Methods for making icing
When it comes to faux food, few things are more versatile than faux icing. Depending on the faux food you’re making, you may need a different consistency of icing, so here are two methods you can use to create your desired look.
#1: Fluffy Icing – i.e. buttercream or whipped cream
Supplies:
- Lightweight Spackle
- Acrylic Paint
This is a very simple technique, you just need to mix together lightweight spackle and acrylic paint to create your desired color. I do have a few tips though.
First, even if you’re making white vanilla icing or whipped cream, I’d still recommend adding a little bit of a cream-colored paint. This will dull the stark whiteness of the spackle and give it a more realistic look.
Second, the more paint you add, the less fluffy the texture will become, so if you’re looking to make a thicker, more creamy looking icing, try adding more paint.
Third, you can store your icing in an air-tight container, so you can make it in batches. From experience, it is a good idea to make more icing than you think you’ll need incase you run out and need to make more. It can be difficult to match the color exactly.
P.S. I’ve tried this same technique with a non-lightweight spackle and it was crackly and made the piece topheavy, so I wouldn’t recommend it.
#2: Smooth Icing – i.e. royal icing or ganache
Supplies:
- Caulking (clear is recommended for darker colored icing)
- Acrylic Paint
For this technique, you just need to mix together caulking and acrylic paint.
You can use white caulking for a light colored icing, but if you’re making a dark icing the white pigment in the caulking will give the icing a gray cast. Instead, use a clear caulking. It may look grayish when wet, but when it dries it will be much more dark and rich.
Similarly to the other method, I’d recommend adding a cream color to the white caulking if you’re creating a vanilla icing.
You can also store this icing in an air-tight container.