How to Make Edible Gold Paint
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Learn how to make the shiniest edible gold paint for cake decorating, that won’t smudge or rub off. This glaze-based paint recipe can also be used to make metallic edible paint in any colour you like!
Making super-shiny gold edible paint at home is incredibly easy, and you only need a few ingredients.
The most common way to make edible paint is with powdered food colour and alcohol, but that paint leaves a powdery finish and is very easy to smudge. Adding one different ingredient can create a paint that is smudge-free and gives extra shine to your metallic paint.
But while I am from a distant past where we had to do most cake decorating from scratch, and supplies were much more limited than they are now, you might be wondering…
Why make edible metallic paint when you can buy it ready-made?
Look, I love a ready-to-go product as much as the next time-pressed cake decorator, but there are a couple of occasions where making your own edible paint is better than buying it.
- You need more pigment/opacity – ready-made paints aren’t always highly pigmented and can sometimes be a bit watery. When you make your own paint, you can better control the amount of colour and the consistency of the paint.
- You want a custom shade – ready-made paints are limited in their shade ranges, and sometimes you might be trying to match a colour that’s on an invitation, or an object.
While these instructions are for making gold edible paint, you can really make any shade you like by choosing other metallic powders or mixing different powdered edible colourings.
This paint can be used on many edible surfaces, including fondant, ganache, chocolate, modelling chocolate, royal icing and macarons.
Gold Paint Ingredients
Here are the three ingredients you’ll need to make the shiniest edible gold paint at home.
Edible Gold Dust
There are many different metallic lustre brands on the market, and the key is to find one approved for use on food in your country, as approval processes and requirements vary by country.
Some lustres are considered “non-toxic” but are not approved as edible. This means they can be used on decorations that will not be eaten, but they shouldn’t be consumed.
If you’re planning to use the gold paint on something that will be eaten, like on fondant icing covering a cake, a gold drip, or on decorated cookies, you need to find a lustre dust that is classed as edible.
There are various different shades of gold, and each brand is slightly different, so you may have to try out a couple that are available where you live, and see which one gives you the colour you like.
If you have a brand of edible gold dust that you’ve used and love, I would so appreciate it if you’d comment at the bottom of this post and let us know what it is and where you buy it! xx
Confectioner’s Glaze & Rose Spirit
Confectioner’s glaze is the magic ingredient that makes this paint transfer-proof as it dries completely and seals in the colour. It’s also what makes it gloriously shiny.
Also known as edible glaze or food glaze, it’s a common product used to create a shiny coating on candies like jelly beans and chocolates, and it’s also used to coat some medications.
It can be used by itself in cake decorating to add a shiny layer onto fondant or gumpaste (I use it sometimes when I want to store fondant cake decorations for a long time), or it can be used as we are here, to mix up an edible paint.
Confectioner’s glaze is made with food-grade shellac, which is not suitable for vegans.
It also contains alcohol, and although the alcohol evaporates when the paint dries, there are still some people who don’t consume alcohol for personal or religious reasons who wouldn’t consider it alcohol free.
For both of those situations, I recommend buying a water-based edible paint instead.
Because the glaze is alcohol-based, it requires alcohol to thin down the paint and to clean up afterwards. It needs to be a high % alcohol, like cake decorator’s alcohol (also known as rose spirit) or Everclear. Vodka is not strong enough.
The glaze and alcohol can both be bought from a cake decorating store or online. For glaze, I’m not loyal to any brand; I use whatever I have on hand. For cake decorator’s alcohol, I just try to find the one with the highest % alcohol I can find.
This is my first time using the Sprinks one pictured, and it’s probably not strong enough for my liking, but we’re rolling with it today because it’s what I have.
Optional: Gold food colouring
If you’re making a gold ganache drip on a cake or want to paint a large area of fondant gold, it can be helpful to colour the ganache or fondant with a gold gel first.
The gel doesn’t make the icing metallic, but gives it a warm yellow colour that requires less gold paint to make the metallic gold opaque. If you can’t find gold gel, use yellow and a tiny dab of brown.
