For years, I’ve been seeing my Instagram caker friends post photos of metallic gold buttercream cakes. Like, really shiny ones. After doing a bit of research into how to get the look, I decided to order the Rolkem Super Gold luster dust and try my hand at it. I’ve seen a lot of cake makers use that mixed with a little vodka to paint their buttercream cakes for a flawless metallic look. Here’s the thing though, while I was absolutely blown away by the shiny gold finish, I realized that there has been a recall on Rolkem Super Gold because (the batch I ordered at least) contains high levels of copper, which is not the healthiest for consumption. It’s FDA approved in some countries, but not the USA, so I wondered if after swooning over this amazing gold finish I could actually find a comparable option that is FDA approved worldwide.
This wonderment sent me on a quest to find the best product for a perfect metallic buttercream finish: one that’s as shiny as Super Gold, as easy to paint with (aka I wouldn’t have to paint a million coats), and of course, one that is universally FDA approved for eating. After scouring the internet and reading countless reviews, I ordered three to try: King’s Gold by CK Products, Gold Pearl Dust by Wilton, and Glamorous Gold by Edible Art Paint. I made a little video to show you how they look in action:
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Important Tips For Painting On Buttercream
Whether you’re painting a metallic finish or a non-metallic finish, it’s important to start with the right consistency of whatever you’re painting with, the right brush for the job, and a solid cake finish. All three of these things can make or break the final outcome. Here are my best tips for success:
First, to avoid messing up your final coat of buttercream, you must start with a well-chilled cake. After applying my final coat of buttercream, I place the cake in the refrigerator for a good 30 minutes or more, until the finish is hard to the touch.
Second, you need a good brush that won’t leave a ton of bristles in your paint job. This brush by Innovative Sugarworks is a great one, made specifically for cake decorating so you can rest assured that the bristles are made from high quality synthetic fibers and are safe for use with food. Your local craft store might have good brushes, but make sure they’re made with the right bristle fiber because a lot of paint brushes are made with animal hair. After all, the last thing you want is horse hair ending up on your cake!
And finally, you’ll need the right consistency of edible paint to get the look you’re going for and the best mixing solution to help the finish dry quickly. When working with luster dusts, you’ll need an alcohol solution to mix with so the liquid evaporates after you paint with it. Some cakers prefer vodka, but I always use grain alcohol to mix luster dusts with.
Grain alcohol can be found at your local liquor store (it’s also known as Everclear), and at 180 proof it has the highest alcohol content of any alcohol. The higher the alcohol content, the faster it will evaporate from your cake and leave you with that shiny gold finish you’re pining for. If you only have vodka or lemon extract on hand, those will work as well, they’ll just take longer to dry.
The Best FDA Approved Products For A Metallic Buttercream Finish
To my amazement, I ended up really liking all three of the products I tried for metallic finishes. There was one that stood out above the rest (read all about it below!) for color and ease of use, but all three will work depending on the color you need. Be sure to watch this video to see them all in action.
Glamorous Gold By Edible Art Paint
Rating: 10/10
Spoiler alert: this one was my absolute favorite of the three products I used. It comes in a bottle pre-mixed with the right amount of alcohol solution, so you don’t even have to worry about making that extra trip to the liquor store. Edible Art Paints come in all sorts of colors, metallic and non-metallic, and the Glamorous Gold was the perfect shimmery gold color I was after.
The finish dried in about ten minutes and I found that one coat was sufficient for applying to the cake. I was worried about it looking streaky, but after the first coat dried, it ended up looking really uniform.
King’s Gold by CK Products
Rating: 9/10
The King’s Gold by CK Products is a luster dust, so you will need to mix it with a solution like everclear (or vodka!) to make it paintable. After mixing it with everclear, the luster dust dissolved really well and ended up being a breeze to paint with. Here’s how it looked after one coat:
My reasoning for the lower rating is mainly because of the color and the semi-streakiness. King’s Gold was a bit vibrant for my liking, but they do make some other metallics that I would be interested in trying (there’s a Shiny Gold that looks a bit more like the color I was after). After painting a second coat, the streaks are diminished.
Gold Pearl Dust by Wilton
Rating: 7/10
The best thing about Gold Pearl Dust by Wilton is that it’s more commonly found at your local craft store. It’s a luster dust that you’ll need to mix with an alcohol solution to make it paintable, but I found that the dust didn’t dissolve as well as other luster dusts I’ve used, making it a little more grainy of a finish.
