Hi everyone. .I have some piping I need to do on a cake and truthfully do not want to mess with making my own black icing and trying to get it "black" enough. so I'm just going to order some especially since it's just for piping and not needed to ice the whole cake.

All i can find is the CK brand. .does anyone have any experience with that brand? I found some really negative reviews on Amazon for it so it got me nervous about ordering it.

Would love opinions on what brands have worked for you.

Thanks!

i have never ordered it, but have a wilton tube (that you put a coupler ring and tube on), when i need just a tiny dot for a pupil or something.

I have good success making a dark cocoa buttercream (adding black cocoa) and Americolor gel paste. With the amount of dye needed to go black, i think the cocoa masks it nicely.

I use the Wilton tube too when I need black. It's worked out well for me for small areas. If you don't like the tube. Cut the top off and squeeze it into a regular piping bag.

I am piping 3 tiers and that wilton tube would not go far and I don't care for the texture of it. . good for dots and tiny things, but not swirl piping etc. (in my opinion)

I dont' really want to use the cocoa icing, because it will add chocolate flavor to the cake and it's a strawberry cake with vanilla buttercream .. .so I don't think that would mesh well.

I guess I"ll just have to order it and cross my fingers! LOL

Use super black americolor and you will never again have any problems making black. You don't need very much to color it black. I was skeptical when I heard this too but gave it a try and will never go back.

I have americolor and still have never been able to get it jet black???

If you are in a pinch, use the Wilton tubes and add tiny amounts of piping gel until it smooths out to your preference.

I used the Wilton tubes to pipe the 4 tier wedding cake in my photos. Not my best piping work, but I was quite nervous using black for piping the first time. What you see in the picture is replicated on the back of the cake. There is also black borders piped as well (those are difficult to see). I used one and one half tubes. I did not like the texture either, so I squeezed it into a bowl and added a touch of piping gel. The texture ended up being perfect.

I've also noticed that black (like red) tends to darken after a few hours. So plan on making it and letting it sit overnight to see what your darker color will be. And second on 'Super Black' from americolor

Dry or powder food colors are available at cake supply stores and on line. I had a problem once with trying to make black and the butter cream started to break down the more liquid color I added to it. I called my local cake supply store and they told me about the colors available in a powder form. They worked great.