Color Cocoa Butter | What Kind of Food Color Should I Use?

[@BrittneeKay]

Drop your favorite and not-so-favorite food colorants in the comments below and share with all of us your experiences! I'm curious what product you guys have tested and experimented with and what you've found out 👩🏼‍🔬

[@braiwiberg3957]

Not sure. Here to learn 🤓

[@BrittneeKay]

:)@@braiwiberg3957

[@savannahs2815]

Wow this was an extremely interesting experiment! Thanks for sharing!

[@BrittneeKay]

Thanks for watching! You’re so welcome 🙂🙂

[@camillajulianagonzalez6044]

Thank you for all your hard work doing this experimentation!

[@BrittneeKay]

Of course! Thanks for watching! ❤️

[@grace5817]

I'd love to see you back in the chocolate lab to compare different colored cocoa butters. Maybe a head to head with Chef Rubber against Roxy and Rich? You could always throw in some Pavoni or whatever you are currently enjoying. Thanks!

[@BrittneeKay]

Yes that would be fun for sure! I'll keep it in mind! :)

[@ChanelTapperlatrice]

It sounds like the blue one crystalized for some reason. I thought crystallization usually happens due to temperature (how hot and how long it takes to cool kind of thing). That’s interesting

[@BrittneeKay]

Yes it can be from temperature or moisture!

[@psmzelda]

I have tried the Colour Mill colorant along with luster dust. This combination made a really pretty translucent shimmery color.

[@BrittneeKay]

Nice!!

[@fn1202]

This was actually really interesting, thank you so much for taking the time to do these experiments - I've found you can get away with small amounts of gel food color in chocolate before it seizes but it can go lumps, great to see how they interact with pure cocoa butter and plus I loved the useful tip of blending with a milk frother!

[@BrittneeKay]

Of course, glad you appreciate it, I appreciate you being here! Yeah! I guess I learned that a couple drops is still small enough for the fat to surround the water particles and kinda of keep them contained. It's just so interesting because usually we're so careful with not letting even a drop get into chocolate or cocoa butter in fear that the temper will be ruined! :D

[@fn1202]

@@BrittneeKay I found it super interesting, I guess the frother caused the color to emulsify inside the cocoa butter and break it up small enough to look like it was mixed in - great to know that could be used for certain things potentially! Great video as always :)

[@BrittneeKay]

Yeah, wild! Thank you! 🙏@@fn1202

[@ADHDpancakesurprise]

I've developed an interest in chocolate work lately and coloring/painting was my next endeavor. I have tons of gels for cookie decorating but figured a waterbased color wouldnt be a good option. Pre colored cocoa butter is pricier than I'm willing to spend. Same for the oil based dyes. I found a product that's supposed to make gel colors safe for chocolate. Hopefully it works but this video has been eye opening. Thank you for doing this so I don't have to!

[@BrittneeKay]

Of course, glad it helped! 😀

[@braiwiberg3957]

*pulls out pen and notebook* 🧐🤓

[@BrittneeKay]

you better be taking notes! lol

[@keilahwilliams8249]

This was the perfect vid I saw, what a time saver cuz I was gonna use gel food colouring. Thanks to this vid Ik how to use cocoa butter now!😊

[@BrittneeKay]

Oh amazing, glad I could help!

[@christinacurtis2411]

Isn't it fun when the outcome is so different than our preconceived notion? Thanks for such an in depth video. I always wondered what would happen using the cheap food colors in cocoa butter! Mystery solved! 🌸

[@BrittneeKay]

Yeah! haha It was a lot of fun...so interesting to me!

[@theDuckysaurus]

I’ve had good success with the oil based liquid colors, although some colors seemed to work better than others. They work especially well in white chocolate, but in pure cocoa butter some of the colors didn’t look evenly distributed

[@BrittneeKay]

Yeah! I think they work great for white chocolate as that is one of the things they’re made for but for cocoa butter I think I’d just rather use powder 😃

[@eileengizara65]

That's so funny- one of the things we talked about in the Zoom call was my problems coloring cocoa butter! I should have just waited a few days lol!

