Ever wanted to make black buttercream, but afraid of all the food coloring you would have to use and that it will stain you and your guests teeth? Or you tried making black buttercream before and no matter how much coloring you put in, all you could get was gray? Well fear no more! You CAN make pitch black buttercream and do it without using massive amounts of food coloring.
There are three important things you need to know about making black buttercream: Gel food coloring, black cocoa and time.
The biggest mistake people make when trying to make a black frosting is starting with a white buttercream. Just think about it, you have to take the color from one extreme to the other. This is why you are getting a grey frosting. Start with a chocolate base and you will have a lot less work to do. When making black buttercream we like to use Black Cocoa. Not only does it give you a very dark chocolate base, we love the taste. Black cocoa is what they use to make Oreos! We got our back cocoa from a local cake supply store Dawn’s Candy and Cake, but you can also find it on Amazon here if your local cake supply store doesn’t carry it.
When coloring the buttercream we like to use Americolor Super Black soft gel coloring. Gel food coloring is important because it is more concentrated so you won’t have to use as much. This is also very important in buttercream because you want to minimize the amount of liquid added.
The final step and a very important one is time! The color will not look pitch black right away and will darken as it sits. The first photo below is right after we made the buttercream. At this point it looks like a dark grayish brown color. We like to make our black buttercream a day in advance so it has plenty of time to darken. If your schedule does not allow this then we recommend you let your buttercream sit for at least a couple hours. You will notice a big difference in color after just a couple hours. The second photo is after we let the buttercream sit for a while. If you do decide to make your buttercream the day before, store it in an airtight container in the frig overnight, remove from the frig in the morning so it can come to room temperature and then rewhip in your mixer before you frost your cake.
Now you have all the tips you need to make pitch black buttercream! Follow the recipe below and you will have the perfect black buttercream to decorate your Halloween themed cake.
Pitch Black Buttercream
Ingredients
- 2 cups unsalted butter slightly cold
- 6 cups powdered sugar measured then sifted
- 1 cup black cocoa powder measured then sifted
- 6 ounces milk or dark choclate melted and cooled
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1-2 tsp black gel coloring
Instructions
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed for about 1 minute.
- Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time. Stop the bowl to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl.
- Add the black cocoa powder and mix until smooth.
- Add the melted chocolate, vanilla and mix until combined.
- Slowly add in the whipping cream. Turn off the mixer to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Add the black food gel and then mix on medium high speed for 3-5 minutes.
- Let the buttercream sit for at least a couple hours or overnight as the color will darken with time.
