A floral feast
In her book, A Floral Feast, Carolyn Dunster invites you to discover a world of beautifuland edible blooms, transforming your garden into a vibrant source of culinary inspiration. Learn how to grow your own edible flowers, explore their diverse flavors and uses, and elevate your dishes into feast for the eyes and the palate through the lens of photographer Joanna Yee.
picture by Joanna Yee
picture by Joanna Yee
PELLIE LOAF CAKE WITH PELLIE FROSTED TOPPING
Cake
- 150g (1½ sticks) butter
- 150g (¾ cup) pelargonium sugar plus an extra teaspoon (see Culinary Extras)
- 3 eggs
- 125g (1 cup) self-raising flour
- 75g (¾ cup) ground almonds
Topping
- 70g (½ cup) icing sugar
- 3 tsp pelargonium water (see Culinary Extras)
- 10 pelargonium leaves shredded into tiny pieces
Cake
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark
2. Oil and line a 450g (16oz) loaf tin with parchment paper.
3. Cream together the butter and pelargonium sugar. You can do this by hand or with electric beaters.
4. Add the eggs one at a time.
5. Mix the flour and ground almonds together and gradually fold into the batter.
6. Pour into the loaf tin.
7. Cook for about an hour – keep checking after 45 minutes and, if necessary, cover the top with foil so it doesn’t burn. Test by inserting a skewer and wait until it comes out clean.
8. Allow your cake to cool completely before removing from the tin.
Topping
1. Mix the icing sugar and pellie water in a small jug, adding the liquid in increments until it starts to thicken but can still be poured evenly over the cake. Leave to drip down the sides.
2. Scatter with the shredded pelargonium leaves and sprinkle over the extra teaspoon of pellie sugar before the frosting sets.
picture by Joanna Yee
ROSE PAVLOVA
Serves 8
Meringue base
- 4 egg whites
- 200g (1 cup) caster sugar
- 2 tsp rose water (see Culinary Extras)
Topping
- 500ml (17fl oz) double or heavy cream or equivalent amount of mascarpone and plain yoghurt
- 1 handful chopped pistachio nuts
- 1 handful fresh rose petals
- 1 handful dried rose petals
- 100ml (3fl oz) rose syrup (see Culinary Extras)
Meringue base
1. Preheat the oven to 130°C/220°F/Gas Mark
2. Beat the egg whites until they start to form soft peaks.
3. Add the sugar, spoon by spoon, whilst continuing to beat.
4. Fold in the rose water.
5. Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper. Draw round a medium-sized dinner plate on the paper so you have a neat guide.
6. Spoon out the meringue mix on to the circle.
7. Cook the meringue for one hour or until it is set. Turn off the oven and allow to cool completely.
8. Transfer to a serving platter.
Topping
1. Whip the cream or combine the mascarpone and yoghurt with a fork, and spread it over the meringue.
2. Scatter over the chopped pistachio nuts and dried petals.
3. Add the fresh rose petals and drizzle with the rose syrup just before serving.
picture by Joanna Yee
NASTURTIUM TRIO
Serves 6 as an appetizer
Nasturtium leaf tempura
- 100g (1 cup) plain flour
- 2 tbsp light vegetable cooking oil
- 175ml (7fl oz) sparkling mineral water
- 1 stiffly beaten egg white
- 10–12 freshly picked nasturtium leaves
(If you pick them earlier in the day, keep them in a sealed container in the fridge to make sure they stay completely firm and dry.)
Stuffed flowers
- 10 nasturtium flowers
- Small portion of oregano flower cream cheese (see Culinary Extras)
- 1 portion of pickled nasturtium seed pods (see below)
Nasturtium leaf tempura
1. Beat all the ingredients, minus the egg white, together with a fork until you have a thick paste.
2. Allow to rest for half an hour.
3. Add the beaten egg white.
4. Dip the nasturtium leaves into the batter ensuring they are fully coated on both sides.
5. Cook them in a deep pan of hot oil for a few minutes, holding them under with a spatula until they are golden and crisp.
