From Scratch to Scrumptious

Getting black frosting (instead of dark gray) can be a nightmare if you don’t know this simple trick!

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This post contains affiliate links, and I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

For my wedding cake, I wanted a simple, white buttercream frosting with elegant black swirl designs at the bottom of each tier. I drew up the design I wanted and proudly brought it to the bakery.

Unfortunately, they told me that they don’t do black buttercream frosting. It would be too bitter. I opted for the same design in all white. It was still beautiful but didn’t have quite the same effect that black and white would have.

Now, over a decade later, I have learned the secret for getting the blackest black frosting without leaving a bitter taste.

The Secret

TLDR: Start with chocolate frosting!

The Logic of Black Frosting

If you start with white frosting, you’re fighting to get to the entire other end of the color spectrum. It’s going to take a lot of black icing color to get there!

The logical solutions is to start with a frosting that’s naturally close to black. That’s right: chocolate frosting!!

Check out the comparison of a chocolate-based frosting vs. a white buttercream frosting. Both are dyed with the same amount of black icing color:

Which Base Frosting to Use

I like to use the chocolate frosting recipe that you can find on the can of Hershey’s cocoa powder. It has a great flavor and is incredibly easy to make since it starts with melted butter (which is easier than creaming softened butter).

Here’s the link to the Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Frosting, or you can look below.

Which Black Icing Color to Use

You want to use a concentrated, paste or gel icing color. Regular food color has too much water in it. You would need to add way more coloring to get the same effect.

I use Wilton Icing Colors (concentrated paste) in Black. I couldn’t find only the black icing color on Amazon, but I did find this Wilton Icing Color set of 8 (amazon link), which includes black. You can also usually find a single pot of black icing color at Walmart.

How Much Icing Color To Add

The amount you use is going to depend on a few things: how deep you want the black color, and how much frosting you’re coloring.

Because paste icing color is very concentrated, most people recommend dipping a toothpick into the paste and swirling that into your frosting.

I know I’ll be needing quite a bit of paste to get a deep black, so I dip about 1/8″ – 1/4″ of a fork’s tines into the paste jar and swirl that much into the frosting. You can’t really add too much. There’s no such thing as “too black” when it comes to colors.

Be sure to use a clean toothpick or fork each time you dip into the paste jar. You don’t want to contaminate your paste with frosting!

Perks of Using this Trick to Make Black Frosting

It’s yummy! Black icing color is bitter, but this trick lets you use less coloring, so it’s less bitter. Moreover, the chocolate flavor really covers up any bitterness and gives you a yummy frosting instead!

It’s cost-saving! Because you’re starting with brown frosting instead of white, you’ll use less icing color, making that tiny jar last long enough to cover many cakes!

Warnings About Black Frosting

While chocolate frosting covers up the bitter flavor of black coloring, there’s not much that you can do about color transfer. This much black color won’t stain your teeth, but you may get a darkish tinge to the inner edge of your lips if you eat too much of it.

For this reason, I recommend keeping the black to a minimum. Use it for decorations or embellishments, but maybe don’t make an entirely black cake.

That being said, they’re your lips, and they can be black if you want them to be!

Happy Decorating!