[@BrittneeKay]

Oh! 😄😄 perfect timing!

[@lalagoaway6119]

Hello, can I use white chocolate instead of cocoa butter for coloured designs?

[@BrittneeKay]

Yes for some types of decorations...it won't quite give you the same result! You can color white chocolate and shell your chocolates in it, but for nice intricate designs you will want to use cocoa butter!

[@anushaperera2490]

Thanks for the experiment 😊

[@BrittneeKay]

You're welcome! :D

[@voroninaalena2490]

Thank you very much for your video. I've received the all answers for my questions ❤

[@BrittneeKay]

Awesome! You’re welcome! 🙃

[@lauraguynup4555]

Was looking for your new weekly video. Looking forward to watching this s one.

[@BrittneeKay]

Thanks! Hope you like it!

[@TruckingSurvivor]

Looks great, haven't made chocolates this summer focused on hummingbirds and flowers for my channel but I'm eager to make chocolates soon. Have you done northern lights on a dark blue starry sky?

[@BrittneeKay]

Oh how fun! I have a hummingbird feeder too and love to watch them from the window! I haven't done northern lights but that sounds sooo nice! 😍

[@sydneywilliams2010]

Thanks for the interesting video! I love science experiments!😅. I just purchased some Mycryo and are looking forward to your video on it. I just started learning to make bonbons and follow you, Jack Ralph & Markus Grigio. They both recommend that molds be cooled to 18-20C degrees before coloring them and their cocoa butter colors are at 29-30C. I live in a very warm climate and my home is air conditioned to 23.9C. Do you think this affects the variables for the molds, the chocolate & the cocoa butters? My first try at making bonbons, the temper test took 5 minutes to set, but I was thrilled the white chocolate was tempered! Should I lower the temperature of the house while making chocolates? I’m using Roxy & Rich colored cocoa butters as I’m just a beginner, I thought it would be easier than mixing colors from powders. As you can see I’m full of questions and will continue to watch your videos for answers. I know it’s difficult to respond to every one, but I do appreciate any advice you can give. Thanks for doing this! You’re a great teacher!

[@BrittneeKay]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed the video! Yes, I keep my kitchen around 68-70° F so I never have to cool my molds before decorating the mold with cocoa butter. Yes I would definitely lower your house when making chocolates if possible, it just makes things go a lot smoother. But you'll be find also around 71-72° F, just try to keep it around there or below. I think you've got the right idea using pre-colored cocoa butters, especially for now! I say anything that makes learning the process easier in the beginning is great!

[@Akemichuu]

Wow super nice experiment!! Thank youu

[@BrittneeKay]

Of course!

[@hb7282]

Excellent experiment! Thank you for doing it! I was shocked that the liquid drops did as well as they did. I don’t have much experience with cocoa butter but, oil and water? Lol

[@BrittneeKay]

Thanks! haha I know, right? So strange!

[@LindaSweis]

Thanks for this awesome video! I really admire you❤ what will you be using the colored chocolate for now? Also how can I color white chocolate? I've tried before and the smell sort of changed. I used oil colors and I only use a few drops to a kilo of chocolate. It tempered quite well but it didn't smell as good as normal. Thanks sweetie❤

[@BrittneeKay]

You’re so welcome! The colored cocoa butters I will now keep in my collection to be used for bonbons in the future! As for coloring white chocolate, you can use powders just like these or an oil based liquid like Colour Mill! Be sure to blend them well.

[@pavlova.cake.brunei]

Is it possible for the water to evaporate from the cocoa butter since there is only a small amount of water.

[@BrittneeKay]

Maybe but usually chocolate even coming in contact with water messes with things!

[@oddnyskomsy1138]

Hi! Since the E171 has been removed from coloured cocoa butter, the so called white colour now turns almost ivory! Do you have any tips to make bright white cocoa butter?

