Sugared Edible Flowers for Cake Decorating

Do you grow pansies in your garden? Did you know you they are edible? If your flowers have never been sprayed with chemicals, throw some on top of a salad and serve it to your kids - they'll get a kick out of it! Just like they did when I coated some pansies with sugar and used them to adorn my daughter's birthday cake.

Supplies you'll need to make sugared flowers:

• pansies or other edible flower cut with a 1-2" stem
• scissors
• paintbrush that has only been used for culinary purposes
• 1 egg white beaten with a 2 teaspoons of water (use pasteurized egg whites if you like)
• superfine or caster sugar (you can make this by placing granulated sugar in a food processor until finely ground)
• cookie sheet lined with a Silpat or parchment or waxed paper

Using the stem to hold the flower, place the flower upside down on the lined cookie sheet. Use the paintbrush to coat all surfaces of the underside of the flower with egg white mixture. Lift the flower from the cookie sheet and coat the top of the flower as well. You may need to support the underside of the petals with the fingers of the hand that is holding the flower while painting the tops of the petals with egg wash. Try to get the paintbrush between the overlapping petals if you can.

Hold the egg white-coated flower over the bowl of superfine sugar and use a spoon to sprinkle sugar first on the underside of the flower, then on the top. It will take some practice to get the sprinkling just right so that only a thin layer of sugar is all over the flower. You want to be able to see the details of the flower while still covering the flower completely with sugar.

Set the flower on the lined cookie sheet and use the scissors to cut off the stem where it meets the calyx, or green petal-like part at the base of the flower. Allow the flowers to dry completely (I allowed them to dry for a couple of days before storing them). They should be stiff and dry and will keep for weeks, perhaps longer, in an airtight container. Handle the dried flowers gingerly, as they can break during handling.

Lovely. Happy 9th Birthday Annie!