Baking offers a canvas for creativity, and what better way to express yourself than with naturally vibrant colors? Inspired by generations of resourceful bakers, we delve into the art of crafting homemade food colorings using nature’s palette. Forget artificial dyes and embrace the beauty of ingredients like berries, cabbage, turmeric, and cocoa to tint your frostings and glazes.
My baking heritage is rich, passed down through generations of women starting with my great-grandmother Hannah Queen Grubbs. Reading my mother’s journals, I discovered my grandmother Hannah’s cakes adorned with delightful pastel shades. This sparked my curiosity about her techniques, especially considering she baked in the 1940s when commercial food dyes were less common.
Southern bakers are renowned for their ingenuity. Intrigued by my grandmother’s methods, I began experimenting with natural alternatives, mirroring what she might have used. Exploring the produce aisle, I discovered the coloring potential of freeze-dried strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, purple cabbage, and even cocoa powder for brown hues. These experiments yielded a spectrum of beautiful, natural dyes, perfect for adding a touch of nature’s artistry to baking creations.
Showcase the beauty of nature’s colors in your baking with these homemade food colorings, perfect for achieving various shades including brown food coloring using cocoa. Now, every time I bake, I feel connected to the creative spirit and practical wisdom of my grandmother. These inherited recipes are treasures, and her inspiration lives on in the colorful desserts I create today, from delicate pink cookies to sunny yellow buttercream roses, and rich chocolate brown frosting.
These natural food colorings are versatile and can enhance any frosting or icing recipe. Imagine a confectioners’ sugar glaze transformed into a colorful canvas, or buttercream frosting with a textural finish, ideal for cookies, cakes, muffins, waffles, and doughnuts.
Crafting and Using Natural Food Coloring
Making natural food coloring is simpler than you might think, offering a wholesome alternative to store-bought dyes. The best part? You control exactly what goes into them, avoiding the mystery chemicals often listed in commercial options. These natural tints impart beautiful hues to icings and frostings for decorated holiday sugar and gingerbread cookies, perfect for pastel shades and even deeper tones like natural brown food coloring. However, it’s worth noting that these colorings are best used in frostings and glazes, as oven heat might diminish the colors in batters and doughs.
Try these homemade colors in a Simple Cookie Glaze to create a vibrant and naturally colorful cookie platter. When working with natural food colorings, protect your clothes with an apron – a lesson learned from experience! Add the colorings gradually to your icing or frosting, achieving your desired shade, from soft pastels to richer, more vibrant tones, including natural brown food coloring for chocolatey hues.
The subtle flavors of these colorings can also complement your baked goods. Strawberry, raspberry, and blueberry colorings offer a hint of fruitiness. (And don’t worry about cabbage-flavored frosting! The sugar in the blue dye neutralizes any cabbage notes, ensuring no detectable flavor.) For brown food coloring, cocoa powder brings a delicious chocolate undertone, enhancing chocolate or vanilla based frostings.
Store your homemade food colorings in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to a week or freeze them in ice cube trays for up to a month. Simply defrost before using to bring natural color to your baking anytime.
Red
In a small bowl, mix 2 teaspoons of strawberry powder with 2 tablespoons of water until smooth paste forms. If strawberry powder isn’t available, create your own by grinding freeze-dried strawberries in a clean spice blender or mortar and pestle.
Pink
Combine 2 cups (240g) of raspberries and 1/4 cup (57g) of water in a small saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil, then simmer for about 5 minutes and let cool. Strain the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve. Return the liquid to the saucepan and simmer until reduced to approximately 1/4 cup, reaching an orange juice-like consistency. Cool completely.
Purple
In a small saucepan, combine 2 cups (290g) of fresh blueberries with 1/4 cup (57g) of water. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce heat and simmer until berries burst and soften. Mash the berries and strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing to extract maximum liquid; discard solids. Return liquid to the pan and boil until reduced to about 1/4 cup, achieving an orange juice-like viscosity. Cool completely.
Blue
Combine 2 cups (190g) of shredded purple cabbage with 1 1/2 cups (341g) of water in a small saucepan and bring to a gentle boil. Remove from heat, cover, and steep for about 15 minutes. Strain the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl (discard solids). Return the liquid to the saucepan, add 1/4 cup (50g) of sugar, and simmer, stirring until sugar dissolves. Continue simmering until the liquid becomes deep purple and reduces by half. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda to transform the liquid into a beautiful blue. It will become syrupy and bold. Cool completely.
Yellow
In a small saucepan, combine 1/4 cup (57g) of water with 1/2 teaspoon of ground turmeric. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat and boil until reduced by half, forming a thick paste. Cool completely. Be cautious: turmeric stains easily!
Green
Mix 1 teaspoon of matcha powder with 2 tablespoons of water in a small bowl, stirring until a smooth paste forms.
Brown
For natural brown food coloring, cocoa powder is an excellent and readily available option.
Cocoa Powder Paste: In a small bowl, mix 1 to 2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder with 1 tablespoon of warm water. Stir until a smooth, thick paste forms. Add more cocoa powder for a darker brown, or more water to thin the consistency if needed. Start with a small amount and add more gradually to your frosting or glaze until you reach your desired brown shade. For a richer brown, consider using dark cocoa powder.
Coffee Reduction: Brew very strong coffee. In a saucepan, simmer the coffee over low heat until it reduces and thickens into a concentrated brown liquid. Let it cool completely before using. Add a small amount at a time to your frosting or glaze to achieve the desired brown color. Note that this method will impart a coffee flavor to your frosting.
The texture of these natural food colorings ranges from smooth pastes to syrupy liquids, offering versatility in baking applications.
Combining Colors
Experiment by combining these natural food colorings to create even more shades. For instance, mix red and yellow for orange, or blue and yellow for green if you prefer to avoid matcha. Brown can be deepened by adding a touch of red or yellow.
Ultimately, these homemade food colorings are perfect for bakers who enjoy the extra step of creating a truly DIY product. For those seeking a shortcut while still avoiding artificial colors, explore natural food dye options available for purchase.
Add these natural food colorings, including brown, to glazes and buttercream frostings for a beautiful burst of pastel and earth-tone colors.
Adapted from Cheryl Day’s Treasury of Southern Baking by Cheryl Day (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2021.
Cover photo by Haylie Waring.