6. Set out on a piece of kitchen paper to drain.
Stuffed flowers
1. To fill the flowers, remove the stamens and insert the cream cheese using a very small teaspoon or the smallest nozzle of an icing bag.
2. Assemble on a plate with the pickled seedpods and the stuffed flowers.
pictures by Joanna Yee
CULINARY EXTRAS
Flavoured waters and unsweetened juices
Although rose water will be the first floral water to spring to mind, you can make any kind of floral or herbal water with scented edible flowers or herbs. Flavoured waters can be used in sweet or savoury batters, dressings and marinades or mixed with icing sugar to drizzle over fruit salads or as frosting for cakes.
Follow these instructions and substitute the rose petals for others of your choice.
1. Add a handful of clean rose petals to a saucepan.
2. Just cover the petals with mineral water.
3. Place the pan on the stove on low heat and cover the pan with a lid.
4. Simmer for 30–45 minutes until the petals lose their colour. Do not allow to boil. 5 Leave the rose water to cool completely.
6. Strain and pour into sterilized glass bottles. Keep in the fridge.
Floral syrups
Flower syrups form the basis of many floral recipes. They are a way of bottling the fragrance of a flower – not unlike making perfume – and provide a means of converting the original scent into a taste. Rather than distilling the natural essential oils, which is done through steam extraction in the production of perfume, it is possible to capture the scent by steeping flowers in warm water and preserve it by adding sugar. If possible, pick flowers at their headiest when they have had the warmth of the sun on them. Once bottled, flower syrups will keep for a year.
To make a floral syrup add a few handfuls of your chosen flowers to a saucepan of sugar syrup. Using strongly scented flowers will provide the best results. As a guide these are the quantities you will need: Rose syrup: 2 cups of rose petals for each cup of water
Floral Sugars
To prepare any floral sugar, chop perfumed flowers (such as beebalm, lilac or lavender), herbs (such as rosemary, mint, hyssop, lemon balm or sweet cicely) or scented foliage (such as pelargonium or myrtle leaves) as finely as possible, removing any hard stalks from the leaves. You will need 1 tablespoon of chopped ingredients to 225g (1¼ cups) of caster sugar. You can combine these in a pestle and mortar, crushing the petals or leaves to release their scent, or you can do this in a liquidizer or spice grinder, which will result in a soft powdery sugar but is the best way to colour the sugar uniformly if this is the result you are after.
Decant into a clear jam jar and shake well. The sugar will gradually take on the flavour of your flowers, becoming stronger over time as the natural oils disperse. Floral sugar will keep for about six months although the colour will gradually fade.
Flower and herb cheeses
Cheeses such as ricotta, soft goat’s cheese or any other creamy spreadable cheese can be easily decorated with flowers: sprinkle a thin layer of edible flowers on to a small sheet of greaseproof paper. Spoon the soft cheese on top and smooth out with a knife into a small rectangular shape. Using the bottom corners of the paper, start to roll gently so the cheese forms a sausage shape and the outside edges are covered in petals. Twist the bottom and top ends of the paper together and place in the fridge for a couple of hours. Remove the paper before serving.
Pickled nasturtium seed pods
Several nasturtium plants and staggered sowing times mean you will have flowers and foliage to pick all summer long. As the flowers fade you will notice large fat seed pods appearing in their place. These are also edible and are commonly known as ‘poor man’s capers’. They have the distinctive tangy flavour and taste of traditional capers and should be harvested whilst still soft, covered with cool, boiled white wine vinegar and decanted into a sterilized, sealed jar. They will be ready to eat after a month.
pictures by Joanna Yee
Carolyn Dunster @carolynrdunster / Pimpernel Press @pimpernel_press
All images & text are taken from A Floral Feast: a guide to growing and cooking with edible flowers, foliage, herbs and seeds by Carolyn Dunster
£22, Pimpernel Press