Coloured icing review - Renshaw, Tesco own label and Squires Kitchen

Mickey Mouse celebration cake using bright red and black icing

I love decorating cakes.

I love everything about decorating cakes.

I love trawling Pinterest for 'pinspiration'..... sketching designs......making toppers, flowers and embellishments days ahead to make sure they dry out properly..... holding my breath when placing the rolled out fondant on top of a crumb-coated cake hoping beyond all hope that it doesn't crack as it's placed on top and settles (no matter how many cakes I decorate, I'm never sure whether it's going to hold out or not!).

However, I have one absolute pet hate (apart from having to do the washing up after I've finished obviously) and that is using vibrantly coloured icing. I mean the likes of rich red, striking blue and jet black. The sort that stains your hands, the equipment and the rolling mat the instant it touches them.

It is impossible to get such a rich colour by using food colouring so it has to be shop bought. I usually pop along to Hobbycraft to get the Renshaw packets. There's often a three for two offer on and I end up spending close to £50 by being tempted by the other crafting delights that I simply cannot resist (I've given up trying to now, it's futile). But last week I was stuck for time - and spare cash to squander on cute stationery and paper craft items) so I nipped into town to Tesco.

Ready to roll shop bought icing

They also had a three for two offer and lots of other promotions in the baking aisle - timed perfectly for Easter I'd imagine - so despite my best efforts, again I ended up splurging on sprinkles, toppers and other cakey bits and bobs. Turned out it was a good job as when we came to decorate our Easter biscuits most of the toppings in the cake cupboard were out of date - some by over 12 months!

I digress. Despite my reservations about the own-brand ready-to-roll icing, I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, it did leave everything it came into contact with a yellow tinge, apart from my hands which remained post-box red, it rolled very smoothly and very easily.

It felt soft as soon as I opened the packet and once rolled out, lifted easily from the mat. I find that the Renshaw version can be very sticky. I'd imagine it's down to the large quantity of colouring that has to go into it, but the Tesco version didn't stick or cling to the board.

It is still too soft, supple and sticky to use as a sugarpaste though. The icing got stuck in the cutters and any flowers I did manage to cobble together drooped as they were drying. Adding CMC powder did help but intricate cut outs - like letters for this cake board - took several attempts.

Ruby wedding anniversary cake - red icing

I also recently purchased a black sugarpaste from Ocado. It's made by Squires Kitchen, a professional cake decorating brand. I imagine they've seized the opportunity presented by a huge increase in home bakers and made smaller packet sizes to sell through retail rather than trade. As expected, this brand is much easier to work with for modelling and cutting.

Squires Kitchen black sugarpaste to make Mickey Mouse cupcake toppers

Squires Kitchen black sugarpaste to make Mickey Mouse cupcake toppers

 

As with the Renshaw and Tesco icing, it leaves behind a trail of black debris but it dries perfectly for cake toppers and cuts very cleanly and precisely. These Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse toppers were made using Squires Kitchen and once dried they held up really well. I made them 24 hours before they were needed to make sure they dried properly to remain flat when placed on top of the cupcakes.

Mickey and Minnie mouse cupcakes

The Hobbycraft web site doesn't list the ingredients so I can't compare that one but the Tesco black has added Xantham gum which makes it more stable to work with. There's nothing between the Renshaw and Tesco own brand when it comes to cost (both £1.79 for 250g) apart from the fact that the Tesco version is on offer at the moment, bringing the unit price down to (£1.20). The Squires Kitchen brand is currently £1.99 on the Ocado web site but in my opinion, well-worth the extra 20 pence. There is also a 1kg white for £4.85 which is useful for self-colouring (I favour Sugarflair food colourings).

In summary I am converted. Tesco as a fondant icing for covering whole cakes and Squires Kitchen for detail work and toppers.