Dirty Colours and Valentines Cookies

It's amazing how often what we're looking for is right in front of us, isn't it?

And I'm not trying to be deep and philosophical here - this is a baking blog; it's supposed to be light and fluffy and taken with a pinch of salt ; )

No, I'm talking about that jar of mayonnaise that you turn the whole fridge upside down to find, while it's right at eye level all the time (cunningly disguised as... a jar of mayonnaise!) 

Or the sunglasses on your head. Or the child on your hip - and you might not believe it, but that one really did happen. Not to me, of course - my husband.

On this occasion it was the clock on the wall. 

Well, ok - it wasn't quite that simple.

I had an idea of the colours I wanted for our Lovebirds / Valentines Cookies class, but couldn't find an image that pulled it all together for me. So, frustrated with the intangible inspiration, I muddied through the task, eventually getting the shades exactly as I wanted. Two days later I looked at the clock on our kitchen wall and realised: oh, hey - there it was - my inspiration. Right in front of me. 

Duh! 

I can't think of any other description for these shades than "dirty". Which is perhaps appropriate (or very inappropriate??) for Valentines Cookies. 

A "clean" colour is one that has very little or no black/grey in it. It is bright and pure. 

A "dirty" colour had been muted/ "muddied" with grey or black. 

To achieve this effect you just add a smidgeon of black (gel colour) to your already-coloured royal icing; mix it in (get over your initial horror as the first streaks of black appear) and repeat until you've got the dirtiness you're after. 

With ivory you'll probably stop after the first smidgeon; with blue and brown you'll need a drop or two more - but go slowly. If you find that you've over done it, add a little of the original gel colour to brighten up the icing again. 

It's a fascinating way to transform a colour. And the common thread of black really pulls all the colours in the project together. 

Just as I've already written about the use of warm and cool colours together, as a rule of thumb - use dirty colours together and clean colours together, but don't mix the two groups. 

Happy decorating!

xxM 

Christmas Reds

So, last week was pretty busy. Four cookie classes in 6 days; I worked out that I baked close to 700 biscuits and made over 6kg's of royal icing. This week is easier - just 30 or so mini Christmas cakes. It'll be a breeze!

Last year I was completely over the combination of red, white and green by the time Christmas day arrived, and I was determined not to use those same colours again for this year's Christmas cookies…do you think I succeeded?

Clearly not. But the addition of pale green made it seem fresher to me. And I also enjoyed working with the combination of red, white and brown.  

But next year - definitely something different!

While we're on the subject, though: let me just share with you a bit about reds. 

I usually use a combination of Red Red or Tulip Red and Super Red to get a fresh, true red like the one in the cookies above (Cake Flora or Americolor gels). 

You have to use a lot of colorant to achieve a decent red, so it's preferable to use Tulip Red which is not bitter (and to my eyes, indiscernible from Red Red). 

In the picture above, from left to right: Xmas Red, Tulip Red, Red Red and Super Red. 

Xmas Red? Not really - more like Xmas pink. But a cheery pink, at least! 

Ok, I'm off to bake some more fruitcakes. 

Happy decorating!

xxM 

In the Pink

If I were to catalogue things that are completely useless (and wouldn't that be a completely useless exercise?!) at the top of the list: the last 6 months on your passport.

So, yesterday while I should have been creating something delicious in my kitchen to share with you, I was at Home Affairs renewing my passport (which expires in July!) instead. Oh, well. At least it's now done for another ten 9.5 years!
But I'll have to share some colour theory with you instead of a new recipe. Ok?

These were the colours I was working with in the "Cake and Cupcakes" cookie class, and I absolutely loved the colour scheme  - but it took a bit of finessing to get it just right:
Pink, teal, white and brown.  

Here's Teal vs.Turquoise:
                                                                                                   (Americolor / Cake Flora gel colours).

                                 
 
Both are gorgeous colours; the teal is just a tinge more green.
But not the tinge of green I wanted. So, I created another teal using turquoise and a drop (yes, that small) of mint green.

And as for the pinks - 

Here's Deep Pink vs. Soft Pink:

Deep Pink on the left - cool (blue) undertone. Soft Pink on the right - warm (yellow) undertone.

It's really helpful to figure that out because - as a rule of thumb - sticking to colours with the same undertone (warm or cool, not both) in a project leads to a harmonious visual effect.
(And oh, how I love a harmonious visual effect!)

Boldly mixing cool and warm palettes can create an off-beat effect.

And using a predominance of one with contrasts of the other can create both interest and balance.

Just a little something to bear in mind if colour choices are stumping you : )

Happy Creating!

xxM

Navy Blue

The label on the bottle says it is "navy" blue, but it seems like you've added half the bottle before it bears the slightest resemblance to the colour you're aiming for - don't get blue!
There's a trick to navy blue, and it is called black. And patience.  Okay, not very magical. But there you have it - it works : )

So, If you are using gel food colour to get navy royal icing - add a drop or two of black (not too much) - it may not look very navy at first (more like a dark blueck!), but leave it overnight and that brooding blue will have a chance to come out of its shell and show its true colours - you'll be pleasantly surprised at the result.

Octopus design inspired by Yankee Girl Yummies (and her octopus did have 8 legs - a true professional!)
Beach scene from a tutorial by the amazing Amber of Sweetambs.

Happy decorating!
xxM