If you've seen Americolor's Nifty Shades of Gray in your local cake store, you're probably thinking "dude I have black food colour, what do I need a bunch of grey shades for??" I will admit, I thought that too, but here's where I was wrong.

Nifty Shades of Gray (10/10 for the name by the way), is not a bunch of grey colours, its greyscale shades OF colours. There's a bluey grey, and greeny grey, you get the idea. They are surprisingly difficult shades to mix and get 'just right'.

When I first tested the shades, I liked them, but I couldn't really 'see' them on cake, stuck as I was on the idea that grey is grey. I set myself a challenge, to use EVERY one of the Nifty Shades on a cake, and to MAKE it work.

I did this, partly because I'm stubborn, but also because I like to show people what can be done, and I think these Nifty little colours have flown under people's radar.

So, the Gray's will see you now... (I couldn't resist)

Looks can be deceiving

I mixed some colour into Basic Buttercream, both in mild and full strength, to get an idea of what the colours could do. With the exception of 'Fog", which is pretty much baby grey, even if you add a whole bunch of it, the shades give nice soft greyscale shades, and dark bold greyscale shades. At this point, you could be forgiven for thinking they look alike (I had to refer to this photo a couple of times to remember which shade I wanted), especially when they are all lined up, it just kinds looks like your printer is out of ink!

Where these colours really come to life, is in the subtlety of the shades. How just a pinch of Gun Metal's blue tone cools your cake, and the earthier tone of Taupe, warms it. I'll be honest, I started to get worried how I was going to pull these colours together, but also excited, BECAUSE they are so subtly different, I would have to really think about my use of colour.

The Lady Gray

100% Buttercream, and using ALL the Nifty Shades of Gray (and of course my signature Red Roses, because of course!)

Am I pleased with myself? Yes, yes I am. Not only do I love this cake (its a design that I have had in my head for a while, AND its ALL Buttercream!), but I tried something really different, and it worked.

Let me tell you though, there were some tense moments at the beginning when I had only the background colours on the tiers! It looked... meh. Bland, boring, and GREY. And this is kinda my whole point. Look past the obvious, or you could miss something incredible. Had I given up at that point, I wouldn't have this cake, and honestly, this is one of my favourite cakes that I have made.