Last Updated on December 29, 2022
Looking for the perfect color to decorate your cupcakes? Wanting an easy way to dress up your frosting? How to make navy blue icing?
Luckily, it is easy to achieve the perfect shade of navy blue for your frosting. This article will tell you everything you need to know about how to make navy blue buttercream.
Navy blue is a beautiful color that is great for any event. Whether a wedding, baby shower, graduation, or birthday party, this navy blue buttercream is the perfect frosting for your cakes and cupcakes. It is a stunning and vibrant color that is perfect for any occasion.
Where Navy Blue Gets its Name From
Navy blue got its origin from the color of the Royal Navy’s uniform in the 18th century. The navy blue color the Navy used for their uniforms comes from the indigo plant, which is native to India. After Britain colonized India, they readily used indigo to dye their clothes.
Today, navy blue is still commonly used for authority figures. Police officers and members of the military often wear this sharp-looking color. Navy blue is also a popular color for formal events and is commonly used in color schemes at weddings.
How to Make Navy blue Icing: What You Will Need
Ingredients
If you make your buttercream, you will need:
- 3 cups powdered sugar, or a powdered sugar substitute
- 1/3 cup butter, softened
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
Why Accurate Measurements are Important for Baking?
Equipment
To make the navy blue buttercream, you will need:
- Buttercream frosting (homemade or store-bought)
- Navy blue food coloring
- Large mixing bowl
- Spatula
- Electric mixer
Navy blue food coloring can be found in most grocery stores and online. One bottle should last you a while, as food coloring often has a long shelf life.
There are many different types of food coloring such as liquid gel, powder, gel paste, and traditional. Liquid gel is generally the best food coloring for frosting since it is more concentrated, so you need less, and it is less likely to affect the taste of the food. However, any type of food coloring will work.
How to Make Navy blue Icing: Step-by-Step Instructions
Step One: Mix Powdered Sugar and Butter
In a large bowl, mix the powdered sugar and butter with an electric mixer on low speed until fully combined. You may also use a wooden spoon with you do not have an electric mixer.
Step Two: Add Vanilla and Milk
Add the vanilla and one tablespoon of milk to the mixture. Mix until fully combined.
Step Three: Add in the Remaining Milk
Gradually beat in the remaining tablespoon of milk until the frosting has reached a smooth and spreadable consistency. If the frosting is too thick, you may add a few drops of milk at a time until it reaches a creamy consistency. If the frosting is too runny, you may add a small amount of powdered sugar until it thickens up.
Step Four: Add the Food Coloring
Once the frosting is fully mixed, add the food coloring. It will take approximately 60-70 drops of navy blue food coloring for four cups of frosting to reach the desired shade.
Thoroughly mix the food coloring in the frosting until it is fully mixed. You may use an electric mixer, wooden spoon, or spatula to mix the food coloring into the frosting. You may add more food coloring if it does not come out of your desired shade.
If you are using store-bought frosting, use a spatula to scrape the frosting into a bowl. From there, you can add food coloring to the frosting and thoroughly mix it.
If you do not have navy blue food coloring, you may use violet, royal blue, and black. For every half cup of frosting add three drops royal blue, three drops violet, and one small drop black. This will allow you to achieve a navy blue color in your buttercream frosting.
This navy blue buttercream looks stunning on cupcakes and makes a great color for any event.
Tips and Tricks
The blue color may cause staining if it gets on clothing, so make sure to treat the stain right away. The navy blue coloring may also temporarily stain your teeth, tongue, and lips, so be careful when you eat it.
It may seem like 70 drops of food coloring is a lot of food coloring for four cups of frosting, but it will likely be just the right amount to achieve the perfect navy blue color. To put in perspective, 100 drops of food coloring is equal to only about one teaspoon worth.
This frosting can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for two to three days. It can be stored in the fridge for up to a week and in the freezer for up to six months.
After being stored, the frosting may and food coloring may separate, so they will likely need to be remixed. The color may change over time, so you may need to adjust accordingly. After storing the frosting in the fridge or freezer, allow it to reach room temperature before serving.
If your frosting turns out too dark for your liking, you may add white food coloring to lighten it up. If you don’t have any white food coloring, you may add some more uncolored frosting to it. However, it is easier to add less food coloring to the frosting and gradually add more until you reach your desired shade.
Navy blue food coloring also works with cakes, cookies, and most doughs. It creates a vibrant blue color that turns out beautiful when finished.
How to Make Navy Blue Buttercream
Equipment
- Buttercream frosting (homemade or store-bought)
- Navy blue food coloring
- Large mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup butter softened
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Step One: Mix Powdered Sugar and Butter
- In a large bowl, mix the powdered sugar and butter with an electric mixer on low speed until fully combined. You may also use a wooden spoon with you do not have an electric mixer.
- Step Two: Add Vanilla and Milk
- Add the vanilla and one tablespoon of milk to the mixture. Mix until fully combined.
- Step Three: Add in Remaining Milk
- Gradually beat in remaining tablespoon of milk until the frosting has reached a smooth and spreadable consistency. If the frosting is too thick, you may add a few drops of milk at a time until it reaches a creamy consistency. If the frosting is too runny, you may add a small amount of powdered sugar until it thickens up.
- Step Four: Add the Food Coloring
- Once the frosting is fully mixed, add the food coloring. It will take approximately 60-70 drops of navy blue food coloring for four cups of frosting to reach the desired shade.
