Three dessert toppings delicately flavoured with edible flowers: Cornflower Glaze, Lavender-infused Milk Chocolate Frosting, and Chamomile White Chocolate. Perfect to ice cakes, cookies, blondies and more! All three can be made vegan.
Edible flowers are surely one of those ingredients that transform everything they touch from ordinary into extraordinary. Their delicate, dreamy flavours make them surprisingly versatile; they are a perfect partner in salads, cocktails and teas to name just a few. But where edible flowers really shine is in desserts so I have created three delicious icing ideas that all incorporate edible flowers.
All three are very simple to make and just require the flowers to be left overnight in water beforehand to create the infusion that goes into each. There are so many ways these toppings could be used – on cakes, cupcakes, cookies, or best of all, to go on these fudgy vegan chickpea blondies.
You can buy the flowers fresh or dried but if like me you have a lot of ideas of how to use edible flowers, then having the dried ones in your cupboard is perfect since you can bring them out whenever you like and there is no time pressure to use them. Another option (and something I’d like to try this spring/summer) is to grow your own and pick them fresh from the plant each time you need them – this would be great for adding something special to summery salads.
Each variety of edible flower has its own, surprisingly distinct, flavor that will be better suited to different dishes. This beginner’s guide to edible flowers is a great place to start since it outlines the flavours and growing info for some of the most popular varieties.
As if there weren’t already enough positive things to say about edible flowers, these tiny petals are also surprisingly full of nutritional benefits. For the full low-down take a look here.
*Thanks to Amy at Tiger Sheds who invited me to try out two of these edible flowers – the third pot was bought by me and has been sat in my cupboard waiting for a time like this come along!
Cornflower Glaze
Cornflowers have a subtle spice that pairs perfectly with dark chocolate and this glaze works a treat on dark chocolate chickpea blondies.
Ingredients:
1tbsp dried cornflowers, extra to decorate
3tbsp coconut oil
Method:
1. Add a tablespoon of dried cornflowers to one tablespoon of water. Leave to infuse overnight, then strain, retaining the infused water.
2. Heat the coconut oil over a bain-marie until it has fully melted. Remove the bowl from the heat, add in the cornflower-infused water and mix thoroughly.
3. Pour over the dark chocolate blondies, or your dessert of choice, and sprinkle over the extra cornflowers to decorate as desired. Leave to set for at least an hour before serving.
Lavender-infused Milk Chocolate Frosting
The smell of lavender will be familiar to you no doubt; its distinctive floral taste is slightly sweet and faintly minty. Lavender is ideally matched to milk chocolate and used here on milk chocolate chickpea blondies.
Ingredients:
2tsp dried lavender, a little extra to decorate
40g milk chocolate, or vegan milk chocolate, broken into pieces
2tbsp coconut oil
Method:
1. Add two teaspoons of dried lavender to two teaspoons of water. Leave to infuse overnight, then strain, retaining the water.
2. Heat the milk chocolate over a bain-marie until it has fully melted. Add in the coconut oil, stir well until the oil is fully melted and both are combined.
3. Remove the bowl from the heat, add in the lavender-infused water and mix thoroughly.
4. Pour over the milk chocolate blondies, or your dessert of choice, and add a tiny amount of lavender to decorate. Leave to set for at least an hour before serving.
Chamomile White Chocolate
Chamomile has a crisp, fresh flavor making it a dream to combine with white chocolate. What better to use this topping for than on white chocolate chickpea blondies?
Ingredients:
2tsp dried chamomile flowers, extra to decorate
50g white chocolate, or vegan white chocolate, broken into pieces
Method:
1. Infuse one tablespoon of water with two teaspoons of chamomile, leave to steep overnight then strain, retaining the water.
2. Melt the white chocolate over a bain-marie. Once smooth, remove from the heat and stir in the chamomile infused-water.
3. Using a fork, drizzle the topping over your dessert, decorate as desired, and leave to set for at least an hour before serving.
Have you ever cooked with edible flowers? What is your favorite idea for how to use edible flowers?