How to make a cake with homemade natural food coloring – Recipe



This post is how to make a colorful tasty cake from fruit without using artificial food coloring or vegetables.
spoiler -you will get the recipe (also with photo) but the biology is first.

*So finally my reviewer (the one that correct my grammar & vocabulary in Hebrew (I am a proud dyslexic)) tern 13 and soon he can do it also in English  



All colors exist in nature  why don’t we use them. 

since it is a science blog here some science
  
Pigments in plants: from Wikipedia

Chlorophyll  – GREEN.
It is the presence and relative abundance of chlorophyll that gives plants their green color.l chlorophylls serve as the primary means plants use to intercept light in order to fuel photosynthesis.

Carotenoids  – RED, ORANGE or YELLOW.
 oil-soluble  pigments. During the process of photosynthesis, they have functions in light-harvesting as well as singlet oxygen scavenging for prevention of photooxidative damage), and also serve as protein structural elements. Plants, in general, contain six ubiquitous carotenoids: neoxanthin, violaxanthin, antheraxanthin, zeaxanthin, lutein and β-carotene.

Betalains – RED or YELLOW
 Like anthocyanins they are water-soluble, but unlike anthocyanins they are synthesized fromtyrosine. This class of pigments is found only in the Caryophyllales (including cactus and amaranth), and never co-occur in plants with anthocyanins.[4] Betalains are responsible for the deep red color of beets.

Anthocyanins – BLUE, PURPLE or RED
 water-soluble  pigments that Anthocyanins appear red to blue, according to PH
The colors purple and blue in plant is mostly the anthocyanins. Pigment.  The material responsible for the purple color changes from red to purple to blue depending on its PH.
Illustration: PH environmental impact of the paint Hantotzianin.
from:
http://www.intechopen.com/books/the-mediterranean-genetic-code-grapevine-and-olive/production-of-anthocyanins-in-grape-cell-cultures-a-potential-source-of-raw-material-for-pharmaceuti



Some fruits and flowers contain anthocyanins are red, some purple and blue flowers such as lupine.


In fact, you can create a beautiful, colorful cake from fruit

Green – mint, nana, 
Red – berry (raspberry, strawberry).
Yellow – pinchof Turmeric (it got Aftertaste), or concentrate orange fruit.  
Purple – red berry + baking soda. Or blueberry.
Blue – blueberry + baking soda
·         (If you add lemon to blueberry, or other purple/blue berry it tern red)



HOW to make concentrate fruit juice?  

First you take the fruit
  Raspberry (frozen)


 cook them with  1/2 cup of water.


Then  squeeze them, concentrate to get darker color.



 Filter using strainer.

Add baking soda to get the colors purple or blue (first when you add soda you get purple, the more soda you add it become more blue ) 


I use the juice instead of water in the recipe – please remember that PH can effect protein (like egg). So some of the recipe don’t work well.

This is a new recipe . So please make it a share recipe – try to make one. then try to make it better – write in comments if you have an improvement idea.
I love using coconut oil, but my kids don't like coconut, they like the butter version.
You also have to make each color separately.
If someone can translate gr/ml/cm to American I will be thankful – 2.5 years in Iowa didn’t help me understand it????

*you can freeze the juice leftover for next time.

"ROLLED FONDANT" – RECIPE
1/2 cup of fruit juice
1/2 teaspoon gelatin (or 1/4 agar for vegetarians – don't add salt  if you use agar)
1/4 teaspoon salt
15gr of solid oil (coconut, butter, lard, margarine)
1-2 spoon of corn flour
150-350gr of caster sugar (also: castor sugar)
You can add some vanilla or rose flavors.

Put 1/2 cup juice in a small pot, use low heat temp

 add 1/2 tsp gelatin – wait 5 min and then mix.



 Add the solid oil, the salt and if you want some flavor – don’t let it boil.



Add corn flour – close the heat and mix thoroughly (you still can get aggregate).




Move the mix to a bowl
 mix gradually with caster sugar- when you add the sugar it become softer at the beginning (like marmalade).
 Mix till you get  very soft dough like texture. Cover the bowl with clean plastic and place it in refrigerator (4°C) for more then 1h.

 (It has to be too soft because it get solid when it cold).
When it cold it become more solid, wait 5 min and then add more caster sugar if it too soft.
You can use it now as you use rolled fondant.
Oil your hand, powder them with sugar powder – add more sugar or corn flour if it too soft, add some oil if it too solid.

 blue and purple from blueberry, yellow from Orange.




To get blue of purple add the baking soda to the juice or to a very soft fondant (after adding 100gr of the caster sugar.

Please be careful – the blue color fade when it dry (it take a day – use it fresh or keep the cake in refrigerator (4°C).



Red and purple fr aspberry, yellow from Turmeric 
You can keep our version of the "rolled fondant" in the refrigerator (4°C). for 2 weeks, in a sealed plastic bag.
Hop you will get tasty and more healthy cake, please share with me how does it goes?  

There is technical problem with having a comments on this blog. If you have any question please contact my e-mail nathovav@gamail.com 

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