Learning how to color cake decorating dragees is really cool. It allows you to create sugar dragees in any color or shade of colors you want for your cakes. All you need is white sugar dragees and food coloring and you can have a whole range of customed colored dragees in no time! Here's how.
I learned this technique on how to color white cake decorating dragees in one of the cake decorating workshops I attended many years ago. This technique comes in really handy when you need dragees in a specific color but are unable to find the supply.
Knowing how to color the dragees simply means you can keep stock of plain white dragees. These will be readily available to color and use whenever you need specific colored dragees.
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❓What are Cake Decorating Dragees?
Cake decorating dragees are tiny small colorful balls (similar to sprinkles but round) that are sweet and crunchy to the bite. These dragees are often used for decorating cakes, cupcakes, and cookies alike.
They are quite commonly found in gold and silver colors but are also available in an array of many other colors. And they come in many different sizes too. Some are as small as 2mm in diameter but most common ones are about 4mm in diameter.
Sugar dragees can typically be purchased from any cake decorating supplies stores. If you are looking for online supply, can also buy them online here.
Most of the time, these dragees are colored and therefore ready to be used. The white dragees are also ready to use as white dragees but since they are white, they can be used as the base for making your own colored sugar dragees.
If you like this technique, also check out my easy tutorial on how to color sprinkles. It is equally easy and quick. Also see my tutorial on how to color gum paste flowers to create your own custom colored sugar flowers using store bought flowers.
❤️Why you will love this tutorial
- It is easy, quick and cheap to make.
- You can make them in small quantities and need not spend money buying an entire bottle of dragees when you only need a little.
- You can make your own custom colored sugar dragees for your cakes.
- It comes in really handy when you are not able to find the right colored dragees for your cakes and cupcakes.
There are 2 methods in which you can color your sugar dragees. There could be more, but these are the 2 methods I have used and have worked well for me.
The main difference between these 2 methods lies in the type of coloring ingredient used. In the first method, I use edible dust to color my sugar dragees. In the second method, I use gel food colors.
Lets look at each method and the supplies needed to color dragees:
Method 1 – Using edible dust
🧾Supplies required
- White sugar dragees
- Ziplock bags
- Edible dust in desired color (e.g., silver, gold, etc).
- Alcohol or lemon extract (Lemon extract is non-alcohol and suitable for those who do not use alcohol).
✂️How to make
- Place your pearl dragees in a ziplock bag. Depending on the number of dragees you intend to color, add sufficient edible dust into the ziplock bag. Add a few drops of alcohol or lemon extract.
- Zip the bag and shake the sugar pearls until they are well coated with the edible dust. If the dust is not enough, add more. Similarly, if the dust appears too dry, add a bit more alcohol or lemon extract.
- Continue until the dragees have all been uniformly coated with the edible dust paste.
- Pour the dragees into a shallow plate or tray and spread them out, giving adequate time for the alcohol/lemon extract to dry out.
- Once dried, you can start using your colored sugar dragees.
Method 2 – Using gel food colors
🧾Supplies required
- White sugar dragees
- Ziplock bags
- Gel food colors (in your desired color).
✂️How to make
- Place your sugar dragees into a ziplock bag. Depending on the amount of dragees you intend to color, add one or two drops of your chosen gel food color into the ziplock bag.
- Zip the bag and shake the sugar dragees until they are well coated. If the color is not enough, add slightly more. Shake the bag further until the dragees have all been uniformly colored.
- Pour the dragees into a shallow plate or tray and spread them out, giving adequate time for them to dry. Once dried, you can start using them.
Note: When coloring the dragees, always add the dust or coloring in small little increments. That way, you don’t risk adding too much color to your dragees and end up wasting the entire batch.
Alcohol and lemon extract dry much faster compared to gel colors so if you are using gel food colors, you would need to give more time for your colored dragees to dry.
How to Use
Do not mix into frosting - Unlike store-bought dragees, the color on these dragees tends to bleed when in contact with any form of liquid or buttercream. This means that you cannot mix them into buttercream or any other frosting. You can, however, sprinkle them onto these frostings without any problem.
Can use hands for sprinkling and tweezers for attaching to fondant or gum paste - When using these dragees, for simple sprinkling on frosted cakes or cupcakes, you can just do it with your hands. But when you want to attach them to fondant or gum paste, especially in a particular pattern or neatly arranged order, use cake decorating tweezers.
Use very light fondant glue to attach - To help hold these cake decorating dragees in place, use a light touch of fondant glue. Using too much glue can result in color bleed.
Note: To attach the dragees to fondant, make a small dent on the fondant with anything small like the end of a cake decorating brush. Apply a very light brush of fondant glue to the dent and then push the gold dragees into the dent with a tweezer. The dent in itself helps to hold the dragees in place and so the glue is just an extra step to make sure the dragees are totally secured in place.
How to Store
You can keep these colored dragees for as long as the expire date of the original, white dragees. I have personally made and kept my own colored sugar dragees for close to 6 months but definitely within the expiry date on the dragees bottle (be sure to check the expiry date on your sugar dragees bottle and avoid using the dragees beyond the date stated).
Colored dragees can be stored in airtight containers or ziplock bags in cool and dry place. You can also keep them refrigerated, but remember to allow them to come to room temperature before removing from the container or zip lock bag to prevent condensation.
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