[@BrittneeKay]

Not really! For white I always use Chef Rubber pre-colored cocoa butter. Where are you located?

[@oddnyskomsy1138]

@@BrittneeKay I live in Norway, and I have to buy most of my colours/cocoa butter/colour dusts from abroad! And because of quite heavy taxes a.s.o. I struggle a bit to find everything I need 😞

[@BrittneeKay]

@@oddnyskomsy1138 Aw darn! I know, why is sourcing chocolate products so hard!? I know that I've seen some good brands in Europe on Instagram advertising but I don't know their names. Try digging a bit, I think are some out there that will work for you!

Hi, thanks for sharing this interesting experiment 🤩 I wasn’t expecting these results for the water soluble colours. I am using Rainbow Dust Powder Colour which works out well to me. I did not like the fat soluble liquid ones when I tried and I found them hard to work with. I am still learning this, so I have a few questions. I’d appreciate if you could answer! I always thought I should quickly cool down the colored cocoa butter after mixing, in order to temper it. And I was always stirring it whereas you mentioned in this video that it was not necessary. Also considering that the way colored cocoa butter tempering is like the tabling method where chocolate is always moved around and cooled down in a rush, I’d like to know what is different for colored cocoa butter as apparently we can be more relaxed and let it cool down at its own pace while tempering it. Second question, what do you think about using powdered cocoa butter (Mycryo)? Is it any better for the same purpose? My last question is, would you suggest having moulds cooled before applying colored cocoa butter on it? I have always struggled at that stage because no matter I waited for the cocoa butter to cool down (as low as 24°C) before I apply it, I could not make it set on the mould and it always ran down and welled up cavities. What would you suggest? Thanks a lot in advance! 😊

[@BrittneeKay]

Oh thanks for sharing! I will add Rainbow Dust to my brand list, I love testing out new brands I've never tried! Well, to answer your questions... You're not wrong about chocolate and cocoa butter needing to be moved, but I don't think it's as strict as you think. For sure you don't want to leave them sitting around for very long. With chocolate I always temper it from start to finish, really without walking away. With cocoa butters I sometimes do a couple colors at a time. I watch them by taking turns stirring them, but I sometimes do small tasks between and I've found it's totally fine to do that. Because they are in small portions they cool down fairly quickly. Anyway, so yes definitely be sure to add plenty of movement by stirring, but you don't have to stir the whole time they're cooling! Perfect timing...next week's video is about mycryo and I will be answering a lot of questions about it in that video. As for tempering cocoa butter with mycryco...I just don't find it necessary, especially for the added cost. Cocoa butter is easy to temper so I don't see the need for it! Last, no I don't suggest cooling the molds! Cool molds can shock the cocoa butter. Something to remember with cocoa butter and chocolate is that it isn't great to ever change temperatures drastically. Now you saying that your cocoa butter is even as low as 24 C and running down the mold that is super strange to me! It should be pretty thick at that temperature! What temperature is your kitchen where you work? I always decorate my molds at room temp (20.5 C or 69 F) using 28-30 C cocoa butter and that has worked great for me. What brand of cocoa butter do you use?

@BrittneeKay thanks for taking time to give me a detailed answer! I'll definitely wait for your next video to get some insights into mycryo before working with it :) About your questions: The cocoa butter I use is from a local shop here in Barcelona ( If you google "lavalenciana manteca de cacao" you may find it I suppose. I suspect when I put link to it my comment does not show up here and this is the 4th time I'm trying to post an answer 😅 ) which does not actually have a brand or crystallization curve on it(but as far as I know it should be more or less the same curve for all the cocoa butter). Do you have a suggestion on the cocoa butter to use? For chocolate I have been using Callebaut and I like them so far, but with cocoa butter I don't have much experience. Anyway, your points made me think I might be making two mistakes when working with cocoa butter: 1. I always tried to "temper" the cocoa butter by rapidly cooling it down from 45-55°C to 27°C by putting it on an ice bag or ice water (without contacting water and cocoa butter) and stirring it all the time. Then I heat it to 28°C. I think the main issue could be that I probably don't give enough time for cocoa butter to form V crystals. I will pay more attention to this process next time. 2. When applying cocoa butter on the moulds, my room temp is around 24°C which is probably too high so I should cool down either the ambient temp or the mould (just a bit, as you mentioned till 20°C). Also, as I mentioned above, maybe cocoa butter is not even in proper temper, so it doesn't set even when it is as cold as 24°C. If that is the case, maybe if I improve the tempering process, chances are I won't face the same problem. Do these inferences make sense to you or do you think I miss any other obivous issue? Thanks again in advance!

