# colouring butter cream???



## an2net (Jul 26, 2006)

Hi there,

This may be a really dumb question, however, I am practising to make some blue butter cream for my sons b'day next month. I made the mixture using icing sugar, butter and milk. The mixture was obviously a yellow colour becuase of the butter and when I put the blue colouring in, it turned green instead! Any advice on how I can make 'white' butter cream?


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## jralva (Jul 26, 2006)

unfortunately there's no way around the yellow color butter has. you can howver use shortening instead of butter for Buttercream icing....and if you're that particular...there is clear vanilla falvoring out there...wilton makes that clear stuff.......(or if shortening is too pasty for your palette...use half butter and half shortening in your recipe it should tone down our yellow dilema.

X-cake decorator / pastry manager


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## blueicus (Mar 16, 2005)

have you tried making an Italian buttercream? It's a bit more involved than the buttercream you're making, but it should give you a nearly white buttercream.

You'll need to make an Italian meringue (hot sugar syrup into whipped egg whites) then incorporate softened butter. If you want more precise descriptions and proportions, I'd be happy to offer one.


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## felixe the dog (Jul 16, 2006)

If you change recipes to use a fondant based butter cream (or italian - as suggested by Blueicus) you start with a "whiter" buttercream which will colour blue.

or 

Last resorts?
Switch to a fat soluble color, this will allow the larger additions of colour without radically altering the buttercream
or
Use titanium dioxide to whiten the yellow buttercream and then color it blue.

These last 2 are last resorts, I would try changing the buttercream recipe, I know that both the above recipes will give good results!


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## momoreg (Mar 4, 2000)

I second the suggestion to make an Italian or Swiss buttercream. You can use all butter, and you'll end up with an off-white icing that accepts color very well. Oil based colors are great for these icings, but be careful not to add too much, or you'll end up with a loose icing. If using water based color, a few seconds in the micro (after blending the color into the buttercrea) will make the color much more vivid!


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