I add Cocoa powder to make chocolate buttercream but it comes out a light brown!! How do I get that darker brown color everyone gets?



Thanks KIM

Use dark cocoa powder!

Hershey's makes a Special Dark Cocoa that makes the richest dark brown icing I've ever seen (and it tastes great too!)

Laura.

Man that was really quick!! Thank you! I ahve looked for this at Wal-Mart but they don't have it............hmmmm.........guess I will look for some over the net!

I add one cup of hershey's cocoa for every 2lbs of powdered sugar....makes a delicious choc frosting and is a nice dark, rich brown

I add a cup and a half, but of course I am indeed a chocaholic.

I don't know where you're located, but around here (Cincinnati) the only place I could find it was at Meijer, which is a regional chain mostly in Michigan/Indiana/Ohio.

I think I remember someone posting that they found it at Amazon.com, but had to buy a case of 6.

Good luck, I think it's worth it to have such a rich dark chocolate color and flavor!

Laura.

I don't know what grocery store chains are in your area, but I have found it at Kroger and Schnucks.
You can also look for "Dutch Processed" at a Whole Foods store, it is the same thing, makes a very rich dark frosting. Hope this helps.

Cindy

I use melted chocolate chips about 1/4 to 1/2 cup

I use melted chocolate chips too! They are my favorite way to make chocolate BC. Not only does it come out darker, but it doesn't get bitter if you add too much, like cocoa powder does.
Besides, I usually always have chocolate chips on hand.

The Special Dark cocoa tends to turn the icing gray in my experience. It has a great taste but the color is more of a gray than a brown. I use a combination of Dutch-processed cocoa, Special Dark cocoa, and melted unsweetened chocolate squares. If you're still not happy with the color, there's always Americolor!

Cheers,
Darci

I have used cocoa powder and Choco Bake. Choco Bake is pre-melted chocolate in one oz. packets. I usually use one or two depending on how chocolatey I want it to be. I think it is mnade by Hershey's(not positive though). I also know that the WalMart in my area carries it,, and I'm in a little bitty town, so I'm sure you could also find it there.
Tabby

I love to add hot fudge topping to choc buttercreme - I got the recipe off allrecipes.com and everyone LOVES it - my sons fight over who'll get the spoon for this recipe. It will also cure that chocolate craving

I usually can get a darker color by just adding more cocoa powder. Also add extra butter and salt with the added cocoa.

If you can't get dark cocoa powder you can also add brown food coloring to get it browner.

Thanks so much for all your great tips!

I hate making it anymore! It seems to be everywhere in my kitchen! But now I either use melted chocolate or a can of dark fudge frosting.

hey - I just made some last night and I was really pleased with the results. I wanted that smooth looking chocolate icing with a dark color. For a batch of buttercream (which in my recipe is a stick of butter, 2 cups shortening, a bag of sugar, vanilla, and heavy cream) I added 5 melted squares of unsweetened Baker's chocolate. Once that was mixed in, I put in some Special Dark cocoa (I'm not sure where you live - but Kroger grocery store carries it around here. I haven't seen it at Wal Mart yet). It's true that it gives it this grayish brown tint - but once it's on the cake - it's not noticable at all. But I found the most important thing is to add the chocolate BEFORE adding in the powdered sugar. If I add it afterwards - for some reason it doesn't get that deep brown color. I have no idea why that would make it difference, but it did for me, at least in my recipe. After everything else is combined (except the sugar) - that's when I added the chocolate, and I added the melted squares and then the cocoa. Then I added the sugar. Also - make sure you use extra milk or water since the cocoa will tend to make the icing dryer.

Anyway, it looked and tasted great - so hopefully that will help you out a bit!

Melissa