Gold Ganache Drip
To make a gold ganache drip on a cake, make a coloured ganache drip using the instructions in that post and some gold food colouring.
Let the ganache set completely, then you can paint it with the gold paint we’re about to make.
Tools and Supplies
- Paintbrushes – Using good-quality paintbrushes is important to get a nice finish. For thin lines or words, a fine, pointed-tip brush is best. To paint gold over a whole cake, or any larger area, use a wide flat brush. Sweet Sticks has a great selection of brushes in different shapes and sizes. I also like the Sugar Crafty brushes.
- Toothpicks – or ice cream sticks, to stir the paint. I also have these little plastic spoons with a flat edge, which I really like using for this purpose.
- Droppers/pipettes – A dropper is handy for adding glaze and alcohol to the gold powder, a few drops at a time, to get the right consistency.
- Small container – A small container with a lid is great for mixing the paint in, as you can pop the lid on and store the paint to use later. If you don’t have a container with a lid, you could use a paint palette, or even the lid from a bottle, and just mix up a small amount of paint at a time, to prevent wastage.
How to Make Edible Gold Paint
Start by adding your gold powder to a small container.
For painting small details, I use about a quarter of a teaspoon of powder. If you’re painting a larger area, you’ll want to use more.
Add the glaze a few drops at a time. The consistency you want will depend on what you’re painting. For smaller details like writing or painting details on stamped fondant, a thicker consistency will help prevent it from running. For larger areas, slightly thinner will work better.
I recommend rolling out a test piece of fondant or keeping a spare cookie aside to test out the consistency and colour of the paint.
Stir gently until the powder and glaze are well combined.
Pop the lid onto the paint until you’re ready to use it.
Tips for Painting With Metallic Edible Paint
- Stir the paint regularly while painting, as the pigments will naturally sink to the bottom.
- If the paint begins to dry out too much, or if you want a lighter wash of colour, add more glaze, or add some alcohol, just a few drops at a time until you get the consistency you want.
- If you want to do more than one layer of paint, let the first layer dry completely first.
- For more painting tips, see my Cake Painting Tutorial and Painting on Cookies tutorial.
- To clean your paintbrushes, put a small amount of cake decorator’s alcohol or everclear into a small container and swish the brushes in the alcohol to clean them. I usually follow that up with a quick wash in some warm water with dishwashing liquid. Gently press the bristles back into shape, then leave them to dry.
Here are a few more examples of this edible gold paint in action:
I initially came up with this paint “recipe” many years ago when making this cake topper of my honorary Grandad’s drum kit for his 80th birthday. His drums were a specific shade of metallic red, and they were very glossy.
I managed to get the right shade of red by mixing several different powdered colours and lustres together, but they were patchy when I tried to build up layers of paint. I had confectioner’s glaze that I had planned to use as a top coat, but I realised if I mixed the glaze into the paint, it sealed the colour in, and I could do several coats to get the right level of colour and shine.
The drums turned out great, and ten years later, he still has them on a cake stand under a glass dome, and they still look good as new.
More Cake and Cookie Decorating Posts You May Like
Before you go, you might want to check these out next:
- How to Make Edible Glue – Learn two ways to make edible glue, for attaching fondant and gumpaste decorations.
- How to Make Edible Sand – This easy-to-make golden edible sand is perfect for any sea-themed cake or cookie.
- Watercolour Cookies – I’ll show you my favourite technique for painting cookies with a watercolour effect.
wonderful tutorial thank you so much
You’re most welcome Cathy 🙂
So glad to see that you’ve emphasized the FACT that people need to use what is edible where THEY live.
Rolkem dusts are NOT edible in the US and use of them directly on food is an FDA violation.
Edible glitter (NOT disco dust) is made of edible ingredients. It is digested.
No brand of disco dust is edible. It may be ” approved for contact with food”–meaning that it won’t leach dangerous chemicals should it accidentally touch something that will be eaten–but it is still PLASTIC and should never be eaten.
Small particulates don’t just “leave” the body, and it is unwise to treat them as if they are totally harmless. They can lodge in tissues, store in fat, and/or migrate.
