The Pro Tip For Making A Vibrant Red Buttercream

Decorating desserts with buttercream is a classic way to make your sweets look like they belong in a cake shop and go up against even the best grocery store cake. Buttercream is one of the easiest types of frosting to work with thanks to its thick and creamy texture. But when it comes to adding color like a vibrant red, it's not always easy to get the right shade or brightness, even when you feel like you're doing everything right. You might be tempted to just buy a pre-made buttercream instead, but there's a simple tip to get your homemade version looking super vibrant every single time. Start by coloring your buttercream pink, then adding red, and lastly a little orange if needed.

It might seem odd, but turning your white buttercream pink first will mean you need less food coloring to achieve red. Turning a pink buttercream red is much easier than trying to change a white buttercream to red, which can often leave you with a pink color anyway. Once you have a pink buttercream, just add some red until you have your desired shade. And if you want an even brighter color, add a very small amount of orange. Mix in a little at a time to ensure you don't overdo it.

For some occasions you might need a deeper shade of red, and there's an easy fix for this. Add in a miniscule amount of black food coloring and let the buttercream sit for a while. A tiny drop (seriously tiny) of black and will give you the deepest red buttercream food coloring can give. If this isn't enough, you can 'bloom' your buttercream by microwaving one portion of it in 20 second intervals, until you see a few puddles of melted buttercream. It will now be darker in color and can be mixed back into the rest of the mixture. If your buttercream consistency is now runnier, let it thicken back up for about 30 minutes.

When making your buttercream red, using gel food coloring is also the best to achieve a vibrant color. Gel coloring is more concentrated, so only a few drops are needed. Liquid food coloring is not only less vibrant, but can change the buttercream's consistency as you need a lot to achieve the right color. And if you want a richer, brighter red by doing absolutely nothing, just make your buttercream a few days in advance. The more your buttercream rests, the more the color will develop. And the next time you make red buttercream, don't be shocked when people don't believe it's homemade!

Have a sweet tooth and want to read more? Then be sure to check out how to fix lumpy buttercream with a simple household item you certainly already have!