Chocolate Date Icing or Frosting (Dairy and Refined Sugar Free)

This weekend was my niece's second birthday, I was in charge of the birthday cake.  I went with my Grain Free Chocolate Cupcakes recipe and then piped this Chocolate Date Frosting from The Spunky Coconut.  This frosting turned out so well.  It piped very easily and tasted great, thanks Kelly Brozyna for this delicious icing.

Ingredients (makes enough for single layer cake or 12 cupcakes)

• 3/4 cup cashews
• 1 1/2 cup dates
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon gluten free vanilla
• 1 1/2 tablespoon arrowroot starch
• 1/3 cup melted coconut oil
• 1/2 cup raw cocao or cocoa
• pinch sea salt
• 1/4 cup ground palm sugar (optional-if you prefer it sweeter)

Directions

1. Soak cashews in 1 1/2 cup water for 2-4 hours to soften.  Drain and then rinse with clean water.  Set aside.
2. Soak dates in hot water for 1-2 hours to soften.  Drain water and set aside.
3. Add all ingredients to a blender and puree until smooth.
4. Set in refrigerator to harden for 1-2 hours.
5. Pipe or spread over cake.  

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Natural Food Colouring or Dyes That Won't Harm Your Body

This weekend we celebrated our youngest's 4th birthday.  She is a big fan of the Despicable Me movies and in particular the Minions.  Who doesn't love these adorable little yellow guys?  My husband and I had fun decorating the house and coming up with fun activities for the day.  I love and yet always struggle with the idea of the cake.  I want to make something that other children will like but without using the harmful ingredients.  For this year's cake, we decided on my Grain Free Chocolate Cupcakes.  The icing became the next challenge. How to make yellow and blue icing without using harmful food colours/dyes?

Warning!
Food dyes have been linked to everything from bladder cancer, brain tumors, attention deficits, bed wetting, migraines etc. Most artificial food dyes are petroleum based, yes the same stuff used to make fuel for your car.  According to Dr. Mercola, artificial dyes have the same effect on your child as lead. Yikes!  Why is this stuff even aloud.
I took the girls to the dentist a few weeks ago and was completely appalled that they handed the girls toothpaste and a mouthwash filled with blue dyes and not to mention fake sugars. Yuck! Sure, according to the food industry, there is so little added to your favourite pastas, chips, drinks, pickles etc. there isn't enough to cause an effect.  That doesn't work for me.  A little is still too much. Thankfully there are a few other countries who have already banned unnatural food dyes.

At home we try to completely avoid artificial food colouring.  We have managed to make birthday cakes by using natural foods to make our coloured icing. Here are a few ways we have created coloured frostings/icing.

Yellow
-Turmeric spice works awesome.  A little goes a long way so start slowly.  If you add too much you make alter the taste.  I love this spice but not in my dessert.

Purple
-Strained blue berries work wonderfully

Blue
-Strained blueberry juice with a pink of baking soda.  It will cause a chemical reaction and make a blue

Green
-I have not yet tried this one but apparently juiced spinach works really well and doesn't not give a spinach taste

Pink
-Juiced or boiled beets, a little juice goes a long way and not it doesn't taste like beets.
-Strained raspberries or berry jam also make beautiful pink colours

If you are not up for making your own colours I have heard good things about this natural food colouring India Tree Natural Food Colouring.


Here are a few pictures of the rest of our party, I figured my family may want to see these.

Happy Birthday Beautiful!

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