating brush or with cake stencils. Full cake coverage with a sponge can also be achieved with these paints.
Edible Food Colouring Pens
How do you use Edible Food Colouring Pens?
You use these pens for adding colour and detail to sugar pastes, sugar flowers and models. They can be used just like felt tips and are great for adding detail and writing in addition to general colouring.
Airbrush Colours
How do you use Airbrush Food Colours?
To use Airbrush Food Colours, you will require an Airbrush Compressor kit, which are available to buy on our website. You use the kit by adding the colour to the colour cup and then spraying onto icing or sugar paste. You can clean the kit by using Airbrush Cleaner which you can also buy from our website.
