Edible flowers on cakes: how to use them without wrecking them

A plain buttercream cake with flowers on it looks like it came from a bakery. The same cake with flowers scattered badly looks like a child did it in a hurry. The difference is not skill, it is placement and timing.

Fresh or dried on a cake

Fresh flowers wilt. On a cake that sits out through dinner, speeches and photos, a fresh viola can look tired within the hour, and fresh stems have to be wrapped so nothing leaches into the icing.

Dried petals do not wilt, do not leak and do not need wrapping. They are also there in the cupboard in June when nothing is in flower, which is when most birthdays inconveniently happen.

Where to put them

Three arrangements cover almost every cake:

• The crescent. A curved sweep of petals across one side of the top, heavier at one end. It is the most forgiving layout because it is meant to look uneven.
• The rim. Petals pressed around the top edge only, leaving the middle clear for a message or a candle.
• The scatter. Petals dropped across the whole top from a height so they land randomly. Works best on a small cake, and best with a single colour.

What does not work is a ring of evenly spaced single petals, which reads as fussy and shows up every wobble.

Making them stick

Petals stick to soft icing on their own. If the surface has crusted, or you are working on fondant or chocolate, dab the back of the petal with the tiniest amount of water or sugar syrup on a fine brush. Too much and the petal goes translucent.

For the sides of a cake, press petals into the crumb coat before the final layer sets. Chilled buttercream will not hold them.

Timing

Add flowers as late as you reasonably can, ideally within a couple of hours of serving. Petals sitting on wet icing overnight will soften and bleed a little colour. If you must decorate the night before, keep the cake somewhere cool and dry, not in the fridge, where condensation will do the same thing faster.

Which flowers hold up

• Cornflower is the most reliable. It keeps a strong blue or purple against white icing.
• Calendula gives you yellow and orange, which reads well on chocolate where most petals disappear.
• Rose petals look expensive, especially broken into smaller pieces rather than laid whole.
• Mixed blends suit cupcakes, where you want variety across a tray rather than a single colour scheme.

Our dried florets come in four blends, and one pouch gives roughly 54 to 63 servings, so a single bag decorates a birthday cake with plenty left for the drinks.

Cupcakes, pavlova and everything else

Cupcakes are where flowers are easiest, because three petals on each is enough and any mistake only ruins one cake. Pavlova takes petals beautifully, especially with a few pieces of dried strawberry for contrast. Panna cotta, cheesecake and lemon tart are all pale enough to show the colour.

On a grazing or dessert board, scatter petals across the whole board rather than on one item, which pulls the whole thing together.

Are they safe to eat?

Ours are, because they are grown as food and dried for eating. The general rule is to never use flowers from a florist or garden centre on food, as they are often sprayed with products that are fine for ornamentals and not for eating. If you have hay fever or plant allergies, go carefully the first time.

You can see the range in our edible florets collection, handmade here in the Waikato, with free shipping over $100.