Natural food dye/coloring?

[alexsam]

My son wants "pink sugar frosting" (like Winnie-the-Pooh!) for his birthday cupcakes. I'm no chef, but thankfully Wholefoods carries organic "no crap" boxed cake and frosting mixes .

Now, I just have to get the white vanilla frosting pink .

Wholefoods also sells the India Tree natural food dyes, but they are $20 for 3 little bottles . I might just do it and close my eyes, but I was wondering if anyone has any alternative ideas first? I'm making "ice cream cone cupcakes", so I need the frosting to be very smooth so it looks like soft-serve ice cream (which it really does when I use a decorating bag and a star tip! ....so, no puree fruit, I don't think... What about juice? Like cherry or pomegranite or fruit punch? Do you think that would work?

Suggestions?

[Thalia the Muse]

First of all, I want to cheerlead a little for making an easy cake and frosting from scratch -- the boxed mixes are such a rip-off. The dirty little secret is that cake is easy! Frosting is even easier! Just get a good "dump cake" recipe and frost it with a no-cook buttercream ...

BUT, to stop pestering you and answer your question , you can make frosting violently pink by pureeing a package of frozen raspberries in the blender, and stirring the puree into your frosting. Yummy, too! It shouldn't be too thick to pipe through a large tip -- the berries just disintegrate.

[cristeen]

Cherry juice concentrate will do it too.