How To Make Edible Candied Flowers- Sparkling Blooms

Sugar coated edible flowers, also known as candied flowers, are wonderful whimsical garnishes for baking and other creations. Taken straight from nature, these adorable decorations are heart warming and fun. Learn how to make edible candied flowers, and dazzle your baking with sparkling blooms.

Candied flowers are perfect for artful baking. These sparking little pieces of nature can be used to decorate your baking with ease, and will make a wonderful impression.

Making candied flowers is in fact crystallizing flowers, and it's a great way to preserve the edible flowers from your garden.

Crystallizing flowers helps to preserve the beauty of each individual bloom, and as well makes the candied flowers much more tasty.

Gardening season is the perfect time of year to pick some edible flowers, and to preserve them to use in your baking projects.

Pick them when they are blooming. By preserving them, and in this case we are preserving in sugar, it will help you to enjoy the bounty from your flower garden for an extended period of time.

These sweet floral confections are the perfect garnish for cake, cookies, and special event baking.

Candied flowers are simple to make, and only require a few simple ingredients.

The first special ingredient is of course is edible flowers.

Where To Find Edible Blooms

Edible flowers can be found in a number of different locations.

First of all, you can easily grow them in your own garden. When you grow them yourself, you have the added benefit of knowing exactly how they have been grown.

You can also shop for them at specialty grocery stores, such as whole foods, and as well can often find them at the farmers market.

Always ensure that you are purchasing edible blooms when using them for candying, and not blooms which should not be eaten.

Some flowers can be dangerous when eaten, so make sure that any flowers that you eat are safe and edible blooms.

Make Sure Blooms Are Edible And Safe To Eat

Make sure any edible blooms for this project are safe to eat.

Collect only edible, and pesticide free edible flowers. Try to use organic flowers if possible.

Consider the growing locations of the flowers, and whether the flowers have been grown organically.

Always avoid flowers that have been sprayed by chemicals.

This is especially important if you are foraging for flowers, and to be aware of the locations from which you are picking.

I tend not to pick any flowers from roadsides or highways, due to toxins that can get washed off the roads and into the nearby ground.

Best Flowers To Candy

Know Your Edible Blooms

First and foremost, make sure that you are only using edible blooms for this project.

Some beautiful and interesting flowers are not edible at all, and in fact can be dangerous if eaten.

So when harvesting flowers to eat, make sure that you do your research, and know which blooms can be eaten, to be safe.

Learn more about edible flowers with this post listing different edible flowers with pictures.

Edible flowers come in all sizes and shapes. I find that the best ones to candy are those medium sized blooms, that are perfectly candy sized.

You can also break down larger flowers into individual petals, and in doing so, make perfect bite sized petalled pieces.

Favourite Edible Flowers To Candy

Some of my favourite edible flowers to candy include:

• Pansies and violas

• Lavender

• Borage flowers

• Calendula

• Nasturtiums

• Roses

• Bachelor Buttons

• Chamomile

The flowers that I love to use are the ones that are in season, which could be any of the above.

I also like to candy some edible leaves along with the flowers, and mint leaves, both spearmint and peppermint, make a good choice.

This year I planted many edible flower seeds, hoping to use them in the kitchen and for decorating.

Some of my favourite edible flowers for candying are the sweet little pansies and violas. I grew lots from seed this year, and have them sprinkled in pots throughout the garden.

How To Make Edible Candied Flowers

This quick project is so simple, and does not really require any special supplies, with the exception of a small clean paintbrush, and edible flowers.

The main idea is to coat the flowers with egg white, and then cover them with a layer of sugar. Once dried, they will become perfectly crystallized, and ready to use.

Tools You Make Need

• Wire rack for drying

• Cookie sheet for drying

• Small paint brush

• Several small bowls

• Parchment paper

• Pair of reverse action tweezers to hold the blooms (optional)

Ingredients

• Edible flowers

• Pasteurized egg white

• 1 teaspoon water

• Fine white granulated sugar- amount depends on number of flowers to be crystallized

Directions For Edible Candied Flowers

Gather And Wash The Flowers

Collect your edible blooms and any leaves to be sugared into a bowl.

Rinse the flowers and leaves under cool water, to remove any small bugs and garden debris. You can also place the blooms into a bowl of cold water, and just give them a swish.

Do not use warm or hot water, as this could damage the petals and turn them brown.

Remove from the water and place on a paper towel to dry completely before candying.

If the flowers are very clean and harvested fresh from a clean location, you can also opt to just give them a shake to remove any small bugs.

Larger flowers can be taken apart, and you can candy the individual petals of the blooms.

Think crystallized rose petals, which are a dream to decorate with.

Prepare The Egg White

It's important to use pasteurized egg white to prevent any risk of illness related to the use of unpasteurized egg white.

Unpasteurized egg whites can place you at risk for food borne illness, such as risk of salmonella.

