How to Make Gold Colored Icing

Last Updated on December 18, 2022

How to make gold-colored icing? When decorating desserts like cakes, cookies, and other treats, gold-colored icing is ideal. In that regard, there are several tips and tricks to help you achieve that perfect gold color. 

One can obtain that wide range of gold shades by adding a bit of shimmer. In addition to that, you can use edible gold luster dust. Using this helps you achieve a less artificial shade of gold.  

What Colors Make Gold Icing? 

To achieve the right color of gold that you desire, mixing the right color is essential. With that, make a small batch of frosting and food coloring to find the right combination of yellow and orange. 

If orange food coloring is unavailable, you can make an orange color at home. You can do it by combining equal drops of red and yellow in a white bowl. 

You can try to make a buttercream color chart with different frosting and food color combinations. Do this until you can achieve the exact color that you desire. 

Moreover, when mixing frosting colors, always start small. If the color you made is not as dark as you wanted, you can add half a drop of yellow. Likewise, you can add orange food coloring. Also, keep in mind that it relies on what you want the color to be. With that, ensure to achieve the right shade. 

When using gel food coloring, start with 1/4 teaspoon of yellow food coloring. Then, add 1/8 teaspoon of orange coloring. After that, gradually add more if necessary. However, know that less is better until you can achieve the perfect shade that you want.

How To Make Gold Colored Icing?

Step-by-step Instructions

Step 1

Before anything else, prepare two cups of white buttercream frosting. 

Step 2

Then, take a cup of white frosting and set it aside. Remember, you will use the extra white frosting for the color corrections later if needed.

Step 3

Afterward, place the other cup of white frosting into a medium-sized, white mixing bowl. Then, add six yellow gel food coloring drops. Don’t forget to add a drop of orange gel food coloring. 

Step 4

Next, mix thoroughly to ensure that all the white frosting combines well to avoid having patches of white. 

Step 5

Finally, if you want a deep gold color, add another drop of orange and another two drops of yellow. However, if you feel it’s too dark, add a tablespoon of the set-aside white frosting. Make sure to do it till you are okay with the color.

Gold Icing Coloring

Do this to create different shades of metallic gold like bronze or rose gold with shiny gold.

1. For starters, you can use a range of color combinations with a speck of edible luster dust.
2. Also, you can put a little bit of brown food coloring to the yellow icing. Bear in mind that it is for the bronze or copper shade. Likewise, you can make a brown shade of food coloring by mixing an equal quantity of red, blue, and yellow.
3. Moreover, you can use your gold luster dust to paint your icing to create the right color combination.
4. Additionally, paint your gold color metallic paint in layers of light pink icing for the rose gold.

Rainbow Dust Metallic Food Paint Metallic Light Gold

Keep in mind that vodka serves as a paint thinner. Because of that, it will remove the shiny finish. Note that a careful mixture of yellow, red, and green food coloring can shade closer to gold. However, using only food coloring can not give icing the shiny effect of gold. So with that, edible gold luster dust can make gold icing decorations more realistic.

Metallic Gold Icing

To achieve that metallic gold effect, you can use royal icing. Remember that royal icing can harden quickly, creating a smooth surface suitable for painting your metallic mixture. Also, you can pipe onto the softer frosting. Likewise, you can paint with metallic gold. 

Moreover, you can use edible luster dust to achieve your metallic gold icing. Bear in mind that edible luster dust comes in a great range of colors and shades of gold. 

To use edible luster:

1. Mix it with clear alcohol like vodka, gin, white rum, or a clear extract flavor with alcohol.
2. Afterward, mix three to four drops of alcohol for each half teaspoon of luster dust.
3. Then, add more alcohol to the edible luster. Doing this maintains the consistency of the paint as the alcohol tends to evaporate.
4. Lastly, use a small paintbrush for painting fine details or decorations.

You can use a wide brush so you can layer metallic paint on top of one another. Do this till you can attain your desired outcome. Then, allow each layer of the metallic gold paint to dry before adding another layer. 

Remember that the waiting time is not long because you use alcohol-based, so the drying time is short. Likewise, alcohol will not affect your frosting flavor. Also, since it dries quickly, it will not make your frosting runny. 

