For The Life Of Me I Cant Make My Black Icing Black!!!
Decorating By goofygirly36 Updated 21 Apr 2008 , 6:22am by xstitcher
i swear i have put almost a whole jar in it thinking that it will darken but it only gets so dark! i have tried to let it sit for a day or two and still nothing...its GRAY!.....any ideas on what i may be doing wrong? tia!
using wilton?
if so...well....there ya go...now ya know why so many of us swear by Americolor gels.
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now as to fixing the immediate problem -- would it be ok if the BC was chocolate flavored?
many start w/ dark chocolate BC and then add the coloring as an easy way of getting black.
so --- you might try adding cocoa powder to your BC (and you'll probably have to add a little liquid as well as cocoa powder is drying). that should get you to a black that is acceptable.
Actually once it is on the cake you will be surprised how much it looks like black
When exposed to air it does darken even more than letting it sit overnight or more.
Have you tasted it? I bet w/that much coloring in it it's going to taste YUCK 
Think about adding additional flavoring. Another good reason to start w/chocolate b'c.
For the future: save every tiny dribble and drop of icing no matter the color. Keep in a jar in the fzr, adding to it as you have some icing, until you need some black; defrost & stir up well. It will be an UGLY camo/greenish/brown color; now add your black paste/gel and it will take the color much better than starting w/white. You will get a great black. Any leftover can be stored in the fzr until you need some again.
I just did a star trek cake, that had a "black" background with stars. I used americolor super black for the 1st time, and you don't even need the chocolate or cocoa based colour for a base! (which is important, since I have a few people allegeric to chocolate as consumers, yikes, that sucks!!!)
I didn't even have to add very much! Maybe a tsp, and even that would be pushing the amout I used! In the bowl it looked dark gray, but I was "okay" with that, since as it dried I knew it would darken. And as it dried, it was black.
If you're using wilton, a cocoa base would definately be an asset! The dora cake I did has wilton "black" outlining of the FBCT and its's pretty dark, but americolor is way more effective! Invest in their super black... and probably their super red. Not yucky at all.
i had heard about the chocolate and mixing of colors to get it.......havent tried it since i saw it AFTER i posted...lol
but where might i find Americolor?
I agree with everyone on Americolor super black, which you could find at any cake decorating store or online source. However, if you can't find it and only have wilton here is what you do: You mix red, yellow, royal blue and lemon. It turns into an ugly green color; and then you add the black. You still need quite a bit of black, but not the whole jar. Good luck! Definitely freeze the extra. It's such a pain to make that you don't want to always have to do it, and it's nice to be able to pull it out of the freezer. I just let it defrost overnight in the fridge.
up Americolor. The longer it sits the blacker it gets. No nasty taste either. 
Americolor is the way to go. It won't even leave that yucky aftertaste.
I am only able to get the Wilton colors. So I make black by tinting the bc or fondant with a darker color first, it can be brown, blue, or purple. Then I add black and it working it until you get your black and you won't end up using a whole container. And of course as mentioned before it gets darker as it sits.
Because of where I live, I have trouble getting much besides Wilton, and I've done the chocolate icing thing. I made a blackboard cupcake cake for school and used chocolate buttercream. It still took a fair bit of black to get it dark enough, but after sitting for a day or two as well, it was great.
I also use Americolor. Sometimes it can look purple-ish, but after it sits for a while it darkens and loses all that purple color.
If I have some left over icing I use that, just put the Americolor in that, good way to use up that colored icing you cant use and I always shift in some cocoa and that way it never bleeds. Works wonders. I try to make it a day ahead if I want it really black, but it does get darker on the cake too. Sandy
Also, in a pinch, ( and maybe this is cheating, whatever...) for smaller amounts i just buy a tube of the wilton precolored and then thin it out a bit for stuff like outlines, writing, etc. for larger stuff definitely the trick with saving a bunch of freaky colors and adding to that.
Actually once it is on the cake you will be surprised how much it looks like black
When exposed to air it does darken even more than letting it sit overnight or more. Have you tasted it? I bet w/that much coloring in it it's going to taste YUCK
Think about adding additional flavoring. Another good reason to start w/chocolate b'c.For the future: save every tiny dribble and drop of icing no matter the color. Keep in a jar in the fzr, adding to it as you have some icing, until you need some black; defrost & stir up well. It will be an UGLY camo/greenish/brown color; now add your black paste/gel and it will take the color much better than starting w/white. You will get a great black. Any leftover can be stored in the fzr until you need some again.
Could you please let me know how long bc stays good in the freezer and if there is any special method of storing or do u just use a plastic container? Thanks!
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