The color was also more of a champagne gold, and to my knowledge it’s the only gold metallic color option available from Wilton. If that’s the color you’re going for though, I’d totally recommend trying it. The finish ended up being shiny after two coats, although still a little streaky.
If you’re looking for the best metallic buttercream finish that’s FDA approved and edible, I would definitely recommend any of these three, my favorite being Edible Art Paint. Remember that any time you paint on buttercream, make sure you start with a well-chilled cake that’s firm to the touch. Let me know if you end up trying any of these recommendations in the comments below, or if you know of other FDA approved solutions that work well!
Hi Whitney!
I am planning to bake a cake with white IMBC, decorated with gold luster dust splattering, and gold & white sprinkles for my mum’s 50th birthday!
Can it be kept overnight in the fridge(not freezer)?
I will be serving it around 24hrs after decorating it. Is there any chance of bleeding considering I will be using vodka to mix in with the luster dust and will the sprinkles be affected?
Also, how early in time can I take it out of the fridge before serving, cause I live in a warm country?
Thank you so much!!!
Hi Shreeya! In my experience with splatter painting a vodka/luster dust mixture it has never run or bled. I would test it on a small part of the cake first though just to be sure. The sprinkles should be totally fine in the refrigerator as well (that’s how I store all my cakes!) I recommend taking the cake out of the refrigerator 1-2 hours before serving. Hope that helps!
Hey Whitney!
Thank you very much for your tip!
The cake turned out wonderful! Thankfully with no bleeding(phew!)
Thanks once again!!!
Yay, Shreeya! Thanks for following up!
Hi Whitney,
Do you think the edible art paint could be used on a stencil on chilled buttercream on the side of the cake? I’m concerned that the colour might be uneven or that the paint might drip onto the cake board.
Thanks!
Hi Heather! I’ve never tried that before but my hunch is that as long as the stencil is really flush with the buttercream it should work. I would search around to see if anyone else has tried it or do a test run if you can.
Hi Whitney, I am so in awe of this cake. I keep coming back to admire it. I am extremely new to cake decorating.
Can you tell me what food color, decorations and which number tips you used. And what kind of cake is under that beauty.
Any advice you can share with a novice would be appreciated. Thanks!
Hi Christine! I’m so happy you’ve decided to start cake decorating! It’s such a fun and challenging hobby 🙂 thanks for the kind words about this cake – it’s been awhile since I made this design so I don’t remember what kind of cake is underneath. Any of my cake recipes here would work great: https://sugarandsparrow.com/category/recipes/cake/ but if you’re looking for a classic vanilla cake to start with here is my fave: https://sugarandsparrow.com/vanilla-cake-recipe/. As for the design, I used a tiny bit of AmeriColor Regal Purple to get that pastel purple color and the piping tips are Wilton 1M (for the rosettes) and 4B (for the stars). These are the sprinkles I used: https://amzn.to/3sDzxN0 and these are the candles: https://amzn.to/3wduLI4 Hope that helps!
Thanks so much. Looking forward to making an attempt.
Sure it will take many tries before I can achieve something close to yours.
Thank you for responding.
Hi!
Thanks for reviewing these. I love the paints from Sweet Sticks as I’m a novice baker and they help me decorate with much more ease than the dusts which I seem to mix in the wrong proportions each time/over mix the amount that I need. I’m wondering if you have ever tried mixing any of the Sweet Sticks Edible Art paints that are not metallic together with one that is metallic i.e. the metallic vanilla bean colour with a non-metallic pink to make a metallic pink. I have a few of their non-metallic colours that I’d love to have some shimmer with in small areas (otherwise I’d just use a nice pearlescent shimmer dust over top) and wondered if it was worth getting a bottle of a metallic colour to mix with them. Obviously the dark pink or green I mix with the vanilla bean colour would end up a lighter pink or green.
Thanks!
Hi Kathryn! I’ve never tried mixing Sweet Stick colors together but I’m sure it would work. I saw on the Sweet Sticks FAQ section of their site that you can mix colors: https://sweetsticks.com.au/edible-paint-faq/#:~:text=Yes%20you%20can.,together%20to%20make%20your%20own.
Hi! I loved this tutorial!!
I put my cake back in the freezer overnight. When I took it out it sweat a lot. If I’m doing this for a wedding cake what do you suggest for storage overnight?
