Well, not really because honesty is the best policy.....but.......

I had a wedding consultation today with a bride who tasted one of my cakes at a friend's baby shower. She loved everything about it and especially couldn't believe how good my homemade fondant tasted.

So we start discussing her cake and she says she wants the bottom tier to be black fondant. I tell her that I usually buy black fondant, so it wouldn't taste the same as what she had tasted at the shower.

"Oh NO!!! It HAS to taste the same!!!"



I explain how it's impossible to color white fondant black (never gets totally black), large amounts of black dye tastes horrible, etc. But....I can start with a chocolate fondant and.....

"I don't like chocolate!"



So I tell her that pre-made is the only way to go then. It tastes good.

"Well, let me taste it."



I don't keep black fondant on hand because I don't get many requests for it. I don't get a lot of requests for fondant, period, except for accent pieces.

"Well, can you buy some and let me taste it?"



OK...I don't think I should have to order a tub of black fondant that I would possibly never use just so she can have a pinch. So...I told her she would need to pay for it, and if she booked with me, I would use it and apply the $$ to the total cost. She didn't like that idea at all.

Fortunately, a light bulb came on and I said, "You know...We haven't even discussed the OTHER tiers!! YOU don't have to eat from the black tier, so why can't it be chocolate-based and the other tiers be what you tasted at the shower?"

She said she'd have to think about it. So....We'll see if I get this order....

well at least you gave her other options. If she really is going to make that big of a deal over tasting the black fondant first, then it sounds like you may not want to deal with her anyways.

but back to the black fondant. Have you ever added the black coloring to your liquids before adding any of the dry ingredients? This is how I have achieved a great black fondant when making it. Just an idea, not sure if you have tried anything like it or not. I know it colors your whole batch black, but maybe you can do 1/2 batch depending on the size of your recipe.

i've had really great luck with the decopac gel coloring in black. i got it from the lady who runs the grocery store here. it doesn't have any taste, even in large amounts and i got a great black fondant out of it!

Another valid option is to airbrush that tier black! You can get a very dark solid black but it doesn't have that acrid taste. I certainly agree that it would be ridiculous to have to buy some for her to taste at YOUR expense. You wouldn't want to buy a big tub and risk wasting it, but you don't want to have to order more and pay more shipping to have enough for her cake. Rock... hard place! Good luck. I hope you get the order, unless she's gonna be a pain!

Leily - That's usually what I do when I'm making fondant to cover a cake - add the color to the liquids - but it never really gets black for me. Close, but it still looks grey/charcoal to me. Maybe I don't use enough color, but too much black tastes horrible, so I usually try to stay away from black fondant. Which brings me to...

Young9 - I haven't tried Decopac black gel, but I'm glad to know theirs has no taste!! Funny thing...I went to their website and guess who was smiling back at me? Duff! LOL (There's an interesting thread on here about his new line at Michael's.) Anyway, Duff or not, if I can get a no-taste black gel, I'm all over it!! Thanks for the suggestion!

You know Melvira, that's why I love this site! Sometimes the solution is staring you right in the face, but it takes someone else to point it out! Thanks! I don't airbrush very often so I don't usually think about it as an option. I really should airbrush everything instead of coloring the fondant!

What a picky lil @%$#^& oops did i say that!!!