Right, so I got my hands on this orange food coloring powder. I’d been hearing stuff about powders, how they’re better for some things, not adding extra liquid and all that. Figured I’d give it a shot. Liquids are alright, I guess, but they can mess with your consistency if you’re not careful, especially when you’re trying to get a real punchy color.
First Impressions and a Bit of a Mess
This powder, it showed up in a little tub. Opened it up, and man, it was fine. Like, super fine dust. And the color? Bright. Seriously bright orange. My first thought was, “Okay, don’t sneeze.” I knew this stuff would go everywhere.
So, what’s the first thing I do? Try to color some buttercream. I make buttercream all the time. Figured it’d be easy. I just chucked a tiny bit of the dry powder straight into the bowl. Bad idea. Real bad. It just… sat there. Made little orange freckles. Stirred it like mad, still freckly. Not the smooth, vibrant orange I was picturing. More like a sad, spotty creamsicle. Total rookie move, I tell ya.
Figuring It Out – The “Aha!” Moment
I was about to bin the whole batch of frosting. Then I remembered reading somewhere, or maybe someone told me, can’t recall, that with these powders, you gotta make a paste. Like, mix it with a tiny bit of liquid first. Seemed like a faff, but my frosting was already a mess, so what did I have to lose?
So, I tried it.
- Got a tiny bowl, like one of those little ramekins.
- Put a minuscule amount of the orange powder in. And I mean minuscule. This stuff is potent.
- Added just a couple of drops of water. Some folks use vodka, says it evaporates better, but water was fine for this.
- Stirred it up. Made this super concentrated orange paste.
Then I added that paste to a fresh bit of buttercream. And what do you know? It worked. Mixed in smooth as anything. Got a really nice, even orange. No specks. Just pure, bright orange. Finally!
Taking It To the Cake
Okay, so now I felt like I knew what I was doing. Next up, a white cake mix. Wanted to see how it’d do in a batter. Made my little orange paste again, same way as before. Mixed it into the wet ingredients before combining with the dry. Poured it into the pan, baked it up. The cake came out this lovely, warm orange color all the way through. Kids loved it. Said it looked like a “special occasion” cake, whatever that means to a seven-year-old. Probably just means “not boring white.”
So, What’s the Verdict on This Powder?
Look, after messing around with it, here’s what I found.
- It’s strong. Unbelievably strong. You need way less than you think. Start small. You can always add more, but you can’t take it out.
- That paste thing? Non-negotiable for stuff like frosting or anything thick. Don’t just dump the powder in dry unless you want a polka-dot disaster.
- It’s definitely good when you don’t want to water things down. So, for macarons, royal icing, things that are fussy about moisture, this powder is your friend.
- The color it gives is pretty intense and clear. No weird aftertaste either, which is a plus.
Honestly, I’m kind of a convert for certain things. It’s less messy to store than those liquid bottles that always seem to leak, no matter how tight you close them. Just gotta handle the powder with care. Treat it like it’s radioactive orange dust, and you’ll be fine. I’ll be keeping this in my baking stash, for sure. It’s earned its spot.
