Vegan Sprinkles and Food Dye

Lets talk about sprinkles. A lot of them ARE NOT vegan. Some of them aren't even edible! (whats with those awesome mercury sprinkles?!) Ugh. Those cool little silver balls, pink piggies, snowflakes, glitter ones, colorful ones, shiny ones...they all make your desserts LOOK super awesome, but sometimes they contain beeswax, gelatin, food dyes that have been tested on sweet innocent animals, and most commonly...confectioners glaze. I've had a hard time with this ingredient, because a search on google will tell you that is made from the Lac Beetle (kind of a cute little guy) to add shine to sprinkles. On the other hand, sprinkles labeled Kosher that contain confectioners glaze can't possibly contain insect by-products because that would never fly with the Rabbi. At least not the ones that supervise Green. They have a bright light they use to search thru all of our greens and veggies once a week to ensure there are no insects. In fact, I'm not even allowed to bake with raspberries or blackberries because the Rabbi cannot be entirely sure there are no insects in them. But, even though they are so strict, I cannot find anything to confirm that there are no insects when labeled Kosher. Perhaps since it is not considered "food," it doesnt count. Anyways, let's just stay away from confectioners glaze all together. Usually the alternative to confectioners glaze is carnauba wax a.k.a. Brazil wax, which is made from palm tree leaves.

I've bought some really great sprinkles by a company called Let's Do...Organic! They come in a box with a few individually wrapped packages of pastel colored round sprinkles. They are labeled both vegan AND gluten free, so I feel safe using them. The reason they are individually packaged is that they have a short shelf life due to the naturally sourced dyes. They lose a little bit of pigment with time, especially when opened and not sealed air tight again. I've seen chocolate, confetti, and pastel ones online at www.edwardsandsons.com

Another real cool company is Chocolate Craft Kits. They make all natural food colors, sprinkles, molding chocolate, and powders to assist you in all your baking needs. I haven't had a chance to order and test anything out by them, but I'm going to as soon as possible!!! Check them out online at www.chocolatecraftkits.com

India Tree is a company that makes some all natural food dye, and somewhat natural sprinkles. I first heard about it from the Babycakes cookbook. They use India Tree all natural food dyes for tinting their gorgeous frostings. I bought the food dyes at Wheatsville in Austin once, but it was $18 for 3 colors, and though beautiful at first, they had a very short shelf life, and turned brown. When using all natural products, not packed with preservatives, always make sure you use fresh ingredients. I found a huge array of their sprinkles (but no food dyes) at Central Market, but was hesitant when I read they were dyed with artificial coloring, and some, but not all, contained confectioners glaze. I checked them out online, and you can find some that are naturally colored on their website www.indiatree.com.

Of course, another great alternative to garnishing is using natural items such as nuts, toasted coconut, candied fruit, drizzles, edible flowers, etc. One thing to mention, is when using fresh fruit as garnish, be sure to serve right away. Cutting a strawberry and putting it on top will release juice over time and can smudge up your frosting. Never garnish with frozen fruit and always rinse fresh fruit very well before using....dry fruit completely before toppin' off those pretty little cupcakes.
The Cookie Monster cake was naturally dyed with India Tree food dyes, and the pink is from strawberries and beet juice!! Happy baking!!!