How to Decorate Cakes with Fresh Edible Flowers

Decorating cakes with fresh edible flowers adds interest and enhances the beauty of the cake and affair. Colorful corsages made with edible flowers tend to become the focal point of the cake and party accessories. Fresh edible flowers can be arranged or scattered on the top of the cake in a color scheme and design of your choice. A border of fresh flowers can embellish the serving plate as they wrap around the bottom of the cake. If only the top is being adorned with flowers, scattering petals around the edge of the serving plate adds to the beauty of the presentation.

When selecting edible flowers, ask your florist for flowers that have not been sprayed with pesticides, or gather the flowers from your own flower garden.

Always wash the edible flowers (gently) in water. Place the blooms on paper towels and let them air dry before using. Once dried, place the flowers in plastic bags and freeze them quickly just before using to be sure they look and smell fresh.

When placing flowers on top of a cake, cut a 3-inch piece from a drinking straw, bend one end up and tape it securely. Fill the straw with water (just over half full) and stick the flower stem in it. The flowers will stay fresh and you won't need to worry about them wilting by the time the cake is served.

Not all flowers have the same taste, so you might want to experiment to determine which taste might be best for certain types of events. Some edible flowers have a spicy taste, while others a more clove-like flavor. Some have a honey sweet taste, some bitter, and still others have a delicate floral aroma and taste. Citrus blossoms, such as orange, lemon, and grapefruit petals should be used sparingly, as they have a pungent and slightly bitter taste.

Some edible flowers you might want to consider using on your next cake are:

Marigolds. These brightly colored blooms are a good choice if bright sunny colors are desired. Marigolds have flavors ranging from spicy to bitter, tangy to peppery.

Carnations. When using carnations, the petals offer a surprisingly sweet taste, but if eating the entire bloom, be sure to cut the petals away from the bitter white base of the flower. Miniature carnations (Dianthus) have a light clove-like or nutmeg scent. Carnation blooms can also be soaked in wine to add a surprising and interesting taste.

Chrysanthemum. This flower has a tangy, slightly bitter flavor ranging in colors from red, white, yellow and orange. The tastes vary from faint peppery to a mild cauliflower flavor.

Clover. The beautiful pink to white blooms of clover taste sweet with an anise-like licorice flavor. However, raw clover flower heads can be difficult to digest.

Cornflower. This flower is also known as a bachelor's button, and offers a slightly sweet to spicy taste.

Dandelions. These flowers, often thought of as weeds, are actually part of the daisy family. They have a sweet, honey-like flavor, however, when the blooms mature they are very bitter.

Day Lilies. These beauties have a sweet and mild flavor, although many suggest the flavor is more like a sweet lettuce or melon.

Hibiscus. These summer loving blooms have a cranberry-like flavor with citrus overtones.

Honeysuckle. These little stars are very sweet, like honey. But, only the flowers are edible. Do NOT eat the berries, as they are poisonous!

Nasturtiums. These flowers come in a variety of sunset colors, from yellow, orange to rose pinks. The blooms have a sweet, spicy flavor, and are among the most popular edible flowers.

Pansy. Pansies have a sweet grass flavor. If only the flower is eaten the flavor will be mild, but if the entire plant is eaten it has a stronger wintergreen tone.

Roses. The flavors are as varied as the types, colors, and the soil the roses are grown in. Many have flavor reminiscent of strawberries and green apples. Sweet, but with undertones ranging from fruit, to mint, to spice. All roses are edible with more pronounced flavors in the darker colored blooms.

Tulip Petals. The flavor varies from flower to flower, but generally, tulip petals taste like a sweet lettuce, sweet baby peas with a cucumber-like texture.

Violets. These beautiful flowers can be found in dark and light purple colors, yellow, pink and even white. They are widely used to decorate pastries and salads. The tender leaves are also edible and flavorful. They have a sweet, almost grape-like flavor.