Wedding Cake Information - Red Roses Frosting Help - Your Christian Bridal and Wedding Resource

I'm working on my daughters wedding cake and she wants red roses I have Made my butter cream icing using chrisco confectonary sugar, clear vanilla, and wilton clear butter flavor. I can't get the icing to turn red enough. I have used 8 large viles of christmas red and 2 small ones the are the wilton gels and I'm just not getting the color red I want. I need help as soon as possible

I am not a professional baker, but I have a friend who is. I tried to
contact her but cannot reach her. If I do hear back from her, I will get
back to you with any additional advice she has to offer.

I did go in the kitchen, however, and get out my own Wilton materials,
and did a little experimenting to see what you were describing. I
remember my baker friend saying that red frosting is always a problem,
but I've never experimented with it much.

In about one cup of frosting, of a similar recipe to what you described,
I was able to get about the equivalent of "stop sign red" frosting,
using about 1/8-1/4 teaspoon of Wilton's red color paste in the little
tubs (not sure what the official name of the product is).

You said you are not getting the red you need, but did not describe that
color, so I'm not sure what you need to do to get a color that will
work. The immediate problem I found with the batch I mixed was that
although it LOOKED relatively appetizing (though not the most attractive
red ever) it had a very strong aftertaste from the coloring agent. Not
appealing at all to me, though I know some people don't seem to be as
bothered by that aftertaste as I am. I want to taste the *frosting*,
not the food color.

So you need to make sure you've tested your frosting, as it stands, to
make sure that you'll be happy with the taste if you add more color.
Afterall, I really think the taste is more important in the long run,
though a lovely appearance is certainly an important goal.

If you are looking for a darker red, like a claret or burgundy, you may
well be out of luck. When my husband and I wed, my friend the baker
made the cake, and she told me up front not to try and have claret red
flowers made of frosting. Apparently, it muddies very quickly as you
darken it, and makes an unappealling color. I took her word for it, and
had all white frosting then made decorations of silk flowers, ribbons
and beads to use instead of frosting flowers.

But I did test the theory just now, and I agree... you can get a more
wine/claret/burgundy shade by adding a faint touch of blue (I used
Wilton sky blue -- a dollop about half the size of the cotton on a Q-tip
in the one to one and a half cups of frosting), but it really isn't an
attractive shade. I'm not sure if it's brownish or what, but it's not
appetizing. It just looks... well, odd, frankly. A little less blue
might give just enough to keep it from being "stop sign red" and bring
it into the burgundy color family, but it just isn't all that pleasing.

I wish I could give you a definitive answer on how to make the frosting
the right color and still taste great, but for what it's worth, those
are my findings. If you keep adding red, you can probably eventually
get a nice bright red, if that would do. If you need a more "designer"
red, you may or may not be able to achieve that.

So, you might want to start thinking ahead to options which might work
out-- both logistically-speaking and to please your daughter.

Do you think she would consider any of the following?

~ Using another color frosting for the roses? White? any other colors in
the wedding? Depending on the red she's using, you might even be able to
come up with a pink that would work with the red (this usually only
works with burgundies and other deep reds, though, and you do have to
try and match the hue-- how bluish or yellowish each is-- which can be
complicated, too.)

~ Using silk or organic fresh flowers as decorations to get the red
color on the cake? (If she decides on this, let me know, I can send you
some floral arranging instructions that might help.)

~ Using some non-floral material as an accent to include the red in the
cake? I'm thinking of ribbon, strings of beads, edible glitter, etc. I
know some bakers who intermix non-edible materials with their frosting
and gum paste and other edible decorations, and have nice results. Then
these items are usually removed as the cake is served, so guests are not
confused as to what's edible and what's not. (And again, if your
daughter wants to go this way, I can make some additional suggestions
about what you might use and how.)

I know you must be very frustrated, and I wish I could be of more help.
If I do hear anything useful from that professional baker, I will pass
it along to you right away. Good luck and I hope you find a
satisfactory solution.

Wishing you the best, and much happiness to your daughter and her future husband.

Foreverwed.com Expert-- Sara L.Ambarian
author of "A Bride's Touch: A Handbook of Wedding Personality and
Inspiration" /creative consultant/custom bridal designer
mailto:sara@foreverwed.com
For more wedding information:
http://www.foreverwed.com/~sara
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