Welcome back to The Professional Student. Today, I want to dive into another baking edition post and offer tips on making black buttercream and coloring buttercream. I recently made the cake pictured above, and I love the dramatic effect of black buttercream against the gold! The cake is 4 layers of dark chocolate buttermilk cake layered with dark chocolate ganache and a fresh strawberry filling. The buttercream is a dark chocolate Italian meringue.
Coloring buttercream is a challenge, let alone making one of the hardest colors, black. Over the years, I have picked up some tricks and tips that have helped me achieve the colors I want, and I would like to share those with you!
For black buttercream:
- Always use a gel-based food coloring, as they are super concentrated.
- It is much easier to color chocolate buttercream black than regular white vanilla buttercream.
- Gradually add the gel food coloring, mix, and continue to add until you get something close to what you want, as the color will darken as it sits.
- If you must use vanilla buttercream, color it dark brown first before adding in black.
- Color your buttercream the day before you need it, as the color will develop over night and get darker.
- If you’re in a rush, a quick zap in the microwave will help develop the color faster. Just don’t melt your buttercream during the process (this works for any color).
- To avoid consuming too much colored buttercream, do an uncolored base coat, allow it to chill in the refrigerator, and coat it again with the colored buttercream. This will also prevent the need to make huge amounts of colored buttercream, as gel food coloring is not cheap and ultimately saves you money.
I will include a link to the black gel food coloring I prefer to use from Amazon. As an Amazon affiliate, I am eligible for a small commission based on clicks and purchases. You might not need a bottle this big, but it does last a long time.
For coloring buttercream:
- Always use gel food colors, as they are super concentrated. A little goes a long way.
- As previously mentioned, it is best to color buttercream the day before use to allow the color to develop, or you may speed the process up with a quick zap in the microwave, but do not melt your buttercream.
- Always color a bit lighter, as the buttercream will darken as it develops.
- To make colors that pop a little more, use white gel color first, followed by the desired color. Alternatively, you can purchase “bright” or “neon” food colors.
- Use a food gel coloring wheel to make specific colors, as it provides the formulas for the colors and the amounts to use.
I will include a link to “neon” or “bright” food colorings I use and have purchased. These are smaller bottles, but larger bottles, such as the link I posted for black gel color, are available on Amazon. It really depends on your needs. When I was operating my own business, I spent well over $450 just on gel food coloring. They’re expensive, and I think folks who don’t bake might not realize that.
I will also provide an Amazon link for a color wheel food coloring guide.
I’ve also found for making deeper colors, like a deep red; adding some dark brown can help bring out the red, but not too much, or you’ll have brick red. I believe a deep red and black are two of the hardest colors to achieve, and coloring buttercream is generally tricky.
I hope the tips I have provided and the helpful product links will allow you to easily tackle your next cake or baking project. Thanks for stopping by The Professional Student, and don’t forget to comment, like, and reblog!
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