The best food coloring for macarons is Americolor’s Soft Gel Paste Colors.
Americolor has an array of gel paste colors that only use a tiny amount to give a batch of macarons a burst of color.
- Strong color using a small amount of food coloring
- Use only a toothpick amount of gel for every batch of macarons
- bright and dark colors available
- no separation of the color
- color spreads evenly
- squeeze bottle – ergonomic and economical
Americolor’s “student kit” comes with every color of the rainbow to get you started. It even comes with black just in case you want to make some cookies and crème macarons.
When you’re coloring macarons, you need to add more color than you think. As you add the meringue, the color will become lighter than the initial macaronage batter.
Typically you need to add the food coloring to your egg whites, then add your icing sugar and almond flour. Then you will add the meringue.
The meringue will dilute out the color since the batter will become larger.
Make sure to use more color and make it darker initially that you would like the macarons to have. It will take some practice to make sure you get the color you’re looking for.
You can even use the gel paste color to paint on macarons after they have finished baking. Emulsify the gel food coloring with a bit of almond extract and paint the food coloring onto the macarons.
Can you use regular food coloring in macarons
Macarons cannot use water based food coloring as the liquid will interfere with the consistency. Macarons have a very specific liquid to dry ingredient ratio. By adding liquid food coloring to the macaronage batter this will throw off the recipe and unfortunately, the macarons will not turn out.
How do you add food coloring to macarons
- Use a toothpick to obtain a small amount of food coloring.
- Add food coloring to your initial egg whites. Mix the color well until it fully emulsifies into the egg whites.
- Add in your sifted and measured almond flour and icing sugar.
- Mix together until combine. The consistency should be a paste at this point for macarons. Scrape the bottom of the bowl to incorporate all of the almond flour and make it a uniform color throughout the macaron mixture.
What can you add to macaron shells other than food coloring
- tea
- coffee
- lavender
- dried and crumpled roses
- cookie crumbs
Adding a dusting of food decoration to the top of your macarons before they dry. Right after piping your macarons you can add a little of the above foods to your macarons and let them dry for 30 minutes before baking them. It will add a pop of color and flavor to your macarons.
