Rainbow Cake - Colouring advice

Lobsterlady

I'm planning to make this Rainbow Cake for my daughtesr birthday in a few weeks http://www.whisk-kid.com/2009/08/say-it-with-cake.html

I think i need to use Wiltons Gel Colouring in order to get a really strong colour, ebay seems the cheapest. Can anyone tell me if there would be a difference between using the Wiltons Gel Food Colouring & the Wiltons 'ICING' colours, it seems most shops sell the gels for icing.....will these work as well if adding into a cake? I've never used these before at all.

Any advice would be great, if someone can suggest other brands of food colouring that would be just as good, please let me know (website)
Thanks.

dee_mc

I've used the gel for coloured cakes, it's excellent. I've bought packs of 8 different colours for 10 or 12 euro in homestore and more, great value

Edit: meant to say, it's perfect for icing too, not sure what the difference is between the 2 products you mention? The gel seems to be a good all-rounder

Lobsterlady

dee_mc wrote: »

I've used the gel for coloured cakes, it's excellent. I've bought packs of 8 different colours for 10 or 12 euro in homestore and more, great value

Edit: meant to say, it's perfect for icing too, not sure what the difference is between the 2 products you mention? The gel seems to be a good all-rounder

Oh fantastic, I didn't know they sold gel colouring in Homestore & More, and it sounds like a bargain at 12 euro! I will check out my local store tomorrow, thanks!

dee_mc

Lobsterlady wrote: »

Oh fantastic, I didn't know they sold gel colouring in Homestore & More, and it sounds like a bargain at 12 euro! I will check out my local store tomorrow, thanks!

Hope you find it, I got mine in March in the Sligo store and also saw the deal in Limerick around Christmas so hopefully it's a long-term offer
BTW, you need to be very sparing with the colouring as it is very concentrated i.e. intensely pigmented, I use the tip of a blunt non-serrated knife or a wooden toothpick to add the colour, oh and don't wear a light-coloured top!!
Have fun!!

Lobsterlady

Yes, sure enough, Homestore had a full rainbow of Wiltons on sale, 2.49 a bottle, which is great value!

Mince Pie

Oh dear lord, get thee to a chemist and buy latex gloves before you play with the colours. I have been known to sport rather fetching blue/green/red/purple hands for days after playing with the colours especially when making red velvets or dying icing.

seosamh1980

Mince Pie wrote: »

Oh dear lord, get thee to a chemist and buy latex gloves before you play with the colours. I have been known to sport rather fetching blue/green/red/purple hands for days after playing with the colours especially when making red velvets or dying icing.

...What do you be using to stir the colour into the cake mix, your hands?? Fair enough you might get a bit on your hands when mixing paste colour into sugarpaste but not when making a rainbow cake.

Mince Pie

seosamh1980 wrote: »

...What do you be using to stir the colour into the cake mix, your hands?? Fair enough you might get a bit on your hands when mixing paste colour into sugarpaste but not when making a rainbow cake.

I always get it all over my hands just by removing and replacing the lid but mainly from colouring fondant. I always end up with bits of red from making red velvets. What can I say, I'm messy but thats half the fun.

Lobsterlady

Well here's some pictures of the final cake - the kids loved it. I had a bit of a disaster before making the cake - I badly burnt my right hand making dinner, so the whole cake was made using my left and it took hours. Hence the very sad finish with the swiss meringue icing. Still, it was a hit with my 7 year girl!

Dizzyblonde

That looks fantastic! Hope the hand healed well.

Lobsterlady

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

That looks fantastic! Hope the hand healed well.

Thanks, it was hard work. Hand blistered and finally healed, had to get a burns pack from the chemist, it was a stupid mistake I made.

Madiller29

Gels are definitely stronger

huskerdu

Mince Pie wrote: »

I always get it all over my hands just by removing and replacing the lid but mainly from colouring fondant. I always end up with bits of red from making red velvets. What can I say, I'm messy but thats half the fun.

Me too. I seem to get stained hands from just looking at the bottles.