Food Colouring

Food Colouring & Food Dye for Every Baking Application

The right food colouring makes the difference between a flat, dull finish and a vivid, professional result. Also referred to as food dye, food color, or edible food colouring, these concentrated colourings are used by home bakers and professionals alike to colour icings, batters, fondant, chocolate, and more. At Baking Pleasures, we stock a carefully chosen range of gel food colouring, oil-based colouring, and powder colouring from trusted brands including Colour Mill, Chefmaster, Vivid, and Wilton.

Types of Food Colouring

Gel Food Colouring

Gel food colouring is the go-to choice for professional bakers. Its highly concentrated formula means a small amount produces vivid, intense colour without altering the consistency of your batter or icing — making it ideal for buttercream, royal icing, fondant, and cake batter. Our gel food colour range includes Vivid Gel and Chefmaster Liqua-Gel, both available in a wide spectrum of colours and bulk sizes for high-volume use. Browse the dedicated gel food colouring collection for the full range.

Oil-Based Food Colouring

Oil-based food colouring is specifically designed for fat-based products — most importantly chocolate, candy melts, and ganache. Water-based colourings cause chocolate to seize; oil-based colouring integrates seamlessly without affecting the texture. It's also excellent for colouring buttercream, giving deep, consistent results. Colour Mill oil-based colouring is the industry leader in this category, available in over 50 shades including bulk 100ml bottles. Browse the full oil-based food colouring range.

Powdered Food Colouring

Powder food colouring is highly concentrated and moisture-free — the best choice for dry mixes, chocolate work, and any application where adding liquid would cause problems. It's also used for dusting and painting on fondant and sugar decorations. Browse our dedicated powdered food colouring collection for the full range.

Liquid Food Colouring

Liquid food colouring is the most widely available and affordable type, suited to light pastel shades in icings and batters. Because it's water-based and less concentrated than gel, it works best for subtle tints rather than deep, bold colours. For vibrant results, gel or oil-based colouring will give far better outcomes with less product. Browse our water-based food colouring range.

Food Colouring by Colour

Different colours have different properties and use cases in baking. Here's a quick guide to the most popular:

Black Food Colouring

Achieving a true, deep black is one of the most common challenges in cake decorating. Black food colouring in gel form — particularly Chefmaster Liqua-Gel Coal Black — gives you a rich, consistent result without needing excessive amounts. Black is essential for Halloween cakes, dramatic wedding designs, and any monochrome creation.

Red Food Colouring

Red food colouring is a staple for red velvet cakes, Christmas bakes, Valentine's Day treats, and bold celebration designs. Achieving a deep, true red requires a concentrated gel — Chefmaster Super Red is specifically formulated for this. Standard liquid red often produces a pink rather than a true red, so gel is strongly recommended.

White Food Colouring

White food colouring is used to brighten and opacify icings — particularly buttercream, which has a natural cream or yellow tone from butter. Adding white food colouring gives you a bright, clean white base that makes other colours more accurate when mixed. Chefmaster Liquid Whitener is our most popular option for this.

Purple Food Colouring

Purple food colouring is one of the trickier shades to achieve with standard food dye — it often shifts towards blue or pink over time. A quality gel purple gives consistent, stable results. Popular for lavender-themed cakes, galaxy designs, and floral decorating, our range includes purple in both gel and oil-based forms.

Pink Food Colouring

Pink food colouring ranges from soft blush to hot pink, making it one of the most versatile shades in baking. Used for baby showers, birthday cakes, Valentine's Day, and everyday sweet bakes, our pink range spans multiple shades including hot pink, deep pink, and pastel options in both gel and oil-based formulas.

Blue Food Colouring

Blue food colouring covers everything from soft sky blue to bold electric and royal blue. Used for ocean-themed cakes, Bluey cakes, baby shower bakes, and bold celebration designs, our electric blue and royal blue options in Vivid Gel deliver consistent, vivid results without large quantities.

Green Food Colouring

From soft mint to deep forest green, green food colouring is essential for floral cake designs, nature themes, Christmas bakes, and St Patrick's Day creations. Our Vivid Gel range includes multiple green shades — leaf green, forest green, and moss green — for precise colour matching.

Gold Food Colouring

Gold food colouring and edible gold paint add a luxurious metallic finish to cakes, chocolates, and decorations. Used for wedding cakes, anniversary bakes, and premium celebration designs, gold colouring is available in both paint and dust forms for different application methods.

