Natural Food Dyes - Green Icing With Spinach

I admit, adding spinach to desserts doesn't sound very appetising even to the biggest veggie-lovers. But I promise, it's not as bad as it sounds. Spinach puree has a very concentrated colour, so you don't have to add a lot to get a vibrant colour and in most cases you will add it to sugar heavy concoctions like royal icing, frosting, buttercreams and cake batter, so you will get only the tiniest hint of spinach flavour. It's a great food dye alternative for healthy eaters and those allergic to regular dyes. This recipe will definitely come in handy on St. Patrick's day and Christmas.

Royal icing:

Fresh spinach

Powdered sugar

Egg whites

Flavouring (optional)

I used coffee grinder, but smoothie maker could work too, however coffee grinder allowed me to blend a really small quantity of spinach and if I wanted to use a smoothie maker I'd have to use twice the amount of spinach to blend it properly.

Spinach has to be washed and stems have to be removed. Pour boiling water over spinach or microwave it until it deflates and looses it's volume. Cool it down before pureeing.

I used 2 cups of fresh spinach and ended up with 1/4 cup puree.

Basic recipe for royal icing is 1 egg white + 1 cup powdered sugar. Keep extra sugar on hand in case you need your icing thicker. Use a hand held mixer or a whisk to whip egg whites and sugar together until it's smooth, lump-free and glossy. Once basic royal icing is done, whisk small amounts of spinach puree until you reach desired colour. Either cover the bowl with clingfilm or transfer the mixture into a piping bag. You have to do it straight away to prevent icing from drying out.