Graduation season is here, and that means one thing for bakers—colorful buttercream in every school shade imaginable! Whether you're matching university hues or local high school spirit, getting vibrant, smooth colors in your buttercream is key. In this blog, we’ll walk you through exactly how to mix the top 12 most popular graduation colors—from bold reds and deep blues to classic black and gold—into our favorite Meringue Powder Buttercream recipe that’s perfectly tinted, stable, and ready for piping, spreading, or stacking.

Let’s talk about color mixing ratios.

If you’ve ever squirted five different food gels into a bowl of buttercream icing and crossed your fingers hoping for "dusty rose" but ended up with "weird salmon," friend—you are not alone.

That is where color ratios come in. Think of them as your secret cookie spellbook for turning blobs of food coloring into actual, real-deal colors that don’t just happen by chance.

Ratios are just a fancy way of saying how much of one color to mix with another. A 3:1 ratio of Neon Brite Pink to Neon Brite Blue means three parts pink for every one-part blue. That could be three drops to one drop, or three smidges to one smidge—just keep the relationship the same and the color magic works no matter the size of your batch!

Here’s how to actually use them:

1.       Start small. Mix up a little icing and test the color first. It’s way easier to tweak a baby batch than a whole mixing bowl of sadness.

2.       Follow the ratio. If the chart says 2:1 Lemon Yellow to Ivory, then for every two drops of Lemon Yellow, add one of Ivory.

3.       Adjust the intensity. Want it lighter? Add white icing. Darker? Add more color in the same ratio.

4.       Be patient. Colors deepen as they sit. Give them a minute before you panic.

5.       Keep notes! When you find your perfect lavender or terra cotta? Write. It. Down.

Using ratios takes the guesswork out of mixing and gives you confidence that your “light denim blue” won’t turn into “sad fish tank.” Ready? Let’s start mixing it up and make those grad desserts pop!

Graduation Color Palette