How do I make black butter icing BLACK?

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I have a mickey mouse cake to make for DD's birthday.

It will be easier with butter icing than any other (for ME), and she is more likely to eat butter than any other.

Will it just end up dingy grey?

you can buy black food colouring \link{http://www.supercook.co.uk/products/colourings/supercook-black-food-colouring/11177\here)

oops here

Black food colouring, but you will need quite a lot of it (more than a few drops) or it just goes grey. It will colour butter icing though.

According to Good Housekeeping magazine (not that I read it of course, I'm too young ) you need the paste kind of food colouring. With the normal liquidkind you will have to add so much that you will be able to taste it (and it's not nice).

definitely paste - and you can get black.

use paste colouring, i doubt you will get a true black but you will certainly get a better colour than if you used a liquid colourant.

agree paste, but it will turn your teeth, gums and lips black!

Someone very helpful whose name I've forgotten on MN said a bit of cocoa in with the food colouring will do the job.

It was lovecat. She says to use a bit of cocoa as well.

Also, it may have ahem consequences that will become apparent on the day after it's eaten.

Use black paste but also add some melted dark chocolate.
One of the brands (supercook?) does black, ready to pipe icing which is very good.

I was thinking that there was an issue with liquid that I couldn't remember - the taste was it. Will hunt out paste

ooooooooh started writing that before choc comments - fab