My favourite… Food Colourings!

Welcome to my blog post about my favourite food colourings I use in all of my baking!

When you baking you inevitably use food colourings… and there are SO MANY OUT THERE. So this post is here to help you decide which ones you want to use – as I have tested so many over the years, I definitely have my favourites.

“What food colourings do you use?” is probably one of the questions I get asked the most, as you can all see yourself how many brands and types there are out there – and annoyingly, so many are awful. You never know, it may change in the future… but generally, and you can buy from a supermarket should be avoided. 

I know that is such an annoying thing to say, but I have to be honest – liquid food colourings can vary so much, and the ones you can find in the supermarket are far too weak in strength, and can generally ruin your bakes – and no one wants that to happen. 

I tend to gravitate more towards oil-based colours as they tend to incorporate better into any bake, but you will see below what I mean. I have given a selection of options which vary in price points, but generally – food colours are worth the investment. All brands below require so little for a strong colour result that they are worth it! 

Please note that these links are affiliate links so I will earn a commission from any sales through the links. 

Progel Food Colouring

I love rainbow dust progel food colouring – I have used them for years, and I love them. I love that they are in a tube because they are easy to use – and get out what you want, without getting a spoon dirty and accidentally getting food colouring everywhere! 

I love using the blue progel colouring – I used it on the blue layer of my rainbow cake, and for the buttercream in my rainbow explosion cake. 

I also use the purple progel food colouring in my rainbow cake, and for the buttercream in my rainbow explosion cake. 

Sugarflair Food Colouring

We all know how hard it is to get a good colour on your red velvet cake, or how hard it is to get a solid black colour when it comes to baking right? Sugarflair colours are so strong, and the brand I have used for the most time out of all of these! There is a great starter set available, which covers most of your bases.

I use the red extra food colouring when I want something red – and it is strong enough to withstand the brown of the cocoa powder in a red velvet cake. Honestly, I wouldn’t recommend any others for the job! 

The black extra food colouring works the same – yes you need to start with a brown base to get something jet black, but other black food colourings will create a murky grey colour and not black. 

Colour Splash Food Colouring

Another brand that I love that comes in a tube (and again so easy to use because of no messy spoons) is colour splash! They are quite similar to the rainbow dust Progel ones above, but still so good!  I love using these as they are cheap to buy in my opinion, and worth it! 

I love the pink from the colour splash set and used it on the drip for my rainbow cake – and it made such a vibrant and beautiful pink colour with so little added to the ganache! It also works with even less, to make a beautiful pale pink such as with my 29th birthday cake! 

If you ever want to colour something brown, without it being chocolate – it is worth a good quality colouring! I often use this brown colouring as I find it creates the perfect colour.  

Wilton Food Colouring

Wilton colours have often been quite iconic in the baking world for really good quality and strong colours – and I really love the basic set that you can buy! It has every staple colour that you may need in it, and I love them all. 

One of my favourites is the leaf green colour as it always give a vibrant and beautiful colour to anything, and I just love it! 

Wilton also have the white colouring that I often use on my blog with recipes such as my rainbow cake, and my blogs 7th birthday cake. It’s quite liquid in comparison to the other colours, but I really do love it! 

Colour Mill Food Colouring

Colour mill is one of the newer brands to me, and I am already in love – the range of colours that they offer is utterly insane, and worth the price. Yes, they are quite pricey but ohhhhh they are amazing. The quality of colour is insane! I was honestly a little blown away by all the colours that were on offer. 

One of the first colours I used is the orange – and it is beautiful! The yellow one also makes the most beautiful sunshine yellow that I ever did see. 

Summary

The food colouring world is an absolute minefield, and I don’t blame anyone for a being a little perplexed as to which brand to buy!

If it helps, I use all of these brands for all jobs…. colour sponges, colour buttercream, colouring ganache. It can be difficult sometimes to get the colour you want, but that comes with practice! Generally with buttercream for example, a colour will develop over time, so don’t be worried! 

It’s best to stick to gel/oil based colours, and avoid any water based colours. Generally, they are too weak and can ruin a bake! If you have any questions leave them below! 

• Brands that I love:
  • Rainbow Dust Pro Gel
  • Sugarflair
  • Colour Splash
  • Wilton
  • Colour Mill 

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