Place your egg white in a small bowl, and add a spoonful of water to make the egg white easier to work with, and to give it a thinner consistency.

Whisk the egg white and water to a frothy and bubbly consistency.

One egg white goes a long way, and will be enough for dozens of flowers.

Painting The Flowers

Now it's time to start painting the flowers with the egg white.

The flowers can be delicate, so make sure to be gentle. Work on one flower at a time.

With either the tweezers or your fingers, hold up a flower to be painted with the egg white.

Hold the flower by the stem, with the front of the flower facing upwards. The stem allows you to have a good grasp on the flower.

If there is no stem, you are best to use a pair of tweezers, because your fingers will remove some of the sugar from the flower while you hold it.

Paint the petals of the bloom gently with the egg wash, using the small paintbrush. Cover the flower with a thin layer of egg white mixture, on both the top and bottom surfaces of the flower.

Be sure to cover the entire surface of the flower. Apply the egg white lightly, but thoroughly.

If you miss spots, the sugar will not stick to those areas, so it's important to cover the whole flower.

If you are using a flower with lots of little flower petals, such as Bachelor Buttons, try to get inside all of the petals without overloading with the egg white.

Troubleshooting The Egg White

A thin coating will help to prevent lumps of sugar gathering in one spot on the flower. A thin coat of egg white works best.

If the egg white tends to gather in one spot, wipe off the excess, to prevent the petals from holding lots of sugar.

Sometimes the flower petals stick together, or fold in during this process. Gently use the paintbrush to separate them, and to spread them open.

Sprinkle The Sugar

You can use regular sugar if you don't have the fine granulated sugar. I find that the finer sugar particles make a finer coating over the flowers, which gives them a more delicate overall appearance.

The finer sugar also works best for little petals and more delicate flowers.

I do find however, that even the fine sugar tends to clump a bit throughout the project, and may need refreshing from time to time.

Different Methods Of Applying The Sugar

To add sugar to the flowers, it's as simple as holding the freshly painted flowers over a plate or container, and sprinkling on some sugar.

There are other ways to do this as well. Some people actually dump the flowers into the sugar and cover them right in the bowl. I find that this can tend to gum up the sugar, so I prefer to sprinkle it in a fine layer.

You can also dip the flowers into the sugar, twirl them around, and then tap off the excess.

I find it easier to grab a spoonful of sugar, and sprinkle the bloom while holding it over a plate to catch the falling sugar crystals.

With your fingers or a small spoon, sprinkle the egg painted flower with the fine crystals of granulated sugar, coating the entire surface on the front and back of the flower with sugar crystals.

Allow the bloom to catch all the sugar and to become completely coated.

Remove any clumps of excess sugar that may have gathered, and then place the sugared flower in the designated area for drying.

Dry The Crystallized Flowers

Place the edible candied flowers and leaves on a bakers rack to dry in single layers.

Try to place the flowers face down, which will tend to open them up for a better presentation when dried.

Alternately, you can also use a baking sheet covered with parchment paper or even waxed paper. I prefer this method, as the flowers tend to stick to the baker's rack, and can be slightly more difficult to remove when dry.

Allow the flowers to dry for 24 hours, until firm and hard. Drying time can vary due to the humidity in the air.

The flowers will stick to the drying rack and parchment paper, so take care when removing them. Use a small knife to help to pop them off.

Once dry, the candied blooms have a wonderful sparkling appearance. They look as if they have been frozen, and covered with tiny ice crystals.

Storing Candied Flowers

The flowers will become crystallized and preserved, and will keep for quite a while with proper storage.

Place in an airtight container, and store in the fridge.

How Long Do Sugar Coated Flowers Last?

The candied blooms can be stored for several months in the fridge this way.

Sugar coated flowers will last for at least two months when stored in the fridge.

Make sure to label the container with the storage date to make sure these little bits of sweetness get used up in time.

Edible Candied Flowers Recipe Card

Do Candied Flowers Taste Good?

Candied flowers actually do taste good, and this is most likely due to the candying process.

Even if some of the flowers don't have much of a flavour, after candying they taste just lovely.

Candied rose petals are absolutely delicious.

Conclusion

Candied flowers are the sweetest garnish, and make great decorations for your baking. Use them to decorate your cupcakes, cookies and cakes.

Arrange them in any design or pattern that you like.

The crystallized blooms look especially beautiful on a layer cake. The natural beauty of the flower comes through with each candied bloom you add.

Candied flowers are tasty and sweet.

They are easy to make, and the final product is absolutely adorable.

These edible confections can be stored for quite a while, up to several months if stored correctly, and are fabulous to have on hand for baking.

They will be ready and on hand, anytime you want to use them.

Consider sowing some edible flower seeds this season, to be able to use the flowers for special baking projects for those special occasions.

It's a beautiful way to naturally decorate your special desserts, with an added touch from your garden.

Have you ever made edible candied flowers? Be sure to leave a comment below to share your experience!

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