Red Butter Cream Frosting Please Help!!!!!!
Decorating By pinksprinkles Updated 10 Feb 2014 , 11:14pm by grandmomof1
i really need help with how to get a bright but deep red frosting i was making a angry birds birthday cake for my son i researched how to get a great red butter cream icing so i made a white butter cream i used the americolor gel colours i have every type of red so i went to adding the red and it turned pink i kept adding more and no just a pink frosting the more i added the frosting just went funny and like separated so unfortunately i ended up having to buy him a cake i am so upset about it because i have always make my kids cakes and although i have difficulties sometimes as i am not a great cake decorator i always end up accomplishing it and people love it i do need to do some classes to learn some techniques to help me with these problems but atm that's not able to happen i really do want to make this angry bird cake just to prove to myself that i can do it i know that prob sounds silly but its really annoyed me as i have never purchased a cake i always make them anyway back to the question can anyone please tell me how they get a really nice red icing should i use Wilton red?? or if i should use the americolor what's the name of the colour i should use any help would be very much appreciated thanks 
Hi,
So sorry that this happened to you 
I could imagine how you felt especially if you always make yr cakes. BUT, it happens sometimes. Yr not silly for wanting to still make the Angry Birds Cake, I would do it too.
Im not sure of what happened to your frosting during yr process but here is how I get a nice red color for my cakes:
I start out with white and I add PINK coloring to it and I get a really nice medium pink, not light. Then, i let it sit for a lil bit so that the coloring can set in reall good, then I began to add my RED coloring, usually it Americolor "no taste" RED a lil at a time until get the red shade that suits me. Maybe you can try it that way and see if it helps you.
Good Luck with remaking your cake
HTH
Also, black or red icing will get darker as it sits, and as the buttercream sets on the cake. If you make it ahead of time, you can wait and see if it will get darker, or put a little bit on something and let it crust to see if it darkens enough.
I had once early on where I wanted a nice bright red and used LOTS of color to get it, then as the cake sat it got darker than I wanted it to be. I try to get red icing to the point where the color it is would be just barely dark enough, and it will still look good (or even better) if it darkens.
If the icing gets too thin from adding the food color, try adding a little extra powdered sugar to thicken it back up.
When you are making dark or bold colors start with a thicker icing than you need. I also think it is easier to color small batches of colors.
The icing seperates because there is too much liquid in it. Just add in some powder sugar like suggested above, or I usually just use a spoon or so of corn starch.
We've found that powdered food coloring works better than gels for deep colors.
I have found with red and black buttercream frosting or royal icing I need to make the frosting 3 days ahead. Start to dye it , stick in fridge well covered ( it is not anywhere near the colour I want. a few hours later I add some more dye , mix, let sit overnight. Second day.... if not dark enough add some more colour and mix, cover and fridge. By 3rd day it has usually darkened quite a bit. ( how I hate red, navy blue and black frosting!!! Those dark colours just need to sit and deepen over time so learn to make it ahead. ( the idea of starting with pink is good too. ( for purple I start with blue, for black I start with grey etc.)
Use powder food coloring, especially for the dark colors, make it a day ahead and mix it well again the day you use it. With the powder food coloring, you don't have that "separation" like you do with the gels. I learned the hard way too.
I've never had a problem with either red or black buttercream at all. I wonder if it has to do with the type of buttercream you're using? I use real butter in my recipe...no shortening. Could that be it?
You can see the red I did for the candle cake in my photos, and the black in the spiral cake I did too. Both used a minimal amount of coloring.
I was wondering how well those cans of spray work ?
But I also sit here cringing because I have chemical.sensitivties with red coloring and other things . Some of the things Ive been through I would never give my child a cake with lots of red coloring . please Im Not dissing anyone . I know most people think well allergies/ sensitivties are RARE . They are not . most people may have symptons but not realize what is wrong until they are really bad or get over exposed and have a bad reaction.
Im not trying to preach Im just giving a heads up. But you know when they say kids act up from sugar at birthday parties? Its more than likely some chemical such as food
coloring working on their nervous system plus the excitement . If it was just SUGAR all cake decorators who sample their buttercream frosting would be speeding
around.
I was wondering how well those cans of spray work ?
But I also sit here cringing because I have chemical.sensitivties with red coloring and other things . Some of the things Ive been through I would never give my child a cake with lots of red coloring . please Im Not dissing anyone . I know most people think well allergies/ sensitivties are RARE . They are not . most people may have symptons but not realize what is wrong until they are really bad or get over exposed and have a bad reaction.
Im not trying to preach Im just giving a heads up. But you know when they say kids act up from sugar at birthday parties? Its more than likely some chemical such as food
coloring working on their nervous system plus the excitement . If it was just SUGAR all cake decorators who sample their buttercream frosting would be speeding
around.
I've never thought sugar amped anyone up. And honestly I think most studies have found that sugar/hyper connection false. In fact here's a good article on the subject: http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=52516 . Still, you don't want kids to consume tons of sugary stuff anyway.
That being said I'm not crazy about tons of food coloring in anything, which is why I layer on highly colored buttercream at the very last over my regular buttercream. A couple of thin layers of the colored stuff equals less yucky food coloring taste and less coloring of teeth and tongues.
I always make a whole batch of red buttercream rather than trying to color white buttercream red....use liquid red food color in place of the water or milk called for in your buttercream recipe and you'll find you don't have to add much extra color beyond that to get the shade you want.
I never have a problem with red anymore. I start with Americolor "Tulip Red". It's a no taste red. I get a faint red, and then I add the Americolor "Super Red", drop by drop. I stop and taste with a toothpick every time I add more of the super red, just to make sure it's not getting bitter. Before it becomes a true red, I leave it uncovered and let it sit for about 15 mins. It will darken. Even if it's not dark enough, I put it on the cake. It will be red by the next day.
Just takes some trial and error! I cannot stand bitter icing and I would never put it on my cake!
AI use wilton no taste red, with equal parts of orange and rose. It never fails me and you don't need huge amounts of any of these meaning the buttercream doesn't separate or taste bitter. If it doesn't turn the red you want, like everyone else says let it develop overnight if you can. Use more rose to get a more crimson red and more orange to get a more fire truck red. Good luck!
One thing that no one ever mentions when trying to achieve a deep red colour with buttercream and that is the yellow colour base from the butter. There is a product that can be bought from cake decorating stores that can be added to buttercream to give a white base colour - the red gel added should then give a better colour result.
This is something that I saved from a unknown source a long time ago, the koolaid works great! Red has got to be one of, if not THE hardest colors to come up with. Never, ever start from white (assuming you are working with b'cream). Instead, tint the icing a bright, bold pink before adding any (Wilton "no taste red" available @ Micheals) red gel/paste.
Then it will take much less and should not get that bitter taste many complain about.
IF you can tollerate (sp?) flavoring I recommend you add about 1/4 tsp UNsweetened KoolAid powder (per 1 cup of icing). (I have never actually measured how much KoolAid I add,) Any flavor that is red will work....personally I prefer black cherry. I've had people tell me strawberry has more color to it but I don't really think so 
When using KoolAid it really needs some 8-12 hours for the color to develop so color the icing the night before. Let sit on counter overnight, the next morning .....there might be many black specks - which are undissolved KoolAid granuals -but don't panic.....just give it a good stir & they will disappear
I learned from SeriousCakes to mix wilton gel paste in orange, rose, and red. It turns out well, and I don't find any taste even when I want a deep red. This is how it turns out:
thanx for your reply , do u use butter in your butter cream ? or shortening .
Both-just depends on which recipe I am using.
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