If your brown icing is too dark, mix in more icing to dilute the color.
If you've ever tried decorating a cake using icing to make the trunks of trees, sand at the beach or a wooden fence, you may have found it difficult to find or make the frosting brown. You will not typically find a brown food coloring without having to combine other colors to make it. Red and green food coloring will make brown when mixed into icing. Using paste or gel food coloring makes a stronger color than the liquid kind does.
Instructions
1. Choose paste or gel food coloring. Food coloring paste offer the most vivid colors and the widest range of colors to choose from although the thick paste can be a bit tough to work with. Food coloring gel is much easier to use than paste and it blends easier and provides strong color, but not as strong as paste. Decide which paste to use based on how vivid and bright you need the colors to be for your baking project. Do not attempt to use the typical liquid form of food coloring found in the grocery store. Liquid food coloring is very weak and will not give you a strong color without having to add a lot of food coloring which will make your icing taste bitter.
2. Determine the type of icing you are wanting to turn brown. Different ingredients in icing can affect how the color will turn out. If you are using fondant, paste food coloring works the best. Any icing that contains butter or margarine will result in a darker coloring. Any acid in the icing, such as lemon juice or cream of tartar will leave the mixed brown coloring with a greenish tint to it, so it is best to not include acids.
3. Add equal amounts of red and green gel or to the icing. Mix well until the brown color starts to appear. For a darker brown continue to add an equal amount of the green and the red. The total amount of food coloring you are to use depends on the amount of icing you are using for your cake decorating project. For gel or paste colors you should start with just a couple of streaks of food coloring on your icing using a flat toothpick at a time. Add more streaks and mix until you reach the desired brown color.
