I have a wedding cake that is going to be purple. It is a dark lavender type color and there isn't a pre-mixed color that matches.
So, the questions I have: Use pre-mixed colors to create the correct purple color? OR use dusts to create the color? OR use color gels to create the color?

I have read several posts that purples fade in the light because of the red food coloring, and I'm concerned about the fondant getting all sticky if I have to add too much coloring. (it will be a June cake-lots of humidity to be expected)
It is the same as Sherwin Williams Purple Passage #6551 if you choose to gander at the color.

I typically use Satin Ice fondant and I would have to play with the reds/blues/blacks to create this color I believe. Plus the cake is a large 5 tier cake and I"m concerned about matching the color on all the layers.

Any suggestions?

Hi,
I would suggest that you use paste food colouring and if it gets a little sticky then just dust the fondant as you use it with icing sugar to rebalance the mix, and make sure you colour more than you need. If you are worried about it fading, try a batch now and do a test run to see, if it does, make the colour slightly darker to begin with. Hope that helps.
Good luck with the cake.

I would definitely use the SatinIce to custom color fondant. The colors used int he precolored fondant really don't fade. Well, light pink will fade on a dummy cake that sits for several months, but other than that, it doesn't really fade.

You an look on the SatinIce website to get an idea of how many pounds of fondant you'll need in total for your cake then round up and mix up the color.

I would use mix pre-mixed Satin Ice colours to get the colour you are looking for.
Have you checked the Satin Ice colour chart to see if the purple you are looking for is there?

http://www.rolledfondant.com/color.htm

It tells you how much of each and what colours to mix together!

the way the colour appears on your computer through that site may be different though, so if the chart does work for you maybe check your Baker's supply stores to see if they have a chart in store, I know the store I go to does and it's quite helpful!

Thanks for the help! The pre-mixed color chart does not have the color I need, but maybe if I start with a pre-mixed color I won't have to add that much coloring.

I went to the paint store to see which colorants they use to make this purple and they use Black, Blue, Magenta. So, I guess it's play time for me!
thanks again!

Just completed my purple wedding cake! Much trial and error, and I ended up using Satin Ice Fondant premixed Red/Blue with some white to achieve the purple color I needed. AND it was stable to light!! decorated with the fondant on Thursday and served the cake on Saturday and the color was unchanged.

satin ice fondant: 8oz. of Red plus 12 oz. of Blue plus 30oz of White to get my color! see my gallery for the picture of the cake.

What didn't work for me was the adding of Americolor gels to fondant. As soon as I mixed, it was a pretty color, but after 1 day it had changed. even with adding baking soda, I couldn't get a stable color, and the cake was going to be near windows, so I couldn't depend on boxes to help with light issues.
Thank you all again for the help!!