Pastels look like the easy option, barely any color needed. In practice they are unforgiving, because at low pigment levels every flaw shows.
Why pastels go wrong
- The base is not white. Buttercream is pale yellow from butter. Add blue and you get a slightly green pastel, not a clean powder blue.
- Streaks show. At low saturation, unmixed color reads as marbling rather than an even tint.
- They shift as they develop. A pastel mixed to perfection can be a full shade deeper the next day.
Fix the base first
For true pastels, start as white as possible, a higher-shortening buttercream, or a meringue buttercream made with pale butter. For the cleanest cool pastels, neutralize the yellow with the tiniest touch of violet before adding your color.
Dose precisely
This is where concentration works against you. With a very concentrated color, one drop can overshoot a pastel entirely. Two techniques:
- Dip a toothpick into the color and swirl that into the frosting, rather than dispensing a full drop
- Make a stock: color a small amount of frosting deeply, then add that colored frosting in spoonfuls to your white base. Far easier to control.
The stock method is what professionals use for repeatable pastels.
Mix thoroughly, slowly
Mix on low and scrape constantly. Whipping fast incorporates air, which lightens the apparent color and tempts you to add more, then it darkens as the air escapes.
Let it rest
Mix to slightly lighter than target, rest, then judge. Even pastels develop.
Palettes
- Modern: sage, blush, bone
- Spring: butter, powder blue, soft mint
- Nursery: baby pink, sky, lemon
- Sophisticated: dusty rose, oat, pale slate
The matte finish
Current pastel work leans chalky rather than glossy. A meringue buttercream smoothed and left to set gives that finish naturally, avoid over-warming the surface, which brings up shine.
Color With Confidence
Yeast Bakers is an Authorized Dealer for Colour Mill, so every bottle you buy from us is genuine stock. Shop the full Colour Mill oil blend range, free shipping on orders over $25.