Halloween without food colouring: the 100% natural palette, starring ube

Halloween is the festival of scary colours. And all too often, of colours that worry parents: neon icing, sweets in improbable shades, colourings whose names nobody ever reads. Yet nature already has the whole palette. Purple, orange, black, green, red and white: here is how to put together a spectacular Halloween table with real ingredients, and why ube is the star of the show.

Six colours, zero colouring

The principle is simple: every colour comes from a food that already has flavour. We don't dye, we cook. The result: tastier desserts, and an ingredient list you can read out loud without blushing.

Purple

Ube, the star

It is the hardest colour to find in nature, and ube delivers it effortlessly: a deep purple from its anthocyanins, with a gentle vanilla and hazelnut taste. One spoonful in frosting, cake batter or hot milk is enough. The only catch: too much baking soda turns it greenish grey. Perfect for witch-purple ube cupcakes.

Orange

Squash, with a hint of turmeric

Red kuri or butternut squash purée gives a warm orange and a melting texture. To intensify it, add a pinch of turmeric or some grated carrot. Paired with ube, it is magic: orange and purple side by side are the official colours of Halloween night. Our pumpkin ube bread brings them together in a single slice.

Black

Black cocoa

For a moonless-night black, very dark cocoa (known as black cocoa) works wonders in biscuits and icings. For savoury dishes, squid ink colours pasta and risotto. We do avoid activated charcoal for party food, though: it can interfere with the absorption of some medicines. The contrast with a purple centre is striking, as in our ube molten cake.

Green

Matcha, the witch's potion

Potion green comes from matcha, spinach (you won't taste it in a smoothie) or pistachio. Matcha and ube make a spectacular two-tone duo: pour one over the other in a glass and watch the layers form. A guaranteed cauldron effect with our ube iced matcha.

Red

Red berries and beetroot

Halloween's blood red comes from a raspberry or red berry coulis, which drips in the most theatrical way. Beetroot, meanwhile, colours chocolate cakes without anyone guessing. A drizzle of coulis over a purple cream, and the dessert becomes a film scene. Try it on our ube panna cotta.

White

Meringue, whipped cream and coconut

White is the colour of ghosts. Meringues shaped like little spectres, whipped cream, desiccated coconut or yoghurt: anything white stands out all the more against a purple background. Two dots of chocolate for eyes, and your ghosts come to life. Our ube pavlova is the ideal playground.

Three spellbinding combinations

• Purple and black, Halloween night. An ube dough with a black cocoa icing: the most elegant contrast of the evening, perfect for biscuits or a layer cake.
• Purple and orange, the official duo. An ube latte topped with cinnamon whipped cream and a touch of pumpkin purée: the drink that warms up trick-or-treaters. See our pumpkin ube latte.
• Purple and white, the ghost. A purple cream or ice cream, crowned with little meringue or whipped cream ghosts. Simple, quick, and children love drawing them themselves.

This Halloween, the only artificial thing on the table will be the costumes.

For more ready-to-serve ideas, see our three ube Halloween recipes: the purple potion, the frozen ghost and the bewitched pancakes. And to understand where this unique purple comes from, read why ube is purple.