[@BrittneeKay]

Ohhh I see, nice! Yeah any brand as long as it's pure cocoa butter should be great! And so far I'm a Callebaut girl but I want to try new chocolate brands this year and see which I like best. 1. Yes! Definitely try cooling it down faster, with an ice bath it may be cooling a bit too quick. If you do use an ice bath you're supposed to just tap it in and stir, not let it continuously sit as far as I know. 2. Yes, I would first try tempering the cocoa butter differently and still using your molds at your room temp of 24 C. Because I feel like that isn't too too warm and the decoration will still set up, maybe just a little bit slower. If you find you have problems then maybe try to chill your mold, I would just be worried about chilling it too much. Also, depending on the decoration your mold is going to quickly warm back to room temp anyway...so I find it's just best all around to cool your room temp as best as you can as a better solution! I think those are great places to start and I think you will find success trying a new method! You're so welcome!

@@BrittneeKay thanks a lot, I will try yout suggestions and see if I can get it right 🙌🏻

[@BrittneeKay]

You've got this!@

[@layana2589]

What chocolate brand do you use? Can you do a video comparing some companies?

[@BrittneeKay]

I usually use Callebaut, just because it's conveniently sold at a store near where I live. I like the idea to try some different brands for a video, thanks!

[@braiwiberg3957]

Your kitchen looks fabulous. Do you know where those knobs are from?

[@BrittneeKay]

haha thank you! I don't, I wish I did!

[@Mia-xb8dv]

I use liquid oil based colors from US Cake Supply. I think they work pretty well, I just have issues with tempering my cocoa butter.

[@BrittneeKay]

Do you think the tempering could be affected by the colors you’re using rather than you having issues with the temper? Have you practiced tempering without colors and had success?

[@Mia-xb8dv]

@@BrittneeKay I don't think it's the colors. I just think I get inpatient waiting for the cocoa butter to melt and don't bring the temperature back up to working temp. I just need to practice more

[@BrittneeKay]

Ok cool! Yeah for sure, practice and patience when it comes to tempering! :D@@Mia-xb8dv

[@sanaznaeimi8488]

Thank you for this brilliant video👌👌🙏🌸

[@BrittneeKay]

You’re welcome! 😀

[@zoepabor8606]

Maybe there in the pantry I had some similar phosphorescent colors and if it worked with some bears its color was extraordinary but I used white chocolate I didn't put anything other than the direct color in the already tempered chocolate

[@BrittneeKay]

Cool!

[@poochieandcoe3600]

Hi Brittnee! How to get rid of the strong smell and taste of the CCB? I was worried about this when I made it just last Tuesday.. My bon bons smelled so strong and I tasted chemically on the shell…

[@BrittneeKay]

That is strange! What CCB did you use and what coloring?

[@poochieandcoe3600]

I just used a local organic brand of cocoa butter and colour mill oil based colour.. I thought it’s common in when making coloured bonbons..

[@BrittneeKay]

I don't think it's the cocoa butter that you're smelling and tasting, cocoa butter is very mild. I would guess it's colour mill. It seems very popular but I do not recommend using it. You can't go wrong with powdered colors, they are the best!@@poochieandcoe3600

[@louisestansfield1335]

My OCD kicked in on the first droplet on the counter that she left, I'm sure I was twitching 😂😂

[@BrittneeKay]

Lol it's always worse when you're the one watching and not working! Like when a teacher doesn't erase the whole white board 😆

[@amkaka4680]

How do you make opaque colors, like ones that chef rubber makes? The ones that aren't clear when airbrushed on something

[@BrittneeKay]

You have to add white powder like titanium or calcium carbonate!