Hi Jenny! I’ve never tried putting a decorated cake in the freezer before, so I’m not sure if that is the main contributor to the condensation. I usually store my decorated cakes in the refrigerator right up until they need to be delivered. I’ve never had a problem with condensation, but I live in a very mild climate (the pacific northwest). If you live in a more humid area, you might need to take more preventative measures. Here’s a good article/video I found on the topic: https://wickedgoodies.com/2016/08/cake-condensation/#:~:text=Since%20condensation%20comes%20from%20the,the%20surface%20of%20the%20cake.
Extremely Helpful
Am trying it out on ABC..
I’ll share my outcome..
Hi Whitney.
Thank you very much for sharing your research with us!
Have you ever made gold drip from these products by mixing sugar and alcohol or something? I would like to paint a cake as well as drip. but I never made drip cake before so I would like to have your advice if that is possible please.
Hi Ellie! I have never made a gold drip before but I’ve heard that you can paint Edible Art Paint or luster dust mixed with alcohol onto a drip. I would do a little research to see what the best kind of drip would be for that. Hope that helps!
Do you know if you can use everclear with the Edible Art Paint in order to lighten the shade of the color, making it more like a watercolor?
I’ve never tried that before so I can’t say for sure but it seems like it could work.
I am making wedding cookies with the first name of the couple..they will be iced in royal icing and stenciled with royal icing..will I be able to paint the names on the dry icing with the edible art paint..?
Hi Debby! Although I have never personally painted royal icing with Edible Art Paint I have seen it done many times. Here’s some FAQ’s from their website if that’s helpful: https://sweetsticks.com.au/edible-paint-faq/
Hi there x
This article is fantastic and exactly what I needed as I was completely lost when it came to metalic cakes!x
A few quick questions though if yoy don’t mind….. Does edible paint always have to be diluted or can it be used straight from bottle?x Also, (this one might sound really silly and obvious) if someone is Alcohol free and you use vodka to dilute, then would that mean it is unsuitable or because the alcohol evaporates, does that make it ok? Did yoy say lemon juice was ok to use instead?x many thanks x
Hi Jessica! The Edible Art Paint comes ready to paint, no need to dilute it. And since the alcohol evaporates once dry, the cake shouldn’t have any alcohol content at all, making it perfectly safe for a sober person. I have tried lemon juice as the liquid before and it just takes forever to dry, which is why I prefer grain alcohol. Hope that helps!
Is there any issues with using edible paint on wilton fondant?
Hi Amanda! I’ve never tried painting fondant, but according to Edible Art Paint’s web site, fondant works perfectly as a painting surface.
Hello! I’m trying to create a gold look with the Wilton pearl dust for a cake as I did not have time to have the gold paint shipped to me.
When I added almond extract to the pearl dust, it gave it a green color. Do you have any suggestions?
The gold is the focus of the cake.
Thank you!
Hi Brianna! So sorry that your pearl dust is turning green! I’ve actually heard of that happening to Wilton Pearl Dust before and when you Google “Wilton Pearl Dust turned green” you’ll see a bunch of reviews like that. It didn’t turn green when I mixed it with grain alcohol, so it may be the chemical reaction made with the almond extract. I’m not quite sure. My only suggestion would be to try it with grain alcohol as suggested in this post and get a bottle of the edible art paint for next time!
This was incredibly helpful! Thank you kindly!
So happy to help, Kathy!
Hi! How many bottles of the Edible Art Paint (15ml size) do you think you would need to paint a 3-layer 6-inch round cake? Thanks!
Hi Erika! You should only need one bottle. It goes a long way!
A few reviews I read said the Edible Art one had a bad taste. How would you say the taste compares?
Hi Serina! The Edible Art does have a bad flavor if you taste it straight from the bottle. If you let it dry thoroughly though it shouldn’t have a bad taste (at least in my experience). Hope that helps!
Hi Whitney! I am making a red velvet cake and wanted to know your opinion on using this on cream cheese frosting
Hi Danielle! As long as the cream cheese buttercream you’re using is a crusting buttercream that gets firm in the refrigerator, it will work!
Hello, thank you for the information! Have you ever tried using dust with a roux frosting or over a white chocolate ganache? Wondering if I should attempt to dust it rather than paint it… Or can the dust be mixed right into the frosting and spread on?
Hi Kathryn! I’ve actually never made a roux frosting (but yum!). The dust isn’t concentrated enough to be mixed into the frosting or dusted on without the added alcohol, and to create metallic drips you’ll need to drip with melted white chocolate or candy melts rather than ganache (you need something that sets up firm before painting it). The best route for the frosting will be to use a crusting buttercream that sets up firm in the refrigerator. Hope that helps!
Hi 🙂
Would you recommend investing in the Sweet Sticks Lustre Dust, Edible Paints or their recent Water-Activated Palette?
