Pastels

Why pastel colors shift in almond bark, and how to keep them true

Vanilla almond bark is cream, not white, so baby blue leans teal and blush leans peach. How to pick the coating and the dose for clean pastel candy coating.

By the Coco Match team. Updated .

cakesicles in the color the model predicts for half a drop of Cobalt per ounce of bright white candy melts
A 3D render of cakesicles, recolored to the color the model predicts for half a drop of Cobalt per ounce of bright white candy melts.

Almond bark is not white

Put a piece of vanilla almond bark on a sheet of printer paper and the difference is plain: the bark is cream. That cream is the color you start from, and a pastel is mostly the coating with a trace of dye, so the coating’s own color counts for more in a pastel than in any other shade.

Where pale colors start

  1. Vanilla almond bark
  2. Almond bark with white candy color
  3. Bright white candy melts
The two coatings as the model measures them, and vanilla almond bark whitened with 4 drops of white candy color per ounce (predicted).

What cream does to blue, pink and purple

Cream is a pale yellow. Add it to blue and the blue leans green. Add it to pink and the pink leans peach. Add it to purple, which is yellow’s opposite, and the two cancel toward gray. The paler the color, the stronger the effect.

Cobalt in vanilla almond bark

  1. No dye
  2. ¼ drop
  3. ½ drop
  4. 1 drop
  5. 2 drops

Cobalt in bright white candy melts

  1. No dye
  2. ¼ drop
  3. ½ drop
  4. 1 drop
  5. 2 drops
The same blue dye at the same doses, in drops per ounce. In almond bark the pale end is teal. In bright white melts it is a clean baby blue.

Hot Pink in vanilla almond bark

  1. No dye
  2. ¼ drop
  3. ½ drop
  4. 1 drop
  5. 2 drops

Hot Pink in bright white candy melts

  1. No dye
  2. ¼ drop
  3. ½ drop
  4. 1 drop
  5. 2 drops

Purple in vanilla almond bark

  1. No dye
  2. ¼ drop
  3. ½ drop
  4. 1 drop
  5. 2 drops

Purple in bright white candy melts

  1. No dye
  2. ¼ drop
  3. ½ drop
  4. 1 drop
  5. 2 drops
Pink and purple, the same way. Predicted colors for Colour Mill Oil Blend. Compare the first two chips of each pair: that is where the coating shows most.
Cakesicles in a teal-leaning pale blueCakesicles in a clean baby blue
The same 3D render of cakesicles, recolored to the predicted color of half a drop of Cobalt per ounce in each coating.

Three ways to keep a pastel true

Start from bright white candy melts

This is the simplest fix, and for icy blues and lilacs it is the only one that fully works. White melts and almond bark set a little differently, so test dip before you swap coatings on a big order.

Whiten the almond bark first

Oil-based white candy color covers some of the cream. It also softens every color you add after it, so stir the white in first and then color. This is a good choice when you prefer how your almond bark dips and tastes.

Lean into warm pastels

Cream is kind to warm colors. Butter yellow, peach, blush, sage and mint all sit comfortably on almond bark, because a little yellow belongs in them. If the palette is yours to choose, these are the pastels almond bark does best.

How much the coating matters, in numbers

Here are three popular pastels solved by Coco Match’s color model, first from almond bark and then from bright white candy melts. The score is how close the predicted color is to the target, out of 100.

Baby blue

  1. Target
  2. Almond bark, 81%
  3. White melts, 96%

Blush pink

  1. Target
  2. Almond bark, 94%
  3. White melts, 97%

Lilac

  1. Target
  2. Almond bark, 77%
  3. White melts, 87%
Targets and predicted results. Blush barely notices the coating. Baby blue and lilac depend on it.

Blush pink scores 94 from almond bark and 97 from white melts, so use whichever you have. Baby blue goes from 81 to96, and lilac from 77 to 87. Lilac is still the hardest of the three: a clean pale purple usually wants a violet or lilac dye of its own rather than a mix.

Dosing a pastel

  • Scale the bowl, not the drop. Half a drop per ounce is one drop in 2 ounces, or six drops in a 12 ounce bag.
  • For less than a drop, dip a toothpick into the color and swirl it through the coating.
  • Or make a strong bowl: color a small amount properly, then stir a measured spoonful of it into plain coating.
  • Add color once, stir for a full minute, and wait 10 minutes. Pastels are easy to overshoot and can’t be walked back without more coating.
Plan a batch with your colorsAll guides

Questions

Quick answers

Why does my baby blue almond bark look teal or green?

Vanilla almond bark is cream, which is a pale yellow. Blue plus a little yellow leans green, so pale blues come out teal. Use bright white candy melts for icy blues, or whiten the almond bark first with white candy color.

How do I make pastel candy melts?

Start from the whitest coating you can find and use very little color: often a quarter to half a drop per ounce. To measure that, color a larger bowl, or mix a strong bowl and stir a spoonful of it into plain coating.

How do I measure half a drop of candy color?

Scale the bowl instead of the drop. Half a drop per ounce is one drop in two ounces, or six drops in a 12 ounce bag. For less than that, dip a toothpick in the color and swirl it through the coating.

Does white candy color make almond bark whiter?

Yes. Oil-based white adds white pigment, which covers some of the cream. It also makes every other color you add a little paler, so add the white first and color after.

Keep reading

More guides

Troubleshooting

Seized or thick coating

Water, heat and heavy color: how to tell which one thickened your bowl, and what can be saved.Read the guidePlanning

How much coating per treat

Ounces per cake pop, pretzel rod, Oreo and strawberry, and the extra every dipping bowl needs.Read the guideColor matching

Match a color from a swatch

From an invitation or a brand color to a bowl of coating: reading the color, test dips and daylight.Read the guide