[@amkaka4680]

@@BrittneeKay Thank you! What would be the ratio to cocobutter and dye?

[@BrittneeKay]

@@amkaka4680 Not sure...usually for colors you do around 10% but for white try starting with 2% and adding it until you're happy with it! Test it as you go! : )

[@amkaka4680]

@@BrittneeKay Thanks so much!!

[@BrittneeKay]

of course! : )

[@dawndavenport9139]

I buy the ingredients , So if you look at the label on roxy and rich its blue lakes #1 ... instead of 12 dollars for three grams I just buy FD&C blue lakes #1 without the label ............ 30 grams for 5 dollars lol , i do this for all the primarys ...... there is non-difference , fd&c lakes #1 is blue lakes #1 period , and the grid is better where I buy it

[@BrittneeKay]

Ohhh smart, thanks! I'll look into this!

[@beuba5938]

So interesting 🧐

[@BrittneeKay]

So weird 😂🤣

[@azuenjusttice989]

Caracas...ela levou quase toda live so na coloracao!😂

[@BrittneeKay]

That’s the entire point of the video 🙂🙂🙂

[@KudzaiJean]

Can you recommend any other food colouring powder except Roxy and rich because we can’t get that in the UK.

[@BrittneeKay]

You can search for some pre-colored cocoa butters that are based in Europe. I can’t think of them off the top of my head because I don’t buy them but I know there are some good ones. As for powders, Roxy and Rich is the most well know as far as I know. I wish I had more recs, I’m just not familiar because I always stick to my favorites!

[@alaaalhomsi3905]

this video was really helpful and fun to watch ❤ i wish u uploaded it a week ago because i already bought the mill ones 😂💔

[@BrittneeKay]

Glad you liked it! haha Oh dangit! That's ok though, you can still use them for sure! Either for cocoa butter or for coloring white chocolate too!

[@alaaalhomsi3905]

@@BrittneeKay ❤ thank you so much for help

[@BrittneeKay]

Of course!! @@alaaalhomsi3905

[@alaaalhomsi3905]

@@BrittneeKay if you don't mind me asking, is there a huge difference using white colored chocolate to shell the Bonbon instead of cocoa butter? And what brand should i buy cocoa butter from? Is it Callebaut as well?

[@BrittneeKay]

First, you can buy any brand of cocoa butter as long as it's pure cocoa butter! The brand I've been using is actually Noel. To answer your first question, you don't shell bonbons with cocoa butter. So, cocoa butter is used to decorate molds which then have to be shelled with a type of chocolate and you can use any! White, milk, dark, ruby, caramel, etc. :)@@alaaalhomsi3905

[@FarimaKeita-p8l]

Thanks à lot

[@BrittneeKay]

Of course! Thanks for watching!

[@michellel.beatty-statepoli6524]

I would like to see you mix both powders the exact same way with the exact same technic. I do not think that you gave the off brand a chance.

[@BrittneeKay]

I can’t remember how I mixed them in this, did I not do them the same? I mean this was just for fun! I always encourage people to test out things they want to try. I use that brand a lot in cake decorating, I just don’t think it’s best for cocoa butters 🙂

[@holistic.health]

So what is your favorite brand of already colored cocoa butter?

[@BrittneeKay]

So far I love Chef Rubber and Pastry Chef's Boutique! : )

[@holistic.health]

@@BrittneeKay I'm going to go check them out now 😃

[@braiwiberg3957]

@@BrittneeKayI love PCB!

[@يومياتابوجمانهفيتركيا]

احب كل ماتقدمينه❤

[@BrittneeKay]

Thank you!!

[@عصمتابری]

لطفا به زبان فارسی ترجمه کنید

[@BrittneeKay]

I will! Thanks!