How to Make Black Icing The Easy Way

Many people complain that their black frosting turns out grey or a black that is not deep enough. Another problem bakers encounter is how staining black food coloring is! Today we are going to learn how to achieve the deepest, blackest icing that does not stain anybody’s mouth.

1

Before even putting in the cavalry (black gel food coloring), we need to darken the base a little bit. This will give it the best chance it has. It will prevent the icing from going grey or needing too much artificial food coloring to actually be black as night. For this purpose, we can use one of two things.

THE SECRET INGREDIENT TO MAKING BLACK ICING

2

And with black cocoa, we mean exactly that. Although you can use dutch processed cocoa or natural baking cocoa, black cocoa has a higher pH and is less acidic than its counterparts. Its flavor is similar to black bittersweet chocolate. It reminds me of an Oreo cookie!

BLACK COCOA

3

Activated charcoal comes from coconut shells that are burned and turned into a fine powder. It has amazing properties! Some people even use it to brush and whiten their teeth!

ACTIVATED CHARCOAL POWDER

4

Then using just black cocoa, activated charcoal, or a mixture of both is good enough. Of course, it will not be as black as it can. Remember that the trick to the blackest icing possible is darkening the base so that the food coloring can dye it properly.

AND WHAT IF I DO NOT HAVE ANY FOOD COLORING?

NOW, HOW TO MAKE BLACK ICING? Our personal favorite option is, and always will be gel food coloring. Why? Because it adds concentrated color without adding any moisture. You will also need less of the stuff. 

How to Make Black Icing The Easy Way