Black is the color bakers most often give up on. You add color until the bowl looks alarming, and still end up with a slightly purple charcoal grey that photographs badly and tastes bitter.
Stop starting from white
Getting from white to true black takes an enormous amount of pigment. The single best trick is to not start from white at all.
- Chocolate buttercream is the ideal base. It is already dark and brown-toned, so you need a fraction of the color
- For royal icing, a small amount of cocoa or a dark brown base does the same job
- Even a grey starting point beats a white one
Let it develop
Black develops more dramatically over time than any other shade. Icing that looks dark grey when you mix it will very often be a genuine black the following morning.
- Color to a deep charcoal
- Cover the surface directly with plastic wrap
- Leave it overnight at room temperature
- Re-beat gently and reassess
The bitterness people associate with black icing comes almost entirely from over-adding before the color has had time to deepen.
Correcting the undertone
Greys usually lean one of two ways:
- Blue or purple undertone: add a touch of brown or orange to neutralize
- Brown or muddy undertone: add a whisper of blue to cool it back down
Why oil-based helps here
Black demands a heavy pigment load. With a water-based gel that means a lot of added liquid, which is why black buttercream so often ends up slack and hard to pipe. An oil-based color delivers the depth without loosening the frosting, so your piped detail stays sharp.
Working with black
- It stains, use gloves and keep it off porous surfaces
- It photographs best with soft, indirect light; harsh light flattens it
- Pair with crisp white detail for contrast, as in the cookies above
Color With Confidence
Yeast Bakers is an Authorized Dealer for Colour Mill, so every bottle you buy from us is genuine stock. Shop the full Colour Mill oil blend range, free shipping on orders over $25.