Delicious Black Dark Chocolate Buttercream Icing

Need a black icing that doesn’t taste horrible? The trick is to find black cocoa-King Arthur makes some, but you might have to hunt the cake shops or order it online: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/black-cocoa-16-oz
*DO NOT attempt to use only the black cocoa-it is way too intense!

Delicious Black Dark Chocolate Buttercream Icing

Ingredients

1 cup shortening
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup black cocoa (perhaps 1/2 cup Hershey’s Dark might work?)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (I like Watkins)
1/2 teaspoon butter flavor (I use Wilton)
4 cups (1 lb) confectioner’s sugar
4-5 Tbsp milk
3-4 Tbsp light corn syrup (optional)

Instructions

*Cream together the shortening, cocoas, vanilla, and butter flavor.
*Gradually add sugar about a cup at a time, beating well on medium speed (scrape the sides of the bowl often).
*When all the sugar has been mixed in, the icing will appear very dry.
*Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy
(You may add 3-4 Tbsp corn syrup to thin the icing, if desired)
*Keep icing covered with a damp cloth until ready to use

You May Also Be Interested In

Comments (5)

TripleJMomma on 25 Sep 2009 , 2:27pm

I also found the black cocoa at a Amish store and it was really cheap!

bake-aholic on 3 Dec 2009 , 7:37am

I should probably mention-you can sub all or half of the shortening with real butter, and you can also use half and half or heavy cream in place of the milk (that will make it creamier and smooth out nicer).

bake-aholic on 9 Dec 2010 , 4:36pm

Oh, add black color if it's not as dark as you need it. It will darken more the next day. I like AmeriColor-it seems to deepen the best with the least bitterness.

rmurphy84 on 24 May 2012 , 5:06pm

also, instead of milk you can use strong brewed coffee to make it even darker

daisydoo on 30 Sep 2012 , 2:08pm

Does this recipe harden for sugar cookie decorating?

Delicious Black Dark Chocolate Buttercream Icing