Decorating cakes with fresh flowers

There are many edible flowers that can be used in cooking or garnishing. They are added to salads and used to make tinctures, oils, and vinegars. Because many flowers have a very strong aroma, they are not always suitable for decorating baked goods. Furthermore, eating some species can have adverse effects. For example, daylilies are edible, but they have a diuretic and laxative effect, so they are best used for decorative purposes only.

Preparing flowers

Before choosing flowers to decorate your dishes, you should determine whether they are edible. After that, it's important to know whether any fertilizers were used in their cultivation, and what kind. Of course, it's best to choose flowers you've grown yourself in your garden.

Take your chosen flowers and place them in a bowl of water to remove dust, pollen, and any insects. To keep them looking fresh, soak them in the water for at least half an hour. Then remove them from the water, cut the stems just below the base of the flower, and place them on a paper towel to remove excess water.


How to arrange flowers on a cake?

Draw a plan on a piece of paper the same size as the cake and lay the flowers on top of it so you can see how they will look together.

It's best to arrange mint leaves and small candies at the bottom of the cake. Choose candies that match the colors of the flowers you plan to place on top. This will create a harmonious cake look.

Now we can move on to decorating the top of the cake. Let's choose lilac violets as the flowers. Place about five of them in the center and add a few small mint leaves.

You can arrange larger flowers around the edge of the cake. There should be about five of them. These will be dark purple pansies. If you want geometric precision, you can measure the distance between the flowers with a ruler, although you can also do it by eye.

You can also add decorations to the sides of the cake, but if you want to draw attention to the top, you can place a single violet between the pansies instead.

Candied flowers for cake decoration

Instead of fresh flowers, you can use candied flowers. The advantage of candied flowers is that they can be used in a cake after the wildflowers have finished blooming or haven't yet bloomed. For example, candied flowers from your garden would look absolutely magical on a Valentine's Day cake. While buying flowers from a flower shop is certainly possible, it's not recommended, as the fertilizers used in their cultivation can be hazardous to your health.

How to candied flowers on a cake?

To do this you need:

– 1 white of a large chicken egg;
– 1 teaspoon of water;
– 1 cup powdered sugar;
- small plate;
- a small, clean brush for painting;
- wax paper.

Using a fork or whisk, beat the egg white and water until lightly foamy. Using a brush, coat each flower petal with the egg white-water mixture. Hold the flower over a plate and dust it with powdered sugar on all sides. Shake off any excess powder and lay the flower on waxed paper to dry. At room temperature, the flowers will crystallize in 12-36 hours. If you want to speed up the drying process, place the flowers in an oven preheated to 145°F (65°C) for a few hours. Make sure the flowers are completely dry before storing. You can store them in a plastic container with waxed paper between each layer.

List of flowers that can be used to decorate a cake.

Next to the name of the flower, its color is indicated in brackets.

• Anise (lilac)
  
• Pansies (various colors)
  
• Basil (white)
  
• Impatiens (white, pink, red, orange)
  
• Marigolds (yellow, orange)
  
• Tuberous begonia (white, pink, red)
  
• Elderberry (white)
  
• Cornflower (white, pink or blue)
  
• Carnation (flowers of different colors)
  
• Scented geranium (white, red, pink)
  
• Honeysuckle (white, pale yellow)
  
• Calendula (yellow or orange)
  
• Lavender (pink)
  
• Forest spring violet (purple, yellow)
  
• Daylily (various colors)
  
• Snapdragon (various colors)
  
• Daisy (pink, white)
  
• Mint (purple)
  
• Lemon balm (flowers come in a variety of colors)
  
• Nasturtium (yellow)
  
• Borage (blue)
  
• Dandelion (yellow)
  
• Peony (white, pink, red)
  
• Sunflower (yellow)
  
• Rose (various colors)
  
• Rosemary (blue)
  
• Chamomile (white)
  
• Thyme (white)
  
• Tulip (different colors)
  
• Fennel (yellow, green)
  
• Violet (purple, white)
  
• Chrysanthemum (different colors)
  
• Apple tree (white or pink)

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