- Thoroughly mix the food coloring in the frosting until it is fully mixed. You may use an electric mixer, wooden spoon or spatula to mix the food coloring into the frosting. You may add more food coloring if it does not come out of your desired shade.
- If you are using store-bought frosting, use a spatula to scrape the frosting into a bowl. From there, you can add food coloring to the frosting and thoroughly mix together.
Notes
- The blue color may cause staining if it gets on clothing, so make sure to treat the stain right away. The navy blue coloring may also temporarily stain your teeth, tongue, and lips, so be careful when you eat it.
- It may seem like 70 drops of food coloring is a lot of food coloring for four cups of frosting, it will likely be just the right amount to achieve the perfect navy blue color. To put in perspective, 100 drops of food coloring is equal to only about one teaspoon worth.
- This frosting can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for two to three days. It can be stored in the fridge for up to a week and the freezer for up to six months.
- After being stored, the frosting may and food coloring may separate, so it will likely need to be remixed. It is possible that the color will change over time, so you may need to adjust accordingly. After storing the frosting in the fridge or freezer, allow it to reach room temperature before serving.
- If your frosting turns out too dark for your liking, you may add white food coloring to lighten it up. If you don’t have any white food coloring, you may add some more uncolored frosting into it. However, it is easier to add less to food coloring to the frosting and gradually add more until you reach your desired shade.
- Navy blue food coloring also works with cakes, cookies, and most doughs. It creates a vibrant blue color that turns out beautiful when finished.
How Do You Make Navy Blue Icing With Sky Blue?
Navy blue icing can be great to have on hand, especially if you are making a nautical-themed cake. However, not every food coloring set includes navy blue food coloring. Fortunately, you can make your navy blue frosting with sky blue food coloring.
To make your navy blue icing, combine 1/4 teaspoon of sky blue food coloring with 1/4 teaspoon of black food coloring and 1/4 teaspoon of violet food coloring. Add all three of these food colorings to one cup of white icing and mixed until thoroughly combined.
To adjust the shade of navy, you can add more of whatever color you think the icing needs. To make it darker, add more black, to make it bluer add more sky blue, and to make it more vibrant add more violet.
Ideally, you want to start with a base ratio of 1:1:1 and adjust from there. So, if you are wanting to color two cups of icing, you will need 1/2 teaspoon sky blue, 1/2 teaspoon black, and 1/2 teaspoon violet.
How Do You Make Navy Blue Icing Without Black?
Black is typically used to make navy blue icing as it makes the blue darker in color, which is needed for navy blue. Fortunately, there are a few different ways you can make navy blue icing without having to use black food coloring. Though black food coloring can be great, it can be messy and stain both skin and fabric.
To make navy icing without black, it is best to use concentrated food coloring to get the most vibrant color. To make navy blue icing with concentrated food coloring, you will need blue, red, and pink food coloring.
For light navy blue, combine 13 drops of blue, four drops of red, and two drops of pink with one cup of white frosting. For medium navy blue, combine 26 drops of blue, eight drops of red, and four drops of pink with one cup of white frosting. To create dark navy icing, combine 52 drops of blue, 16 drops of red, and eight drops of pink with one cup of white frosting.
When stored for a few days in the fridge, the colors may begin to fade for separation in your frosting. To fix this, whip your frosting for a minute or two with a mixer, and if need be add a few more drops of food coloring.
Does Blue Frosting Stain?
Yes, blue frosting can stain your skin and fabric. The more vibrant and darker the blue, the more likely it is to stain because it contains more food coloring.
To get it off your skin, simply wash with soap and water and the food coloring will likely come off fairly easily. It can also stain your teeth, so just be sure to brush your teeth before going anywhere after eating blue frosting.
Blue frosting can be tricky to get off of the fabric. You must act quickly after getting blue frosting on your clothes so that the stain does not have time to set in.
Begin by scraping off as much of the frosting as you can, using a plastic knife is a good way to get the job down. Then, treat the stain with liquid dishwashing detergent or liquid laundry detergent. Allow it to sit for three to five minutes then rinse with warm water and wash as directed on the tags.
What Flavor is Blue Frosting?
Blue frosting typically does not have a flavor. Oftentimes it is just vanilla buttercream that has been colored with blue food coloring.
You can add other flavors instead of vanilla to your blue frostings such as lemon, peppermint, or almond. Chocolate typically will not work as it is naturally brown, so you can not easily make it blue.
How Do You Make Blue Buttercream Without Food Colouring?
To make blue buttercream without food coloring, you can boil red cabbage. Save the leftover water from boiling the red cabbage and add a teaspoon of baking powder. Then take the red cabbage mixture and add it to your frosting to make a naturally blue frosting.
A Beautiful Navy Blue Icing
Navy blue buttercream is a great frosting color for any formal event. It is simple to make and is a versatile frosting. The combination of creamy buttercream and striking navy blue makes a showstopper for decorating your desserts.
This classic color is so easy to make you will have the perfect buttercream frosting in no time. If you tried this frosting, please share your experience making it.
Please comment and share if you enjoyed this article or have any remarks regarding this recipe!
Karen is a passionate pastry chef who loves to create delicious baked goods. She has been in the culinary arts for over 10 years, honing her skills and perfecting her craft. Karen is known for her creativity and attention to detail, creating unique desserts that bring a smile to everyone’s face. She is always looking for ways to challenge herself and come up with new recipes that are both tasty and visually appealing. Karen loves to experiment with different flavors and textures, and she is committed to providing the highest quality of products to her customers.