Naturally Dyed Pink Frosting

We decided a week out from my daughter's birthday that we were going to do a little party with two of her friends.  The problem is that I don't know how to do anything 'little'.  Our playdate turned in to a full fledged Pinterest inspired party complete with tissue poms, tulle chairs, a Barbie 'theater', yummy food, and a Barbie cake!  

I struggled with the cake at first.  We try to keep our treats naturally sweetened, usually with honey or maple syrup.  I knew that I wanted her cake homemade and I found a lot of recipe possibilities.  The problem was that I didn't have a lot of time to experiment and see what would or wouldn't work in terms of baking it in to a tall Barbie cake.  I ended up making the King Arthur's Tender White Cake recipe using all organic ingredients. 

The one thing I didn't want to compromise on was our desire to keep artificial food dyes out of our food.  We've witnessed first hand in our family how Red-40 can affect a child's behavior and it was not pretty.   How would Barbie's skirt be pink though?!  Easy.  Beet juice!  I made a basic buttercream frosting out of butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract (soooo much sugar, eek!).  After it was all blended together I added in 1 tsp of beet juice from a freshly juiced beet.  It worked perfectly!  Thank goodness too since I finished frosting it 10 minutes before the party started.  Once a procrastinator, always a procrastinator...

With Valentine's Day coming up this would be a perfect way to tint frosting without using artificial food dyes! 

My cake decorating skills might need a little work but my now 5 year old thought it was the best thing ever and that's the opinion that matters most! 

Pink Buttercream Frosting
8 Cups Sifted Organic Powdered Sugar
1 Pound Organic Unsalted Butter (4 sticks), softened to room temperature
2 Teaspoons Organic Vanilla Extract (check that the ingredients are only alcohol & vanilla beans!)
1 Teaspoon Beet Juice (I used our Jack LaLanne juicer to juice one peeled beet and it was plenty)

1. Add butter to stand mixer and beat on medium speed for a 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy
2. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing on low speed until incorporated.  Scrape down sides after each addition.
3. Add in vanilla extract and beat on medium-high speed for a few minutes.  
4. Add in beet juice 1 teaspoon at a time until desired color is achieved.  I wanted a light pink so 1 teaspoon worked perfect.  Scrape down sides and mix well.  
5. If you're frosting is too thick for your needs you can add milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency is achieved.  

*This recipe makes a lot.  I had some left over after giving Barbie a thick coating to even out her skirt.  If you're doing a smaller cake or cupcakes you could probably get by with half of the recipe above.