Naturally-Colored Wild Blueberry Buttercream Frosting

I grew up on homemade birthday cakes that my mom made. She liked to pipe roses with trailing leaves and create renderings of our favorite cartoon characters—all with pastry bags of brightly-colored frosting.

Now that I’m a mom, I’ve continued the tradition of home-baked cakes with one important tweak: I’ve swapped out the standard bottles of food dyes with natural colors. After all, there’s growing concern that fake food dyes may not be good for health, especially for children. And there are so many brilliant hues you can find right in nature.

The intense, natural color of Wild Blueberries lends itself perfectly to tinting frosting. That color is thanks to the anthyocyanins in the berries, pigments that make Wild Blueberries so deeply blue and also give them their powerful antioxidant protection. Did you know that Wild Blueberries have twice the antioxidants as their tame, cultivated cousins?

This frosting recipe is a classic buttercream. The only way to get frosting that stands up to piping and holds its shape is with butter and a smidge of organic shortening, so it’s a sweet splurge for sure! But the recipe also uses a full cup of frozen fresh Wild Blueberries. I decided to cook up a thick, syrupy berry mash and use the whole fruit instead of just straining out the juice. I love the tiny purple flecks and bits of berries swirled through the frosting. And Wild Blueberries’ sweet-tart taste gives this frosting a great flavor too.

Because you’re using frozen Wild Blueberries, available in the freezer section along with the other frozen fruit, you can make this frosting recipe year round to top your favorite cake, cupcake and cookie recipes for birthdays, holidays, and other special occasions. And feel free to add even more frozen Wild Blueberries to the top of your treats to give them an added pop of color and flavor.