Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

Hi,

I need brown fondant but local shop didn’t stock it or a brown colour to mix with white sugarpaste. Anyone any ideas what colours would work to make a light brown. Tried googling it and one suggestion was red and green, tried that but it has gone a kind of purple putty colour 🙁

CakeFlix Guidance

How do you make brown fondant icing?

The simplest method is to knead a little brown gel or paste food colouring into white fondant. If you only have primary colours, mix red and yellow to create an orange base, then gradually add tiny amounts of blue until you reach brown.

At CakeFlix, we suggest testing a small piece first. Food colours vary in strength and undertone, so there is no single red-yellow-blue ratio that works with every brand.

What colours make brown fondant?

Red, yellow and blue can combine to make brown, but the balance matters. Starting with orange and adding blue gradually gives you more control than adding equal quantities of all three.

You can also mix complementary colours, such as red and green. However, the particular shades may produce a muddy purple or grey instead of the warm brown you wanted.

Use gel or paste colouring suitable for kneading into sugarpaste. Liquid colouring can introduce too much moisture and soften the fondant. Wilton’s fondant guide explains both colouring white fondant and blending ready-coloured pieces.

How do you make light brown fondant?

Add a small amount of brown colouring to white sugarpaste, or knead a little prepared brown fondant into a larger piece of white.

If your mixture becomes too dark, add more white fondant gradually. For a warmer tan shade, test a tiny addition of yellow or orange.

Keep a sample of your chosen shade beside you, especially when making several matching decorations.

How do you make dark brown fondant?

Build up brown colouring gradually, following the manufacturer’s usage instructions. For a large quantity or very deep shade, ready-coloured brown sugarpaste is often more practical.

A tiny amount of black can deepen an established brown, but too much may make it look grey. Adding excessive colouring can also affect handling, so test before colouring the whole batch.

Why has my brown fondant turned purple?

Your mixture may contain too much blue relative to yellow. Work a little yellow into a small test piece, knead thoroughly and check the result before adjusting the remaining batch.

If it becomes too dark or muddy, adding white can lighten it, although starting again may give a cleaner shade.

What would CakeFlix suggest before covering a cake?

Colour enough fondant for the whole project, keep it wrapped and check it in natural light before rolling. Matching a second batch can be frustrating!

For help preparing your cake, read our guides to working with chilled cakes, sweating cakes and buttercream covering quantities.

Explore the CakeFlix Diploma for structured learning to build your decorating confidence.

Need more Important Information on Baking and Cake Decorating?

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Hi favoursandfrills

To get brown colour you mix red, yellow and blue all the primary colours should give you brown. Alternatively start with orange and gradually add blue to get required colour. If it is dark brown you want add a little black as well – hope this helps

Thank you

Hi what 2 colours of fondant could i make for either rose gold or something similar x

Yes

Okay