In the US, very high alcohol content products that work well for removing glaze are Everclear and high quality lemon extract (86% alcohol).
Indeed, decorators need to check what is and isn’t allowed where they live, as with all ingredients/colours/decorating products. The Rolkem colours I mentioned here are approved food use in NZ and Australia, and it is my understanding that they’re also approved in Canada and the UK. The glitter debate is a whole other kettle of fish and I’ve removed the brief mention of glitter from this post so as not to confuse people, my intention here was to focus on metallic powders. I haven’t used glitter on cakes for years so I haven’t taken too much notice of which brands make truly edible glitter these days. Thanks for the tip about the Everclear and lemon extract, I’ll add that to the post for my other US readers.
Can confectioner’s glaze be used in place of the glaze you used. I’m
In the US and can’t find the glaze you posted.
Hi Nicole, yes confectioner’s glaze is the same as leaf glaze. As long as it’s a glaze that contains shellac (could be labelled as additive ‘904’) and alcohol, it’s the right product 🙂
Hi there,
Iam just wondering what icing mixture you use to make the drip?
Thanks
Hayley
Hi Hayley. The drip on the 65th birthday cake was royal icing, and the one on the mini cake was ganache. I’ve got a tutorial for that >here< 🙂
Thanks or sharing your idea…
Does alcohol is a must for the glazing or just a support if the mixture gets thick? 🙂
Hi Irene, for mixing up the paint the alcohol is only needed if the paint is a bit thick, but it is necessary for washing the paintbrushes as the glaze won’t wash off in water 🙂
Thank you Natalie, it is awesom. Can you tell me if I may use this formula for stamping on fondant? I have silicon stamps NOT rubber.
Thank you.
Thank you Natalie, it is awesom. Can you tell me if I may use this formula for stamping on fondant? I have silicon stamps NOT rubber.
Thank you.
Hi Irina. It should work with your stamps, I would suggest putting the paint onto a makeup sponge or a folded up paper towel and using it like a stamp pad to load the stamp with paint. If you try it, I’d love to know how it goes! 🙂
How do I find out what types of edible dust and glitter is approved in the US?
Hi Crystal, I don’t live in the US so I’m not sure, but you’d need to check the labels and find ones that are FDA approved for food use. These links may help:
~ “FDA Advises Home and Commercial Bakers to Avoid Use of Non-Edible Food Decorative Products” – FDA Website
~ The Best Edible Metallic Food Color – Elizabeth Marek
Hi,
when using the gold or silver dust for painting on gumpaste, is it best to leave the gumpaste to dry or can one paint while the gumpaste is still soft, our does it matter?
Thanks
Hi Michelle, you’re best to wait until the gumpaste is dry, as the glaze seals the surface so it won’t really dry out much more after the paint is applied. Your finished piece will be much less likely to break if it’s reasonably dry before you paint it. Hope that helps 🙂
Thanks a mil, Natalie
Hello
Can I used it to paint completely a cake with fondant for a wedding?
Hi Vicky, yes, you sure can 🙂
Have you tried Tru Color? It’s a fairly new food color company that only uses natural ingredients, no synthetic colors. They also have a metallic line that uses mica for shimmer.
I bought several colors to make some geode cookies.
Hi Cristina, I hadn’t heard of them but I will definitely check them out, it sounds great!
Please fix the reference to Isopropyl alcohol (isopropanol). This is sold as rubbing alcohol and is poisonous and not for internal consumption. Ethanol is the alcohol in beverages and other foodstuffs.
Hi, I’ve just come across your site and have spent hours looking at it. It’s amazing and full of all the tips I’ve been searching for. I’m in uk and have been asked to make a 3 tier semi naked lemon cake for a family wedding. I am an enthusiastic novice! My niece would like the semi naked coating to have parts painted with gold….hence being so happy to have found your tips. Please could you give me any tips st painting go,d onto white chocolate ganache. I will have to make the cake 2 days before the wedding and transport 200 miles so I thought ganache would be better than buttercream. I have practiced on both but the gold always looks dull . I’d be grateful for any tips. Many thanks
Hi Roberta. The gold should be absolutely fine being painted onto the ganache, I do this often and it works really well. All you need to do is wait until the ganache has set (I usually leave mine for a few hours or overnight) and then paint the gold on. The glaze seals the paint onto the ganache, so it will not rub or flake off.
