Colour Me Natural..

When I bake for the kids and if it calls for frosting (which almost always does), I try not to use artificial food colouring. It takes a little more work, of course, to get natural food colour but it's definitely better than having your kids eat E110, E124 and E102. If you'd like to use natural food colouring, try these:

1. Chocolate.

I piped a picture of a dog on my son's 2nd birthday cake with just chocolate frosting. Vary the shades by adding more or less chocolate.

2. Red dragon fruit
Cut a small piece and squeeze the juice out using a sieve. It gives out a light pink shade to your frosting.

3. Turmeric powder
For a bright yellow shade. Be careful not to use too much or your frosting will taste like dhal.

4. Purple cabbage.
You'll need a good juicer for this, for a light lilac shade.

5. Avocado.
For a very nice pastel green shade. Best used immediately. The colour would change to a darker shade of green if you leave it overnight, because of oxidation.

Other foods you can try are, carrots, beet root and pandan (screwpine) leaves. Don't expect vibrant colours just natural goodness!