Food Colouring by Brand

Colour Mill Food Colouring

Colour Mill food colouring is Australia's most loved oil-based colouring brand — designed specifically for chocolate, candy melts, buttercream, and ganache. Available in over 50 shades including vibrant neons, pastels, and deep tones, Colour Mill delivers consistent, fade-resistant colour that integrates beautifully into fat-based products. Available in 20ml and bulk 100ml bottles.

Chefmaster Food Colouring

Chefmaster food colouring is a professional-grade American brand widely used by commercial bakers and cake decorators. Their Liqua-Gel range is highly concentrated, colour-stable, and available in an extensive palette — including the notoriously difficult Coal Black and Super Red. Bulk sizes make Chefmaster an excellent value choice for high-volume bakers.

Vivid Gel Colours

Vivid Gel Colours are a bake-stable food colouring — meaning the colour holds true even after going into the oven, making them ideal for colouring batters and doughs as well as icings. Available in a wide range of shades and in both standard and bulk 160g sizes, Vivid Gel is a reliable workhorse for everyday baking and professional production alike. For the full Vivid product range including flavourings and food pens, visit the Vivid brand collection.

Wilton Food Colouring

Wilton food colouring is one of the most recognised brands in home baking globally. Their gel icing colours are a popular starting point for beginner decorators and are widely available in sets, making them a convenient entry point into professional-grade food colouring.

AmeriColor Food Colouring

AmeriColor Soft Gel Paste is a professional-grade concentrated gel food colouring in a soft squeeze bottle, preferred by professional cake decorators for its superior colour strength, no-bleed formula, and freeze/thaw stability. Available in 60+ shades including Super Red, Super Black, and Bright White.

Food Colouring for Dietary Requirements

We stock food colouring confirmed as suitable for a range of dietary requirements. All dietary information is provided by our suppliers — always check the manufacturer's label for the most current certification details.

• Halal food colouring — Chefmaster, Colour Mill, and Vivid Gel confirmed as halal suitable or certified. For halal fondant, sprinkles, and flavourings, visit the halal cake decorating supplies collection.
• Vegan food colouring — synthetic food colourings using no animal-derived ingredients, confirmed vegan suitable by manufacturers.
• Gluten free food colouring — synthetic food dyes confirmed as gluten free. For gluten free fondant, sprinkles, and candy melts, visit the gluten free cake decorating collection.

FAQs About Food Colouring & Food Dye

What is the best food colouring for buttercream?

Oil-based food colouring — particularly Colour Mill — gives the best results in buttercream. Because buttercream contains fat, oil-based colouring integrates more smoothly and produces deeper, more consistent colour than gel or liquid alternatives. For very deep shades like black or red, Chefmaster Liqua-Gel is also an excellent choice as its concentration minimises the amount needed.

What is the best food colouring for chocolate?

Always use oil-based food colouring for chocolate. Water-based colourings — including most gels and liquid dyes — cause chocolate to seize and become grainy. Colour Mill oil-based colouring is specifically designed for this application and integrates seamlessly into chocolate, candy melts, and ganache.

What is bake-stable food colouring?

Bake-stable food colouring retains its colour after going through the oven — unlike some standard food dyes that fade or shift colour when heated. Vivid Gel Colours are bake-stable, making them the right choice when colouring cake batters, cookie doughs, and other baked goods where colour needs to survive the heat.

Is gel or liquid food colouring better?

Gel food colouring is better in almost every baking application. It's far more concentrated, produces deeper and more accurate colours with less product, and doesn't alter the consistency of your icing or batter the way liquid can. Liquid food colouring is fine for very light pastel tints but gel is the professional standard. Browse the full gel food colouring range.

What food colouring do professional bakers use?

Professional bakers predominantly use gel food colouring and oil-based food colouring depending on the application. Chefmaster Liqua-Gel and Vivid Gel are popular gel choices for icings and batters. Colour Mill is the preferred oil-based option for chocolate and buttercream work. All three are stocked at Baking Pleasures.

Do you stock natural food colouring?

Our main food colouring range consists of professional-grade synthetic food colourings, which deliver far more consistent and vibrant results than natural alternatives. For a natural colouring option, our Black Cocoa Powder gives a deep, rich dark colour to batters and frostings using only cocoa — no synthetic dyes required. Browse the powdered food colouring collection for cocoa and dust options.

What is the difference between food dye and food colouring?

The terms are used interchangeably. Food dye technically refers to the raw colouring agent itself, while food colouring refers to the ready-to-use product — which may be liquid, gel, or powder. In practice, both terms describe the same products used in baking and cooking.