Ask Nancy Archives

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I'll be answering ten questions each month... and if your question is chosen, I'll post a personalized response!

Submit Your Question

Do you have a baking, decorating or celebrating question for Nancy? Now is your chance to have it answered.

Check here each month, Nancy will select ten questions submitted by viewers and posting her answers here.


Icing Colors Questions

How can I achieve a true red icing?

Gale - from Fayetteville, NY

Why am I getting white spots in my icing?

Syndy - from Bloomington, IN

How do you color spritz cookie dough? I'm most familiar with kneading the icing color into roll-out cookie dough, but won't kneading into the spritz dough make it too tough or too soft?

Melinda - from San Antonio, TX

How can you tint classic buttercream icing ivory? My best friend wants her wedding cake to be cream colored – how can I get a true cream color?

Joanne - from N. Ridgeville, OH

My son wants a Spider-Man™ cake, but the red icing color has such a bitter taste (even the "No Taste" red). Do you have a suggestion on how to get rid of the bitterness? Also, when I put red icing color in white icing, it comes out pink. What can I do?

Cindy - from Joliet, IL

How do you color a cake mix?

Stacie - from Redfield, AR

Can I add food coloring to fondant?

Janeen - from Houston, TX

How do you get icing color off your fingers?

Peggy - from Ravenna, OH

I love the show! It has gotten me more into baking and decorating. I make a semi-homemade Red Velvet Cake. My problem is, the more red food coloring I use, sometimes 2 ounces, the more the cake looks bright pink. What can I use for a true red color?

Audrey - from Milwaukee, WI

How can I achieve black fondant? When I color it, it turns grey.

Liz - from Soledad, CA

I am trying to make icing a maroon color. Any suggestions?

Heather - from Abbeville, LA

How do I get a lilac color on the icing by mixing icing colors because I always get a dark purple?

Diana - from Aguascalientes, mexico

How can I make my own colored icing and cakes?

Viola - from Bossier City, LA

What icing colors do I mix to get grey icing?

Nannette - from Harrisburg, PA

Nancy, I can’t wait to try some of the many cake decorating techniques you have shown us. I notice that when I use butter or margarine in my buttercream icing, it has an ivory or off-white color. Can you help?

Jaimie - from Round Rock, TX

I've tried many different ways to get a true Wilton Christmas red but they all come out different hues of pink. What am i doing wrong? Please help...

Kathy - from Newark, NJ

I've been looking for flora satin waterproof ribbon to put at the bottom of each layer of my wedding cake and have been unable to find the color I need. (navy blue) I was wondering if I could use dark blue fondant instead? Will this bleed onto the white cake?

Leigh Ann - from Dallas, TX

How can you keep lavender/purple icing from turning blue when exposed to the sun?

Eva - from Granite Bay, CA

Do icing colors go bad or spoil with age?

Susan - from Houston, TX

Is Wilton Icing Color considered a paste color?

Bobbie - from Hemphill, TX

What is it to "spatula stripe" an icing bag?

Sheila - from Bronx, NY


The Public Television cake decorating show providing easy projects for special celebrations. Not intended to replace instructional classes.