Tips & Tricks for Making Dark Buttercream Colors Like Black, Red, and Navy

Dark buttercream can make cakes and cupcakes look so stylish and sophisticated, but it can be so tricky to achieve. Colors like black, red, and navy can be very difficult to make with buttercream, but with a few tips and tricks, you’ll find it’s not actually as hard as you thought.
I'm using hybrid buttercream, which is basically a combo of mock Swiss meringue buttercream and American buttercream. These tips should work with just about any type of buttercream though, and for any dark color you'd like to make. You'll just have to tweak the techniques a bit to get the look you want.
In this video, I'm showing you how I make black, red, and navy buttercream. The black buttercream bit show you the entire process for making hybrid buttercream, while the other two focus on just achieving the color. Feel free to jump around to the color you need:
00:22 - Black Buttercream
04:40 - Red Buttercream
07:00 - Navy Buttercream
Be sure to read the full blog post for all of the tips and tricks used in this video tutorial!
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[@violetflowerfornaturalbeau495]

Thanks a lot 😊🙏

[@charesenicole5894]

What are your suggestions if we don’t have an immersion blender?

[@bakesandblunders]

You can use a food processor for the same effect. I don't love it as much, personally, but it achieves the same look as an immersion blender. Without using either, you can still get dark colors, it is just harder, takes more food coloring (gel, powder, or a combo of both), and takes longer.

[@lamirada90638]

Any tips and tricks for rewhipping after the buttercream has been refrigerated? When I rewhip it turns lighter due to hand mixer incorporating air😞 I'll pop it in the microwave for a little bit it gets dark but then it's too soft then I have to refrigerate to make it stiffer and rewhip and it turns light again 🥴 I keep going back and forth 😢

[@bakesandblunders]

After chilling my buttercream, I just give it a decent beat with a spatula, not my mixer. This is enough to get the consistency nice and creamy and it doesn't incorporate a ton of air. Even if your buttercream does lighten a bit, I find that it always gets darker while I'm using it. The heat from my hand on the piping bag or the heat of my warm metal scraper deepens the color a bit more. Another option that I haven't tried out exactly is to use an offset spatula and a flat, smooth surface (like a silicone baking mat). Take a portion of buttercream and plop it on your work area. Then use the offset spatula to work it back and forth. Scrape it all together, then smooth it out again and repeat until you have the right consistency. This will remove air bubbles and get the frosting nice and spreadable. I haven't tried this exactly, but I do like to smear my buttercream along the side of my bowl for a similar effect.

[@lamirada90638]

@@bakesandblunders thank you so much for taking the time to reply I will try using the spatula instead of hand mixer... Thank you so much for your time and your awesome video

[@bakesandblunders]

Thanks so much for watching