Master Elites

What are Master Elites?

Master Elites are highly intense powdered food coloring, created to tint sugar ingredients such as royal icing, fondant, buttercream, batters and more. They are raw color crystals that require moisture in order to activate, so the powder in the jar often does not match the name on the label. Once moisture activates it, the color turns to its intended tone.

Think of them as gel, but dry. They carry no liquid at all, which is why they color deeply without thinning what you are working in. You need very little product to reach the tone you want, and they are shelf stable for up to 4 to 5 years depending on the product.

Why does the powder look nothing like the label?

Because the color has not been activated yet. Master Elites are raw pigment, and raw pigment reads muted and often completely different from its finished tone while it is dry. Moisture is what develops it. Judge the shade after activation and after it has rested, never in the jar.

How do you activate Master Elites?

Dissolve them in the moisture portion of whatever you are coloring. Water activates them for royal icing. Butter activates them for buttercream. Heavy cream activates them in ganache. The principle holds across every application, so if you know where the moisture is in your recipe, you know where the color goes.

Powder added straight to a finished mix, with no moisture step, gives noticeably less payoff than it should. That is the single most common reason a decorator concludes the color is weak.

Can Master Elites color chocolate?

No, with two exceptions. Master Elites are not fat soluble, so they will not color chocolate. The exceptions are Master Elite Black and White, both of which are oxide based colorants and work very well for tinting chocolate.

Master Elites will also work in ganache, because there is heavy cream in ganache, and that cream is the moisture that activates the color.

For chocolate generally, use an oil based color made for it. ChocElite is formulated for chocolate and candy melts.

Why do Black and White come in larger jars?

It takes more Black and White powder than any other Master Elite shade to reach a true black or a true white, which is why they are sold in 33g jars exclusively. Both are made from FDA compliant oxides, and that same oxide base is what lets them work in chocolate when the rest of the range cannot.

How do you use Master Elites in royal icing?

1. Use very little powder. Consider The Color Ring to help with exact measurements.
2. Activate the powder in 2 to 3 drops of water, mixing the color crystals and allowing them to dissolve fully.
3. Add the mixture to your main batch of icing and mix thoroughly.
4. Let the icing sit for 20 minutes under a damp cloth, then mix again to eliminate any streaks of color.
5. After the initial 20 to 30 minutes, your color is fully activated.

Royal icing has the least tolerance for added moisture of any icing type, which is exactly why a powder suits it. You are adding pigment without adding water.

How do you use Master Elites in Swiss meringue buttercream?

Activate the color in a small melted portion of the buttercream first, then fold that back into the main batch. Meringue based buttercream will not take the powder directly, because there is no free moisture in it until you melt some. The method below comes from Belly's Bake Shop (www.bellysbakeshop.com), demonstrated with the Master Elite range.

1. Prepare your SMBC recipe. This yields approximately 24oz, and weights matter here.
2. Remove 4oz into a microwave safe bowl. This gets added back to the master batch later.
3. Gently melt in the microwave for 5 to 10 seconds. It should be partially melted, not completely liquid. Do not skip the melting step, it is what makes color absorption possible, since Master Elites are activated by moisture and react with the melted portion.
4. Add your color. 1/16 tsp reaches a medium shade.
5. Stir until the color is completely dissolved. It will look very vibrant at this stage, but it is going back into the master batch.
6. Return the colored buttercream to your master batch in the mixing bowl.
7. Mix on low speed for 2 to 3 minutes until combined.
8. Turn the mixer off and scrape down the sides of the bowl and the spatula.
9. Wait 30 minutes. This step is mandatory for color development.
10. After 30 minutes or more the buttercream will have intensified, and you should have a streak free and speck free finish.

For dark and vibrant shades

Follow the same method with a heavier ratio. Remove 4oz from the master batch, melt gently for 5 to 10 seconds, then use 1/8 tsp per 4oz and stir to dissolve. If you are coloring a large batch, scale up using 1/8 tsp per 4oz as your guide. Let it develop for 30 to 90 minutes, since longer development produces more vibrant tones without adding more color. Resist adding more until you have waited the full time.

For black Swiss meringue buttercream

Use 1 tsp per 6oz of SMBC and let it develop overnight. This is not a suggestion. Without the overnight rest you will end up with a charcoal or dark gray buttercream rather than a true black.

Why does the color keep deepening after mixing?

Because activation continues after you stop stirring. Color develops for anywhere from 15 minutes to 2 hours depending on the shade and how much went in. Stop one to two shades lighter than your target and let it rest. Adding more color before it has finished developing is the most common way to overshoot, and overshooting is what produces a bitter taste rather than a darker shade.

Video demonstrations

Technique demonstrations across royal icing, buttercream and macarons live on the blog:

• Make vibrant royal icing colors
• A guide to vibrant colors in royal icing
• How to make marbled cookies with royal icing
• Coloring macarons, powdered versus gel colors
• The most vibrant gel colors

What is the difference between Master Elites and Elite Colors?

Master Elites are made to mix inside your ingredients. Elite Colors are fat soluble and already activated, which makes them suited to coloring chocolate instead. It takes more Elite Color powder to reach a deep tone, so choose the darkest shades in the range and use them on smaller chocolate projects rather than large volumes.

Coloring dark chocolate is difficult with any colorant, because you are working against the natural deep brown of the chocolate itself. White chocolate takes color far more readily.

Shop the full Master Elite range