Candied Pansies

Seasonal

Apr 6

Edible Flowers

I absolutely love using edible flowers- they bring such a beautiful, unexpected pop of color when they appear on a plate or used to garnish drinks. Each variety of edible flower varies on flavor from mild onion to aromatic to sweet. My favorite flowers to use for savory dishes are chives and pansies for sweets such as cakes and pastries. Experiment with flavors on your own with the following edible flowers.

Chamomile
Chrysanthemums
Chive
English Daisy
Gladiolus
Impatients
Lilac
Marigold
Lavender
Rose

There are endless possibilities of uses with edible flowers. They can be used fresh, dried, frozen or even candied (as I will demonstrate here). We love sprinkling garden salads with fresh purple chive flowers in the spring. Dried rose petals sprinkled on cakes gives a beautiful pop of color. Lavender frozen into ice cubes puts specialty drinks onto a whole new level. In addition, candied edible flowers are a fabulous, delicate garnish for sweet dishes such as cakes or pastries.

Making Candied Pansies

Ingredients & Tools

Liquid egg white substitute (or egg whites)
Granulated Sugar
Edible Flowers or Flower Petals
Paint brush (culinary brush or craft brush reserved for cooking)
Wire cooling rack

Instructions

Choose the flower: Larger flowers such as roses will need to be disassembled to candy each flower petal individually. Smaller delicate flowers such as pansies can be candied as a whole flower.
Gently wash individual petals or flower heads and let dry on a paper towel.
Place egg whites in a small bowl. Using a brush, gently coat both sides of the flower with the egg white.
Next, sprinkle the flower pedals with granulated sugar. Coat flower completely.
Place the flower on a wire cooling rack and allow to dry until hardened. This may take anywhere from 2-24hrs.

If not used immediately, store candied flowers in a sealed container for up to 5 days. Use candied flowers to decorate cakes, cupcakes or pastries. They can also be used to garnish plates, sprinkled in punch bowls or used as an accent on tablescapes.

Using Candied Pansies

There are countless ways to use candied flowers. This time I took an average store-bought cake and elevated it by garnishing it with both fresh and candied pansies. What a pretty little thing it turned out to be!

*disclaimer: you should only use flowers that are grown organically, ideally in your own planter or yard. Do not use flowers purchased from a florist or flowers that could have been sprayed with chemical pesticides. I choose plants from my local nursery, market or grocery store without flowers and let them bloom at home to ensure that each bloom is food safe. Wherever you find your edible flowers make sure that they are free of pesticides and other chemicals.