How to Mix Coloring for Sugar Skulls

Each year, people make sugar skulls to celebrate Day of the Dead and to remember loved ones that passed away. The skulls, formed from a sugar mixture and decorated with bright icing, are tinted in a variety of bright colors as well. In order to make your own sugar skulls in a variety of colors, follow specific instructions to prepare the color and tint the dry mixture.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Food coloring
• Water
• Granulated sugar
• Meringue powder
• Bowl
• Spoon

1. Determine what colors you want to make the sugar skulls. While a wide variety of colors are available, sugar skulls tend to be bright and vibrant.

2. Select the same concentrated pastes used in cake decorating. Water-based food coloring isn't strong enough, and doesn't achieve the bright colors typical of sugar skulls. Find the color pastes in specialty stores.

3. Add a drop or two of the color paste to water and dissolve it in the water. Because the pastes are extremely concentrated, a little bit goes a long way. Add more color to the water, drop by drop, if needed.

4. Combine the colored water with a mixture of granulated sugar and meringue powder. The exact amounts of meringue powder and sugar used are formula-based and depend on the number and size of sugar skulls to make. Mix with a spoon to avoid staining your hands with the concentrated color pastes.

5. Mix all ingredients until the color is even throughout the mixture. The sugar skull mixture is ready when it feels like moist beach sand and holds together if squeezed.

Tips & Warnings

• Be careful when using the color pastes so you don't get them on your hands, clothing or countertops. If you do, wash immediately to avoid staining.
• Don't attempt to make sugar skulls on a day that's rainy or has high humidity because the skulls may not dry completely.

Resources

• Purchase color pastes
• Yield table of dry ingredients for sugar skulls