Do you use edible flowers to decorate cakes?

[Zyni]

I recently saw this on a food blog, and even though I had heard of it before, I was quite surprised that there are so many different edible flowers. I think decorating a cake with them would be really beautiful, like giving a cake and a bouquet all in one. Have you tried it? Do you eat the flowers? Some people even make salads out of flowers. How do they taste?

 

[Trellum]

As a matter of a fact yes, I have tried it, but I must say that some people might not like it at all! Some people just don't like the idea of eating flowers. But who would could say no to something like this:

 

[connie]

Some people even make salads out of flowers. How do they taste?

I don't decorate cakes anymore but I frequently include flowers in my salads. Most petals, not flowers (note the difference here) are edible and add colour to any salad or meal. They don't have to be in a salad. They are great for adding a little something extra. Everything from rose petals to dandelion petals are edible. Wild honeysuckle is great because it contains a sugary nectar early in the morning and you can get a sweet taste from it. You just pluck the flower off the plant and suck hard or just east the whole thing, but petals only! You will find the stamen are often edible as well, it is just not all been parts are edible. You need to know your flowers. For instance, elderflower flowers are edible but all green parts of the elder tree along with roots and the actual seeds inside the berries are poisonous with a cyanogen. This includes the wood and bark as well. Literally only the flowers and fleshy parts of the berries are edible. But how is going to sit and pick off each elderflower flower?

 

[Zyni]

Wow, great posts you two. Thanks for the info and images.

Those images are just beautiful, Trellum. I guess they could remove the flowers if they don't want to eat them, but woo are those pretty.

That's great info, Connie. I can't wait to try adding edible flowers to something now.

 

[ReadmeByAmy]

Wow this is so beautiful and a very nice ideas on how we can make use of flowers in our cooking and baking. Very informative. Thanks guys for sharing your posts

 

[Winterybella]

No I don't. You know my motto," before you decorate learn to perfect the cake". These are delightful to the eyes though. I love to see this kind of workmanship and design even if I am not able to produce it myself. Beautiful!

 

[Trellum]

I agree with you, Winterybella! For me the top priority was to get the cake right, I then thought about the decoration. To this day what matter to me the most is the taste and texture of the cake I rarely decorate my cakes, unless I'm making a cake for someone... in that case I do my best to decorate

 

[barkingsquirrel]

I remember sucking on the wild honeysuckle when I was a kid. My little friend and I used to collect a bunch of flowers and go sit in the shade to suck on the flowers. It was great ....

Thank you for posting those beautiful pictures of the decorated cakes. I'll rethink what I put in for flowers this year and maybe add some edibles to show my children how all that works. I think that would be a lasting memory for them.

 

[cupcakechef]

I had a friends baby shower this past weekend and her friend that hosted it had made a stunning cake and smaller cupcakes which were decorated with edible flowers. I've never actually used them before in my own baking, but they really were such a gorgeous touch - especially when a cake is a focal point of a table of food, it makes it stand out!

 

[Diane Lane]

I love the look of them. I've always been afraid of poisoning someone else or myself. It's good to know that most petals and some other parts are edible, on most flowers, thanks @connie. I can remember sucking the nectar from the wild honeysuckle as a child, as well. I tried it not that long ago, but I guess it was too late in the day. It did have a pleasant taste, but there wasn't much nectar. I want to try to propagate honeysuckle, I just keep forgetting to research it. I did use my jasmine blossoms recently to infuse green tea, that worked well.

 

[Finella]

Honestly as an eater, I'd really prefer everything to be edible.

 

[Zyni]

I remember sucking on the wild honeysuckle when I was a kid. My little friend and I used to collect a bunch of flowers and go sit in the shade to suck on the flowers. It was great ....

Thank you for posting those beautiful pictures of the decorated cakes. I'll rethink what I put in for flowers this year and maybe add some edibles to show my children how all that works. I think that would be a lasting memory for them.

I remember doing that too. Honeysuckle smells so great too.

I need to plant some flowers of my own one of these days, so I can use them. I'll have to put in the time (when I find some time lol) to do some in depth research first.

 

[Joel]

I have eaten cakes which contain edible flowers but I have never tried adding them whenever I bake. They do taste good but my kids don't like them. I hope that they are not expensive. I will try adding them to the ingredients in the future whenever I bake.

 

[MarshCat]

I have done this, and in fact you can use flowers that aren't necessarily "edible" too, provided they aren't poisonous and you remind people to remove them before eating the cake. I had real flowers on my wedding cake, and to this day that is one of the things that I liked best about my entire wedding. (Although I am no longer with him.)

The photo that @Trellum posted of the violets on the cake is my favorite. I have eaten violets fresh from the grass before, but I have also had homemade candied ones. I personally don't care for violet flavored candy (such as the UK's Parma Violets), but I did like the sugar coated flowers.

 

[ashley0323]

Those edible flowers look beautiful on the cakes, that's for sure! Personally, I haven't had the chance to use them, though I'm sure I will in the future. Not the same thing, I know, but I have used fondant to make roses for the tops of cakes and it turns out nice.

 

[Corzhens]

Pardon me if I cannot share anything substantial to this thread. What I want to share is my desire for those small flowers in the cake. Whenever I would attend a wedding, those edible flowers are my haunt. The tradition here is to slice the cake and share it with the guests. But now they use cupcakes to distribute to the guests and only one slice is cut for the couple (bride and groom). So the edible flowers are intact, huh. When it is time to go, I would request the couple if I can have some of those edible flowers and almost always, my request is granted.