Master Elites
SHOP MASTER ELITE COLLECTION
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Master Elites are 100% edible powdered food coloring! They are very intense powdered food coloring - think "gel" but DRY! Shelf stable and will last up to 3 years! You need very little of the product to achieve desired tones in different sugar ingredients! You can use Master Elites to color ANYTHING (royal icing, fondant, buttercream, etc) except CHOCOLATE. They are not fat soluble and will not color chocolate! The ONLY exception to this rule is:
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Master Elites BLACK + WHITE, both of which are an oxide-based colorant and work very well for tinting chocolate. Master Elites will also work in GANACHE, as there is heavy cream in ganache - which is the moisture that will activate the color!
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To activate Master Elites, you will want to dissolve them in the MOISTURE portion of your ingredient - for example, water activated ME's for Royal Icing. Butter activates ME's for buttercream. Etc. Take a look at the below demonstrations to understand how to effectively use Master Elites inside various ingredients!
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ROYAL ICING
How to use Master Elites in Royal Icing:
1. Use very little powder in your royal icing. Consider purchasing The Color Ring to help with exact measurements!
2. Activate the powder in 2-3 drops of water, mixing the color crystals and allowing them to dissolve.
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, and then mix again to eliminate any streaks of color.
5. After the initial 20-30 minutes, your color is fully activated!
6. Shop Master Elites HERE!
AMERICAN BUTTERCREAM
SWISS MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM
Coloring meringue based buttercream can be tricky, but I’m here to show you, step-by-step, exactly how I achieve brilliantly colored SMBC using The Sugar Art Master Elite color range! 🌈
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INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Prepare your SMBC recipe. (Mine yields approx 24oz. Weights are very important here!)
2. Remove 4oz and place into a microwave safe bowl. We will be adding this back to our master batch later
3. Gently melt in the microwave for 5-10 seconds. It should be partially melted, but not completely liquid.
( *DO NOT SKIP THE MELTING STEP. IT IS CRUCIAL FOR COLOR ABSORPTION* Master Elites are activated by moisture and will react with the melted portion of your buttercream.)
4. Add your color (see my stories for a color guideline). I’m using 1/16 tsp to achieve a medium shade.
5. Stir until color is completely dissolved. Color will be very vibrant at first, but remember, we are adding back to our master batch.
6. Return colored buttercream to your master batch of buttercream in your mixing bowl
7. Mix on low speed 2-3 minutes until combined.
8. Turn mixer off and scrape down sides of bowl and spatula.
9. WAIT 30minutes. Again, do NOT skip this step! Mandatory for color development!
10. VOILA! After 30 mins (or more) your buttercream will have intensified in color and you should have beautiful, streak/speck free SMBC!
DARK AND VIBRANT SHADES:
Follow the same guidelines above but with a different color:buttercream ratio
1. Remove 4oz of buttercream from your master batch and place into a microwave safe bowl.
2. Gently melt 5-10 seconds in microwave
3. Using 1/8 tsp PER 4oz, add your color and stir to dissolve.
*If coloring a large batch of buttercream, scale proportion up using 1/8tsp of color per 4oz of buttercream as your guide.*
6. Let develop 30-90 minutes. Longer development time leads to more vibrant tones without adding more Master Elites.
7. Resist the urge to add more color until you’ve waited the suggested amount of time.
BLACK SMBC:
1. 1tsp per 6oz SMBC - MUST DEVELOP OVERNIGHT. This is not optional, or a suggestion. It is definitely mandatory or you’ll end up with a charcoal/dark grey buttercream.
FLOUR BUTTERCREAM
Elite Colors are fat soluble and already activated, unlike Master Elites, so they are PERFECT for coloring chocolate! Keep in mind, however, it will take much more powder to achieve desired tones ... so choose the darkest colors from our collections, so your jar will last as long as possible! We also recommend using Elite Colors for chocolate on small chocolate projects, not needing to color more than 6 oz of white chocolate.
Coloring dark chocolate will be very, very difficult with any colorants - as you have to use a lot to overcome the natural deep brown color in chocolate. See demonstrations below: