Sugaring Edible Flowers and Leaves
Sugaring Edible Flowers and Leaves
It's easy and very satisfying to turn edible flowers and leaves into candy. For these cupcakes, the edible flowers I used were pansies, violas, and borage flowers. The leaves are several different kinds of mint--chocolate, pineapple and ginger. I also used lemon verbena leaves which are long and narrow and lemon balm, which are shorter and fatter with lovely scalloped edges.
Sugared flowers and leaves are great for cake decorations which are easy to use and make any sweet something special to look at.
The leaves taste particularly good and can add flavor as well as style.
What you need for sugaring:
Note: If you don't have superfine sugar you can easily make it:
How to Make Superfine Sugar
How to Sugar Flowers
For this how to, I used borage flowers but you can use any kind of edible flower or leaf.
Borage flowers are incredibly easy to grow from seed. In fact, they self-seed so once you grow them you may be stuck with them coming back year after year. Borage plants are very large, so if you are growing them in a container, be sure to use a big one.
While the flowers are very beautiful, the plants can be pretty ungainly and a bit hairy for decorative containers.
The leaves are delicious when the are young, and taste a little like cucumber. Bees and butterflies love borage flowers and the plants are very hearty and need little care, though regular watering is a must.
The flowers are edible and delicious. Pick them once they have bloomed and are still blue. You can use them after they have gone pinkish too, but I prefer the blue. Only eat the colored blossom.
More info on Borage
Picking Borage Flowers
It is best to pick any edible flowers in the morning before the day's heat sets in, but if it's not too hot pick borage flowers as close as possible to when you are going to use them. They wilt pretty fast, so you don't have too much time between harvest and use.
I pick the flowers by cutting or pinching the stem right below the blossom. This makes it easier to separate them, which is the next step.
I grow all of my herbs and flowers organically so don't even wash them, though I do check carefully for bugs. If you use pesticides or buy non-organic edible flowers or leaves, I would carefully wash them and dry them in a salad spinner or with paper towels before sugaring them.
Pick more flowers than you will need because they are very fragile and some will rip or get ruined in the process.
Preparing Borage Flowers
To prepare borage flowers you want to separate the colored blossom from the green stem. This is a somewhat delicate operation because the flowers are very fragile and paper-thin. I find the best way is to grasp the center of the blossom while holding the stem and gently pull. You can also try pulling the blossom off by a petal, but they will sometimes tear.
Painting on the Egg White Mixture
Whisk egg white with one tablespoon of water. This will thin out the egg white so it won't be as gooey and will be easier to paint on the flower or leaf.
The hardest part of painting a flower is that it is very easy to fold over a petal. I found the easiest way to avoid this was to paint the blossom while holding it on my hand. It's a bit messy, but isn't egg white supposed to be good for your skin?
Leaves are a bit easier to paint the egg white on because they are thicker and less delicate, but I found it easier to use this technique on them as well.
I also tried dipping the flowers and leaves into the egg white mixture to get an even coat, but that didn't work. Too much of the mixture adhered to the flowers and leaves so when it was dipped in the sugar it lost the delicate look and became lumpy.
Paint both sides of the blossom or leaf.
Sugaring Flowers
I found the easiest way to get the sugar to adhere to the whole flower was to gently place it on top of the extra-fine sugar, pressing it down very gently.
Sugaring flower
Next take a small spoon with a little bit of sugar and sprinkle it on top of the flower or leaf. Cover completely and make sure both sides of the flower or leaf are completely covered with sugar.
Finishing off Sugaring Flower
Once you are sure that your flower or leaf has sugar all over it, carefully lift it from the bowl and gently shake off extra sugar. Place on wax paper, parchment or a silicone baking sheet.
I used a food dehydrator to dry my sugared flowers and leaves. I set it to the lowest setting and left it on for a couple of hours.
You can also let your sugared flowers and leaves air dry in a warm dry spot, out of direct sun. You will know they are completely dry when they are hard and stiff and can be picked up without bending.
Once your sugared flowers and leaves are really dry, they will last for a few weeks. To use them as decorations you can insert them into soft frosting or use them around the side of a plate of deserts or chocolates.
The leaves are particularly tasty, so you can even serve them with cookies or would be delicious on top of a chocolate or lemon mousse. However, don't refrigerate deserts with sugar flowers and leaves as the humidity would ruin them.