Moreover, you may add the edible golden luster directly to your un-tinted icing. Note that tinted icing will require less edible golden luster. In addition to that, it will result in better coverage.  

How Do You Make Gold Icing For a Drip Cake?

Gold icing can be tricky to make, particularly if you’re making a drip cake. For this, you’ll need 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar (or confectioners’ sugar), 1 tablespoon of gold luster dust and then add either lemon juice or vodka until you reach the consistency you’re looking for. Now add the icing to a piping bag (or Ziploc bag).

It’s worth noting that you’ll need much less than usual, as this gold icing drips fast and quickly. Drip from the edge of the top of the cake as you usually would.

How to Make Gold Glitter Frosting?

You must first start by choosing yellow food coloring or yellow icing. Whichever tone you choose will affect the result of your gold icing. It’s also worth mentioning that color frosting usually darkens in color after a few hours, so always opt for lighter than you think you need.

With a toothpick, add a tiny amount of red food coloring (or orange) to your yellow frosting. Incorporate into the frosting with your hands. With a second toothpick, add a tiny amount of green food coloring to your frosting and mix with your hands. At this point, you should reach a gold color frosting.

Place your frosting onto the cake and paint on edible luster dust after it’s placed on your cake. If you try to work luster dust into the frosting with your hands, it will not be anywhere near as effective.

How to Airbrush Buttercream Gold?

Add your gold coloring to your airbrush and remember to be delicate when working with buttercream, as it’s not as robust as fondant. Now you’ll need to hold the airbrush around six inches from the cake so that the air pressure isn’t too high. Hold at a 45-degree angle for soft lines and at a 90-degree angle for sharp lines. Depending on how dark you want your gold, you may want to do a few layers.

How Long Does Royal Icing Need to Dry Before Airbrushing?

Before your airbrush royal icing, it’s important to ensure it’s completely dry. For royal icing to dry, it usually takes around an hour or two. You’ll know your royal icing is dry because it won’t look as shiny or glossy anymore, and also won’t smudge if you touch it gently. Airbrushing is great for enhancing royal icing and making it shiny.

How Much Food Coloring Do I Add to the Frosting?

If you’re starting with one cup of white frosting, you’ll need the following amount of food coloring to create these popular colors:

• light pink: place a toothpick into the red food coloring and carefully swirl it into the frosting
• pastel pink: 1 drop of red food coloring
• pink bubble gum: 4 drops of red food coloring
• lemon yellow: 10 drops of yellow food coloring
• tangerine orange: 45 drops of red and 80 drops of yellow food coloring
• blue raspberry: 58 drops of blue food coloring
• pistachio green: 1 drop of yellow and 10 drops of green food coloring
• key lime green: 10 drops of yellow and 20 drops of yellow food coloring
• lavender: 3 drops of blue and 4 drops of red food coloring
• eggplant purple: 50 drops of blue and 110 drops of red food coloring

How to Color Royal Icing Without Food Coloring?

You do not need to use food coloring to color your icing. You can use natural foods to create your natural food coloring. Here are some of the most popular color choices and the foods you can use to achieve these colors.

• red: beetroot powder
• Orange: carrot juice or sweet potato powder
• yellow: turmeric or saffron
• green: matcha or spinach powder
• blue (and purple): blueberry juice or powder
• pink: strawberry juice or powder
• brown: tea, coffee, or cocoa
• black (and gray): activated charcoal

Tips and Tricks

Consider piping, drizzling, and covering gold-colored icing into your cake, cupcake, or cookie. With that, it would be best if you waited for your buttercream icing to harden for about an hour. Then, allow your royal icing to harden for about eight hours. 

Moreover, have a supply of small paintbrushes with your cake decorating supplies. With that, use your brushes only for cake decorating to keep them safe for making edible art.

Furthermore, you can use small food storage containers to mix your edible luster dust. With that, if you have leftover luster dust paint, you can keep the container open. Do it till all of the alcohol on the paint evaporates. After it evaporates, you will have a dry and hardened edible luster in the bottom of the container. 

Then, cover the container or place a lid. Remember, keep your hardened luster with your cake decorating supplies. Ultimately, if you need to use the edible luster, mix a few drops of alcohol into your hardened edible luster. Do this to maintain paint consistency.