I bake as a hobby, and wanted to add some gold or silver outlines to my buttercream flowers but I am confused with which product to purchase.
I would also prefer not to mix alcohol with the paints or dust
Hi Manseeb! I have only ever used their Edible Art Paint, but I loved using that and do recommend it especially if you don’t want to worry about mixing alcohol with it (it does contain alcohol already). I’ve never tried the other two products you mentioned, so what I would do is research the other two to see what the reviews are and make a decision from there.
Hello! When your finished with the cake do you store it in the fridge or keep it out to air dry when using edible art paint?
Hi Samantha! I always store my cakes in the refrigerator after decorating, but you can certainly leave it out at room temp if you’re planning on serving it within the next few hours. The paint will dry in the refrigerator just fine.
Hi, has anyone had any luck painting edible gold on black buttercream? Be glad of any tips.
Hi Lea! I have splatter painted a black cake with gold edible art paint before! It worked great.
hey!
Can I use the edible art paint ontop of cream cheese frosting?
I’m making a cake and it’ll be covered with cream cheese frosting,
will it be okay to use after I chill the cake in the fridge for 30 minutes or so?
Hi Maimuna! It should be totally fine with cream cheese frosting after chilling the cake!
If I use wilton pearl dust, or wilton edible cake paint will those be safe to use? Also, when mixing vodka in, does it stay on the cake, (like is it okay for children to eat a cake that’s painted with luster dust and vodka)?
Hi there! The Wilton products are safe to use, and when you mix it with vodka, the alcohol evaporates as it dries, so by the time the kids eat it there shouldn’t be a high enough alcohol content to be deemed unsafe for consumption.
Can you confirm that these are non toxic and actually edible? Im reading that some gold dusts are for decorative use only but are using the “edible” paint and people are getting sick. In other words using it wrong.
I just want to be sure that Im using this safely so that no one ever gets ill.
Safety first! Thank you so much!
Hi there! The reason I chose these specific products to test is because they are FDA approved for consumption. The product links provided in this post lead to more info about them, including their FDA approval.
Thanks for this posts, it’s very helpful. Do you have any tips on how much of the alcohol to use?
Hi Megan! I never measure it! Just add a few drops at a time until the consistency is thick, velvety, and liquid enough to paint.
Hi ! thank you for the great work…. The vanilla buttercream you are using is considered crusted buttercream . Because on the site of edible art says that metallic edible art colors cannot be on Italian or Swiss buttercream but only in crusted buttercream. Thank you in advance
Hi Eleni! Thanks for the heads up about the other buttercreams not being compatible with Edible Art Paint. I have a friend who was able to paint it on to Swiss Meringue buttercream when the cake was cold because the buttercream was so firm, but since I haven’t attempted it with any other buttercream besides American, I can’t say how well it worked.
do you have any worries of the final product sweating after pulling it from cooler?
Hi Heather! I’ve never had a problem with buttercream sweating after removing it from the refrigerator. You might get a little bit of condensation if your environment is extremely hot, but nothing that will ruin the look.
Great post, what kind of buttercream will work for this? Does a Swiss buttercream have too much butter that will repel the alcohol in the paint?
Hi, Dillyn! Any type of buttercream works for this, but I use an American buttercream recipe: https://sugarandsparrow.com/vanilla-buttercream-recipe/
I‘m way late with my reply to this question, however, it might help someone else. Indeed, you cannot use the Edible Art paint on Swiss buttercream. The manufacturer recommends only American buttercream and some stockists even spell it out NOT to use it on Swiss.
Hi! I’m planning to make a 10” 3 layer cake probably 4 or so inches tall. Is one bottle enough to cover the entire cake?
Hi Takwa, 1 bottle of Edible Art Paint will totally be enough to cover a cake that size. You’ll probably only use about 1/4 of the bottle 🙂
I am planning to paint the semi naked cake with little gold … my question is do I have to put the cake in the fridge after applying the buttercream or leave at room temperature to form a crust and then paint.
Also once I paint the cake do I have to put it back into the fridge? As the cake will be travelling for an hour .. won’t it condense ( in and out of the fridge)? Or will the painted buttercream stay intact? Thanks in advance
Hi Sam! Before you paint the gold, refrigerate the cake for 20-30 minutes until the buttercream is firm to the touch. It makes a much better canvas for painting when the buttercream is cold and set. After you paint it, you can keep it out at room temp, but if it’s going for an hour drive I would refrigerate it until you’re ready to transport it, as cold cakes are easier to manage. I’ve never had a problem with condensation with this method. You may get a little bit of condensation but it won’t ruin your cake finish.
