It is wonderfull to see a brilliant trend emerging in the pastry and cake department that taste as good as it looks! With more and more people avoiding potentially toxic food colouring, cooks, both at home and in restaurants, are looking to the garden for creative salvation. So instead of serving luminous silver colour balls made of sugar at your children’s birthday parties, consider scattering edible varieties of organic flower petals over jellies, custurd, ice cream, cake and like, plus, in some cases, use these delicate wonder as an ingredient of the dish – or dishes- on your party menu.
Borage, day lilies, carnations, calendulas, cornflower, hibicus, jasmine, ‘kuchnar’ lavender, sunflower, violas and violets are just a few of glorius flowers that you can use with in – or on top – of cakes, cupcakes, biscuits, dessert, whether it is for birthday party, a wedding or a dinner party. And- as if this was not enough – cake and cupcakes are being lovingly created in the shape of edible, chemical free flower they contain, or are decorated with rose petals cupcakes piled high with skilful created petals conjured out of marzipan, chocolate, icing sugar or even out of specially prepared flower hued pasta or meticulously cut and shaped wedges of sweet pastry.
Then there are incredible creations replicating entire plants, sometimes complete with plants pots or intricately woven baskets, crafted to an amazingly lifelike degree, with sugar spun basket busting with flower shaped cakes, flower filled cookies and other delights, usually topped with artfully arranged, often brilliantly hued, edible flowers or their petals foe the ultimate tasty treat. These ‘botanical’ cakes and pastries (as they are becoming widely known) instantly attract the attention of those lucky enough to have such an offering placed before them and yes – they are certainly a highly individual, natural – based, treat!
By B Khan