If you don’t want to mix the paint yourself, you could buy some Sweet Sticks Edible Art Paint, I often use that now instead of mixing my own. It is also glaze-based, and it comes in a bottle all ready to paint with, and they do a few different shades of gold (the “glamorous gold” is my favourite). They have a list of stockists on their website >here<.
Hope that helps, let me know if you have any other questions 🙂
Hi Natalie, thank you so much for your prompt and helpful reply. I feel more confident about making this cake now. Your site and tips have been amazing. Thank you. Take care and best regards
You’re most welcome, Roberta, I’m glad to help. Best of luck with the cake, and I hope your niece has an amazing wedding day 🙂
I have painted a 6 inch cake with Lustre dust mixed with vodka. The paint looks great with a gorgeous gold colour however on the top of the fondant it appears to have split and made dots on the surface of the cake. After several coats the dots can not be seen so much but why is this happening. It has happened on two cakes? Thank you
Hi Jan. Vodka is a bit tricky on cakes as it actually contains quite a lot of water (usually around 60% water, 40% alcohol) and when it’s painted onto fondant the water can start to dissolve the sugar in the fondant. So it can make the cake a bit blotchy. If you can find some high-percentage alcohol like rose spirit (also known as cake decorators alcohol) which is 90-ish percent alcohol then it should work better. I’m told everclear also works well, although we don’t get that in New Zealand so I haven’t tried it. Using a glaze-based paint like in this tutorial will work even better, as the glaze is alcohol based and does not dissolve the fondant at all. And because it seals the colour to the fondant, it also means you can do multiple coats without it streaking. Hope that helps ?
Hi,
I noticed you used Rolkem Supergold.
I recently bought this and mixed it with vodka, however, I noticed that there were green flakes in it that transferred onto my fondant. Have you had this happen? Or, possibly, know why this is happening?
Thanks in advance 🙂
Hi Kitty. I haven’t had that before with the Super Gold, although it does sometimes have a bit of a green tinge float to the top if I leave the paint sitting for a bit, so it obviously has a green-ish base to it. Sounds like you may have possibly got a bad batch if it had flakes in it though. I’d suggest taking it back to where you bought it or maybe purchasing another one. Or you could try the Rolkem Special Gold instead, which I don’t think is quite as green 🙂
Thanks for replying.
I actually contacted the supplier and it seems like the formula was changed and now contain elements that will show that green tinge.
Have you ever mixed gel food coloring with the glaze or can it only be used with luster dust?
Hi Cin. I actually haven’t tried making paint mixing gel colour and glaze. I have done it with gel and alcohol, but because the gel is water based, the paint doesn’t dry as well as powder + glaze does. The water in the gel can start to dissolve the sugar in the icing it’s painted on, so you can generally only do one coat, as if you try to recoat the paint will come off. So you could try the glaze and gel, but I would suggest trying it on a bit of scrap icing first just to see how it goes 🙂
Is the cake pictured iced or is it fondant? Looks amazing!
Thanks, Eb 🙂 They’re all fondant in this post.
Hello I had a question I have been asked to make a metallic colored LOL cake do you think I could do that with this procedure
Hi Rosie. Yes, you can definitely paint a whole cake using this paint 💜 Use a wide flat brush with fine bristles for the best results, and I recommend popping the cake on a turntable so you can turn it as you paint. You’ll want to work as quickly as possible to get the whole cake covered, if the paint starts to dry too much then if you go over a part you’ve already painted the paint will start to lift. If that starts to happen, then just stop and let the rest of the paint dry fully before you start painting again 🙂 Hope that helps!
Thanks so much for this, I have been hunting for some good coverage edible gold paint and spent so much money only to be disappointed. This mixture worked beautifully! It will be my go to whenever I need gold now 🙂
Yay! You’re most welcome I’m so glad you liked it! 💜 x