Tip: colouring fondant red

I love working with fondant when it comes to making my kids' cakes. It's kind of like year nine art class all over again, and despite my reluctance to start a new project, I always come away feeling ok about my efforts as a mummy who decorates!

Red fondant is a tricky one, though. Where we live it has to be ordered and sent and as I am a last minute kind of girl, who have birth to similarly last minute kind of children (I want a train cake...no - Yoda... hang on, I think I want a red ninja cake... or...) I just never get my act together in time to do anything as grown up as ordering ahead. Plus, I am a Scrooge and like to keep things cheap and cheerful where possible.

So... having made both Mater Truck and a Red Power Ranger Samurai cake this year, I thought I'd share my secret to 'el cheapo' red fondant icing.

Paint it.

As in with a paint brush.

Easy, isn't it? I use a watercolour brush and red food colouring and have found that two quick coats gives a beautiful sheen - and limits the amount of red colouring your little munchkins will ingest (not a fan of all those E numbers or hyper kids).