s/o to icing question...

Daisygirl613

So, I want to make cream cheese icing and got a recipe thanks to the link below.  love you girls.

but i have a couple questions...

1 - is it ok to add food coloring to this so I can make it a different color?  Will it throw off the recipe?

2 - I want to use an decorator thing to put the icing on instead of a knife...to make it look prettier... but have NO CLUE how any of that works.  I am thinking I just want to circle it around on the top..so it's level, not like a hill or anything... what kind of tip/bag, etc would I need for that?

sorry if that doesn't make much sense...I don't know the right terms to use

DizzyBlonde

Daisygirl613:

So, I want to make cream cheese icing and got a recipe thanks to the link below.  love you girls.

but i have a couple questions...

1 - is it ok to add food coloring to this so I can make it a different color?  Will it throw off the recipe?

Depends what color you want.  If you are okay with a pale color, regular food coloring should work - you don't want to add too much because it's watery and can change the consistency of your icing.  If you want something bolder and you want to be careful, you should get gel colors - you can find them at Michael's, JoAnn, Wal-Mart, etc with the cake decorating stuff.  It's not watery and you can get much bolder colors with just a small amount.  Typically, it's suggested to use a toothpick to get a little bit of color, and add it gradually until the icing is the color you want. 

 

2 - I want to use an decorator thing to put the icing on instead of a knife...to make it look prettier... but have NO CLUE how any of that works.  I am thinking I just want to circle it around on the top..so it's level, not like a hill or anything... what kind of tip/bag, etc would I need for that?

sorry if that doesn't make much sense...I don't know the right terms to use

If you're not planning to do something often and just want it this time around, I'd suggest getting an icing tip and using a ziploc bag to put the icing on.  Basically just snip a corner of the bag and put the tip through it.  You can actually make a tiny snip in a bag and not even use a tip if you wanted to...

You can really use any tip you want, and you don't have to "build" up the icing on the top to make a hill...you could just go in a circle around to get the look you want.  You can practice on wax paper to see how the tip works for you and try some different things...or you can do it on cupcakes since you mentioned you were going to try some different cupcake recipes.  I actually think the icing is pretty easy and it doesn't take much to have something that looks nice.

If you find a pic of the icing that you're looking for, I/we might be able to recommend a specific tip. 

Daisygirl613

ok, i can't seem to PIP, so hopefully this link will work.

 

 https://ediblecrafts.craftgossip.com/files/2010/01/cupcaketips.jpg

something like this but flat...maybe smaller swirls..?

and i am thinking a light blue... it's an ocean theme...

 

Pecswife

Do not use liquid food color to color your buttercream. It will throw off the consistency and depending on how much you use it will leave a bitter taste. Try to use the gel food color. The best gel is Americolor..however you won't be able to get those at Joanns or Michaels or Grocery stores.  Also if you are trying to get red...forget about it. Red can be very difficult to achieve. Like my elmo below...that took Americolor Super Red and a regular red and still didn't get the color I wanted (I pretty much think it was the yellow butter in my buttercream that threw it off) If you can, also get those plastic tips they sell at the grocery store by the food coloring. Snip the corner of a plastic bag...not too big and place the tip in. This can serve the purpose for now.

If you dont want the hill in the middle of your cupcakes start from the middle of the cupcake and work your way to the outer sides in a circular pattern. Doing it from the outer in will give you a "hill" in the middle of the cupcakes...which is what I like.

Have fun !