Thanks
I read some comments on another website about how the Edible Art gold paint tastes horrible, what is your opinion on the taste? Does the flavour of it affect the product you’re putting it on?
Hi, Rox! In my experience, when Edible Art Paint is completely dry, it doesn’t have any taste. When it’s wet, it definitely tastes like alcohol. Their website says this: “If the paint is painted on and properly air dried, leaving the paint rub free then there should not be an after taste. If the product is still wet and in paint form, yes there will be an unpleasant taste as the liquid has not been dried and evaporated.”
Thank you so much for posting this! My question is can I use a makeup sponge instead of a brush to apply the color? My daughter wants a more watercolor look, and I’m not sure if I can achieve that look with a brush.
Hi Debbie! I’m sure a sponge would make a really cool effect! You can totally use it to apply the color.
Can you comment at all on the taste of the edible art paint? I recently used the rose gold on a buttercream cake, where I also painted some white chocolate decorations and meringues and everything that was painted tasted awful! Pretty much inedible in fact. I’m not sure if I got a bad batch or if they all taste this bad. It really ruined the cake.
Thanks!
Hi Carey! Every time I’ve used Edible Art Paint there hasn’t been a taste to it. I just went and tasted a drop from a bottle I have (haha) and it does taste like alcohol, so I googled to see if other people are experiencing a bad taste and from Edible Art Paint’s website, they say “If the paint is painted on and properly air dried, leaving the paint rub free than there should not be an after taste. If the product is still wet and in paint form, yes there will be an unpleasant taste as the liquid has not been dried and evaporated.” Were the paints completely dry before eating the cake? If so, it sounds like you did get a bad batch unfortunately :/ I’d reach out to them and see if they’ll send you a new one!
Thanks for taking this on! What would you suggest for a cupcake, since the surface is piped and cant be painted with a brush? Have you tried the spray method and would you recommend it?
Hi Luciana! I’ve never tried the spray method before, but it’s definitely worth a try. For a cupcake, I would refrigerate the finished cupcake for about 20 minutes so the buttercream firms up, then paint on the Edible Art Paint. That would be my go-to method for a gold-finished cupcake, but like I said, the spray method may be a good way to go.
Loved your post and the video! I was wondering if you have tried this experiment with silver? Do you have a favorite silver that’s FDA approved and great for painting on American Buttercream?
Thanks so much, Summer! Although I have not tried this experiment with silver, I am so confident in Edible Art Paint’s metallic collection that I’m sure they have options for great FDA approved silver paint. Here’s a link to their silver: https://amzn.to/2tVdcM1 and they also have a “Light Silver” if you’re looking for a lighter option and “Gun Metal Grey” if you’re looking for a darker option.
This was so very helpful. I purchased the Rose Gold and it is my first time using cake paint. I am doing a 2 layer 6″ cake. Is one 0.5 oz bottle enough to do the top half?
Hi Kimberley! I love the Rose Gold color so much – that will look amazing on a cake! And yes, that should be more than enough. You’ll probably only need a third of the bottle or less.
Do you put cake back in fridge after painting? Thank you so much for your tips big help as I’m doing one tonight! X
Hi Clare! I usually put the cake back in the fridge after painting for about 15 minutes (so the paint can dry) before continuing with the decorating process.
Thank u very much
Hi! This was extremely helpful and thank you. I found the Edible Art paint at a local cake decorating store. One question I have is, do you place it in the one of those clear dishes first? What’s the best way so not to waste any? With the luster dust you can always put back in the jar. Thoughts?
Hi Teisha! That’s so awesome you found Edible Art Paint locally – I’m jealous! Whenever I use Edible Art Paint, I just eyeball it to see how much I think I’m going to need and put squirt it into a bowl to dip my paintbrush in. If there’s any left over, you can always unscrew the cap and pour it back into the container.
This post is super helpful! I do have a question though. Did you paint on ABC or SMBC? I tried edible art for the first time last week on SMBC and found it To be streaky. I ended up using two coats and never got a uniform code I was looking for.
Hi Chassidy! I haven’t ever tried painting SMBC, I always use American buttercream and loved the way the Edible Art Paint turned out after painting with it. Did you chill your buttercream before painting? I am not sure if a luster dust mixed with alcohol would be a better choice for SMBC or not since I’ve never tried the technique on that kind of buttercream.
Very helpful information, thank you.