4.05.2012

Pink Birthday Cake


Despite many peoples’ doubts, I did allow my daughter to eat cake on her first birthday. As much as I value good nutrition, sometimes I value tradition even more. So the little peanut got a big slice of cake on a red platter that read "You Are Special Today," and she enjoyed every second of it. However, it was a homemade cake using only the finest organic ingredients. Obviously.


I wanted to make her a pig cake, because her favorite book is about farm animals. But last I checked, pink food coloring isn’t all-natural and organic. So, I was forced to get creative.


When I think pink, I think beets. I have cooked with beets often enough to know that their juice is vibrant, indicating loads of nutrients. So I immediately scoured the internet for ideas on using beet juice to dye frosting, and pieced together a method that ended up working quite well.








Ingredients


2-3 cans organic beets (I used three, but only ended up needing about half of the reduction to get the right shade of pink)


Add beet juice to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat slightly and keep at a simmer/low boil, stirring occasionally, until only about 1-3 tablespoons of beet juice remain. Pour into frosting.


Note: Beet juice reduction will harden eventually at room temperature, so I recommend making the frosting first and then the dye, and adding it right away to the frosting.






This was so easy and made the perfect shade of pink for the pig cake. It did not alter the taste of the frosting at all, and I felt good that my daughter was not getting any artificial colors on her birthday!


I recommend saving the unused beets and adding them to soups, salads, chili, or even juicing them.








7 comments:

  1. That cake is so cute!
    Using the beets reminded me of a cake decorating class I took at Whole Foods last year. They only use natural dyes - the purple was from blueberries, green was from spinach (it did have a slight spinach-y taste), and I think they used beets for the pink. There were a couple of other colors, but I can't remember what they were made from. Such a creative way to avoid artificial coloring.

    Happy Birthday to little Sally!! She is adorable!

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  2. When I roast beets I put about a half-inch of water in a baking dish and cover the beets with foil. The liquid left is very concentrated and would work very well for dying. It is probably more earthy than canned, as I bake beets wit the skins on, but if they are peeled first I think the juice would be nice. And might have a few nutrients in it, too.

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  3. Great idea!! Thanks for posting. This will come in handy for my daughter who is allergic to food coloring.

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  4. This is great! i have always wanted to know where all the yummy Vegan places were and now i can easily eat out at these place or order in! thanks so much!
    . Nutrition

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