Powder Food Colourings

Powder colourings are so versatile, and a great addition to any baker’s cake decorating kit! From subtle lustres to add a highlight, to bold petal dusts to use with your flower paste, the choices are endless. And, as they can be turned into paint with the addition of a little water or rejuvenator fluid, you’ll reach for them again and again! 

Check out our blog if you want to learn more about the difference between the different types of food colourings.  

DOES POWDER FOOD COLOURING WORK IN BUTTERCREAM? 

Yes, powder food colouring works well in buttercream. Be sure to mix it in thoroughly to avoid any lumps or bumps – a good way of ensuring this is to colour a small amount of buttercream with a concentrated amount of colouring, and then mix that small portion into the whole batch of buttercream, spreading it evenly throughout. 

DOES POWDER FOOD COLOURING WORK IN CHOCOLATE? 

Powder food colouring can be a good choice for using in chocolate. Unlike liquid colouring, which has a water base and can interfere with the texture of the chocolate when it dries, powder won’t affect the consistency. Do ensure you check each individual brand, however, as recommendations vary. 

HOW DO YOU USE POWDER COLOURING? 

There are lots of ways to use powder colouring in your cake decorating! 

One way (probably the most obvious) is to brush the dry powder onto the surface of your paste. This will achieve soft, subtle colour and, depending on the finish of the powder, either a matt or shimmering finish. 

Next, you can mix some of the dust colouring into your wet ingredients, like your cake batter or cocoa butter or mix it into your buttercream. This will help you achieve a bolder colour as the colour is being fully mixed in rather than dusted on top. 

And finally, you can turn your dust or powder colourings into an edible paint! This is easy to do and so effective. Take a little powder colour and mix it with either rejuvenator spirit, water, vodka or even something like almond extract. Apply to your cakes using food-safe cake brushes! 

WHAT TOOLS DO I NEED TO USE POWDER COLOURINGS? 

To get the most out of your powder colourings, you’ll need a couple of items in your baking kit! 

Food-safe cake brushes are a must for working with powder food colourings. Whether you use a fluffier dusting brush to buff colour onto sugarpaste, or a paint brush to paint it on, it’s a must. 

Cake stencils: you can use powder colouring to create stencilled designs on your sugarpaste! 

Piping bags and piping tips: if you’ve coloured your buttercream with powder colouring, having the best quality piping equipment on hand will help you create a masterpiece!