It's easy and very satisfying to turn edible flowers and leaves into candy. For these cupcakes, the edible flowers I used were pansies, violas, and borage flowers. The leaves are several different kinds of mint--chocolate, pineapple and ginger. I also used lemon verbena leaves which are long and narrow and lemon balm, which are shorter and fatter with lovely scalloped edges.
Sugared flowers and leaves are great for cake decorations which are easy to use and make any sweet something special to look at.
The leaves taste particularly good and can add flavor as well as style.
What you need for sugaring:
- Edible flowers and leaves
- Small brushes that have only been used for food
- Superfine sugar
- 1 Egg white
- 1 Tablespoon of water
- Small bowl
- Small spoon
Note: If you don't have superfine sugar you can easily make it:
How to Make Superfine Sugar
How to Sugar Flowers
For this how to, I used borage flowers but you can use any kind of edible flower or leaf.
Borage flowers are incredibly easy to grow from seed. In fact, they self-seed so once you grow them you may be stuck with them coming back year after year. Borage plants are very large, so if you are growing them in a container, be sure to use a big one.
While the flowers are very beautiful, the plants can be pretty ungainly and a bit hairy for decorative containers.
The leaves are delicious when the are young, and taste a little like cucumber. Bees and butterflies love borage flowers and the plants are very hearty and need little care, though regular watering is a must.
The flowers are edible and delicious. Pick them once they have bloomed and are still blue. You can use them after they have gone pinkish too, but I prefer the blue. Only eat the colored blossom.
More info on Borage
Picking Borage Flowers
It is best to pick any edible flowers in the morning before the day's heat sets in, but if it's not too hot pick borage flowers as close as possible to when you are going to use them. They wilt pretty fast, so you don't have too much time between harvest and use.
I pick the flowers by cutting or pinching the stem right below the blossom. This makes it easier to separate them, which is the next step.
I grow all of my herbs and flowers organically so don't even wash them, though I do check carefully for bugs. If you use pesticides or buy non-organic edible flowers or leaves, I would carefully wash them and dry them in a salad spinner or with paper towels before sugaring them.
Pick more flowers than you will need because they are very fragile and some will rip or get ruined in the process.
Preparing Borage Flowers
To prepare borage flowers you want to separate the colored blossom from the green stem. This is a somewhat delicate operation because the flowers are very fragile and paper-thin. I find the best way is to grasp the center of the blossom while holding the stem and gently pull. You can also try pulling the blossom off by a petal, but they will sometimes tear.
Painting on the Egg White Mixture
Whisk egg white with one tablespoon of water. This will thin out the egg white so it won't be as gooey and will be easier to paint on the flower or leaf.
The hardest part of painting a flower is that it is very easy to fold over a petal. I found the easiest way to avoid this was to paint the blossom while holding it on my hand. It's a bit messy, but isn't egg white supposed to be good for your skin?
Leaves are a bit easier to paint the egg white on because they are thicker and less delicate, but I found it easier to use this technique on them as well.
I also tried dipping the flowers and leaves into the egg white mixture to get an even coat, but that didn't work. Too much of the mixture adhered to the flowers and leaves so when it was dipped in the sugar it lost the delicate look and became lumpy.
Paint both sides of the blossom or leaf.
Sugaring Flowers
I found the easiest way to get the sugar to adhere to the whole flower was to gently place it on top of the extra-fine sugar, pressing it down very gently.
Sugaring flower
Next take a small spoon with a little bit of sugar and sprinkle it on top of the flower or leaf. Cover completely and make sure both sides of the flower or leaf are completely covered with sugar.
Finishing off Sugaring Flower
Once you are sure that your flower or leaf has sugar all over it, carefully lift it from the bowl and gently shake off extra sugar. Place on wax paper, parchment or a silicone baking sheet.
I used a food dehydrator to dry my sugared flowers and leaves. I set it to the lowest setting and left it on for a couple of hours.
You can also let your sugared flowers and leaves air dry in a warm dry spot, out of direct sun. You will know they are completely dry when they are hard and stiff and can be picked up without bending.
Once your sugared flowers and leaves are really dry, they will last for a few weeks. To use them as decorations you can insert them into soft frosting or use them around the side of a plate of deserts or chocolates.
The leaves are particularly tasty, so you can even serve them with cookies or would be delicious on top of a chocolate or lemon mousse. However, don't refrigerate deserts with sugar flowers and leaves as the humidity would ruin them.
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