we are super excited to welcome jaime giorgi from the monkey flower group and jen smith of the nomadic oven back to d*s. i’m always excited by the abundance of flowers in the summer and i’d take a side a sugar with pretty much anything, so this project is right up my alley. i’m already imaging what a great topper this would be on some homemade ice cream. yes, please! -amy a.
CLICK HERE for the full food/flower how-to after the jump!
[When it comes to adornments for summertime sweets, there are few as perfect and magical as sugared flowers. An added plus? They're fantastically easy to make. Use this simple technique to transform the season's most beautiful and delicious flowers into sparkly, edible gems for your next picnic or party. -Jaime of the The Monkey Flower Group & Jen of The Nomadic Oven]
For this project, you’ll need:
- 1/2 cup superfine sugar (you can process granulated sugar in a blender for a similarly fine texture).
- 1 egg white, lightly beaten (use pasteurized powdered egg whites if you have any concerns about salmonella).
- Edible flowers, grown without pest/herbicides. (We used wild violets, ‘Kwanzan’ cherry blossom petals, and individual lilac florets, but pansies, pinks, nasturtiums, borage, lavender, marigolds, roses, and herbs are also good options).
After washing the flowers (and checking for insects), give their stems a fresh cut and place them in a vase of water to drink. When the blossoms have completely air dried, separate any larger flowers (such as roses, marigolds, or lilacs) into individual petals or florets.
Using a small cake-decorating paintbrush, carefully cover one blossom, petal, or floret with egg white. Sprinkle sugar over the entire surface, then gently tap to remove any excess. Place the flower on a plate or parchment paper and start another.
Allow the sugared flowers to dry overnight. Once they have set, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to several months, or use them immediately to dress up any cake or confection.
16 Comments
Is that how you do that! So simple to do yet so elegant and special.
Just so you know… Your ‘click here’ jump link isn’t working…
that’s incredible!
Thanks, Meg!
Thanks for this post! We’re thinking cupcakes for our wedding and this would be perfect and something we can do ourselves.
Can the flowers be eaten?
karen – they can be eaten if you choose edible flowers. see the materials needed above. :)
-amy
Why do the petals have to be seperated?Why can’t the whole flower be dipped and dried.
I’ve been doing this with pansies for years – they are so fun on cupcakes; makes them really special – especially love the pink and yellow victorian colors!
These are just too beautiful. I’m sending this on to a friend who will definitely try them if she doesn’t already know how. So Yvonne it’s coming to you. Marsha
Outstanding idea. Gorgeous~
Thanks for the tips, I’ve always wanted to try it….it’s too bad, because I think I already missed Lilacs and cherry blossoms. There’s lots of other good stuff on the way though. ;^)
Heidi
Love the directions–can’t wait to try them out on my lavender!
One question, though: Don’t nasturtium blooms taste kind of horseradish-y, like the leaves? If so, sugaring them… ick!
Do people really like to eat flowers? I know some are edible but the ones I’ve had do not taste good.
Evelyn– If you dip the whole flower, you get a big, drippy blob of sugar-coated eggwhite that doesn’t much resemble a flower. (Not that I’ve ever done that. No sirreee…)
As for the taste, well, that’s really not the reason you make them. Edible flowers are, IMHO, simply the ones that don’t taste horrible.
Thanks for this – I’ve always wanted to try sugared someday. There’s something particularly lovely about real flowers
beautilful idea~for those of us with egg allergies, is there any kind of substitute for the egg white?
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