I have fond memories of eating crystallized flowers on my grandmother's cakes. She would often surprise us with placing them on one of her decadent cakes in the dead of winter ! I decided to try my hand at making these myself and perhaps delight my girls in the same way. I spent the evening last night lost in a space of painting these delicate little blossoms with a some tunes, a sweet spring breeze and a glass of wine...a lovely way to quiet my mind and think fondly of my grandmother who always had magic at her finger tips.
Candying Flowers Recipe and Method:
You will need:
1 –2 egg whites (or about ¼ cup of the pasteurized variety)
Finely granulated white sugar (about 1/2 cup)
Tiny, clean, artist’s brush
Cup of cool water
Wax or parchment paper for drying the flowers
Paper or cotton towels
Cut the prettiest blossoms you can find at their peak of bloom, taking care to keep enough stem on them to allow you to hold them easily (3 to 4 inches).
Use only unsprayed flowers. This cannot be emphasized enough
Beat the whites from two or three fresh eggs with a whisk or fork, until they have lost their original heavy texture and become a bit frothy.
. Place about a cup or two of finely granulated white sugar in a soup bowl - this will be used to dip the flowers.
. Taking a single flower at a time, use the tiny brush to gently – but completely – coat the entire flower blossom, one petal at a time. Do NOT immerse the blossom in the egg white, as it causes the flower to take-up too much egg white. It will then not harden properly.
.Dip the egg-washed blossom into the sugar, taking care to get the sugar onto each petal. Gently shake off any excess sugar.
Place the blossom on wax paper – or parchment paper – and snip the flower blossom off its stem-holder.
. Allow the blossom to completely dry and harden.
. Store in an airtight container – they will keep for weeks.
We choose to use violas, pansies, white and purple lilacs, phlox, mint and pinks!
"Oh mom, WOW can we try these?"! One more way to enjoy the magnificence that surrounds us!
in sugared beauty
~ Shanti ~
more wonderful ideas! love this, my son has a bday coming up and this is his kind of thing. we'll be doing it for sure!
ReplyDeleteHow amazing! I will try this as I have most of these in my garden too!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing xx
I love the idea of this activity. I like the variety of flowers that you have used.
ReplyDeleteLove the last photo - such happiness!!
ReplyDeleteNamaste, Nicole
Alrighty Shanti...I'm doing some flowers of my own tomorrow or Tuesday! Thanks for inspiring me!!!!
ReplyDeletexo Maureen
ps...I read that you can put them in a jar between sheets of wax paper, and they should keep longer
Beautiful, Shanti! Grandma's gorgeous cakes are such a sweet childhood memory. ;)
ReplyDeleteThose are so beautiful. We've used plain flowers to decorate cakes before but I've never tried them this way. Must give it a try, they look like little jewels to me.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post mate you have written it very well.
ReplyDelete