Simple Frostings that are preservative-free, and GFCF

My children have birthdays coming up, and this got me to thinking about what cakes I am going to make this year. James, my oldest, is not one for the sweet tooth but he loves chocolate, therefore, he is easy. My youngest, Andy, does inherit his sweet tooth from me, therefore, I have to be more creative.

I will tell you that there are alot of lovely cake mixes on the market. Even Betty Crocker (TM)  has one.  I actually don't often find the cakes to be the problem. It is the frosting and the icing that is somewhat difficult. You see, James has a seizure disorder and food coloring really affects him neurologically. Therefore, food coloring is out.

I always find that when I need a color, I can use natural food colorings. For example, I have been able to find natural food colorings made in India that have beautiful hues. However, the downside is that I have only been able to find this at Whole Foods and the ink set is $25.00 there. It does last for a very long time, but it is quite an investment.

There are also other "natural coloring dyes" on the market as well. Currently, in my pantry, I have the following: a blueberry, a annato, and a carrot dye. The downside to these is that they require alot of the dye to get a good hue.

My favorite fall back is to use the following: the juice of kale or spinach for green, fresh raspberries or cherries for red, and lemon makes a lovely pale yellow.

So, I will say that it is somewhat limited. The best thing to do is to experiment with the colors and flavors you prefer. Both of my children love raspberries, blueberries and lemons so they make appearances often when I am making frosting for cupcakes.

Below, I have two of my favorite "everyday frostings" for you to use. I love making cupcakes and using these frostings for them.

Chocolate Ganache Frosting:
9 oz of GF/CF chocolate chips (usu. Enjoy Life (TM))
2 Tbsp of CF Ghee butter or Soy butter if tolerated.
2 Tbsp of milk alternative.
1 Tbsp of powdered sugar (again, GF!)

Melt the chocolate, milk alterative, and ghee over medium heat, stir constantly to make sure that they are well incorporated.  stir the powdered sugar into the mixture and ice your cakes! It will harden a little, but it is so good!

Fresh Raspberry Frosting.
(I love this frosting during the summer months and will often garnish with raspberries, blueberries and strawberries for 4th of July events.)

8 tbsp of soy butter or any GF/CF butter alternative
1 cup of powdered sugar
1 handful of fresh raspberries.
2 tbsp of milk-alternative

Beat the butter until smooth and creamy add the powdered sugar
add the milk alternative. Finally, on low-speed, incorporate the raspberries.

Frost your cupcakes and enjoy.

Next month, since James has a birthday, I will post a few cake recipes I have collected and created over the years. Some of them are not mine, and some are actually modified from family recipes (pumpkin spice for example,) so I think I have a good selection for every taste. I hope you enjoy my frostings and I wish you luck.
Cheers!