Homemade Sprinkles (With Natural Food Coloring)
Homemade Sprinkles are surprisingly easy to make at home, take only 3 ingredients, and much cheaper compared to store-bought options. You can also make them better-for-you with all natural food colorings, and customize them as creative as you wish!
Ingredients you’ll need:
- powdered sugar
- egg white(s)
- vanilla extract
- (optional) fine baking salt
All Natural Food Coloring Options:
- BLUE = Butterfly Pea Flower or Spirulina
- GREEN = Matcha Powder
- YELLOW = Turmeric Powder
- RED/PINK = Beet Powder
- ORANGE = Carrot or Pumpkin Powder
Bake with me!
Homemade Sprinkles (With Natural Food Coloring)
Ingredients
Base recipe:
- 172 grams powdered sugar about 1 ½ cups
- 35 grams egg white about 1 egg white
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Color options:
- BLUE: blueberry powder butterfly pea flower, spirulina
- GREEN: matcha powder
- ORANGE: carrot powder pumpkin powder
- RED: beet root powder strawberry powder, raspberry powder
- YELLOW: turmeric powder goldenberry powder
Instructions
- Bring 2 inches of water in a saucepan over medium heat to a boil.
- In the stainless-steel bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the powdered sugar, egg white, vanilla, and salt. Mix on medium speed for 1 minute, until it resembles icing.
- Transfer the bowl to sit on top of the saucepan. Cook for 1 minute 30 seconds, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Be careful not to overcook the mixture so it begins to be a thick, crusty icing.
- Move the bowl back to the stand mixer. Mix on medium speed for 1 minute.
- If adding natural coloring, choose your powder or divide into smaller bowls to add multiple colors. Try to work fast to avoid the mixture from hardening. Add a dash of water as needed to help keep the original consistency when adding the powders.
- Transfer the sprinkles mixture to a piping bag with no tip. Cut a tiny hole at the top and pipe your designs on parchment paper. It’s better to start with a smaller hole then cut bigger as needed.
- Let the sprinkles rest to harden overnight, or 8 to 12 hours.
Hints:
- Prep ingredients ahead of time. Use a knife to measure off excess powdered sugar if using cup measurement versus grams.
- The mixing bowl should be large enough to sit on top of the saucepan without touching the boiling water.
I truly hope you all enjoy this treasured recipe that has nestled its way into our hearts here in the ABM kitchen! ’till next time… xxL
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” ~ Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
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ahh I’m so obsessed with this idea. ive tried it 3 times now and cant get the sprinkles to stay in their shapes when I scrape them off the next dayyyy. I leave them over night and a bit into the next day and when I gently scrape them off the parchment they just break apart wah. do you have any tips for how to get them to be more firm? I really want to master this recipeeee. love your other recipes also!!
Hi Audrey!! So a few things may help here! First, you may need to make them thicker. But also, try to gently pop them off by pushing them up from underneath the parchment paper. Sometimes for the more fragile sprinkles, I have to pop them off! Also, you can try making the batter itself thicker by adding a higher ratio of powdered sugar. Hope this helps some 🙂
I have had the same problem 🙁
Made it thicker and all! Tried popping them off. They keep crumbling 😭
If you find a solid solution, let me know!
Hello! I’m really excited to try this recipe! What’s the shortest amount of time that I would need for the sprinkles to dry out if I didn’t want to wait over night?
Hm great question! I would say at least 6 hours! The thinner and smaller you make them, the quicker they will dry 🙂
Instead of using powders, would it be possible to dye them with fruit juice extract? I.E. Cherry or blueberries? If so, how much juice liquid should I use?
It’s definitely worth a try! You don’t use too much liquid to make them so the colorful may just not be as potent.
Love this so much! Curious on your experience of the sprinkle colour transferring/melting on the cake icing? How far before eating the cake can you apply?
Hi Allison! I usually like to make the sprinkles a day or two in advance, and then decorate the day of. However, I have had the leftover cake pieces sprinkles hold their shape and color pretty well for up to 2 days afterwards. The only color I’ve found melt on the cake is when I use blue spirulina
Thank you for sharing this recipe
Can I put the cake in the fridge with the sprinkles on or will this mess it up?
hi Sophie!! I recommend keeping the sprinkles out at room temperature away from direct sunlight and heat until ready to decorate and serve. I usually put my sprinkles on only up to 2 hours prior to serving just because there is the slight chance the natural dyes will leak into the frosting lol
This worked exactly as written, thanks!
Thank you for sharing this recipe