Spring Baking Trials

all things floral

I’m feeling v inspired to incorporate the essence of spring into my bakes right now. After an hour of foraging loads of wild violets with my mom, sister, and nieces from my parent’s backyard over the weekend I feel the itch to bake flowers into everything I can.

Here’s what I have planned:

Wild Violets

I plan to make this first batch into a jelly. All of the recipes I’ve seen for this have been the same, as follows:

• 2 cups wild violets (if you plan to harvest your own, make sure they are from an untreated yard)

• 4 cups of water

• juice from 1 lemon

• 4 cups sugar

• 1 package of fruit pectin

The first step is to make a tea from the violets by pour boiling water over them and allowing them to steep overnight. This will create a very dark tea that will transform into a beautiful bright pink when you add the lemon juice the next day. You’ll add the pectin and sugar at this point, as well, and boil for about 2 minutes. At this point you can pour the liquid into containers and set it in the fridge to firm up in the finished jelly!

Wild Violets pt 2

Candied Violets! I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: flowers are nature’s sprinkles.

• 4 dozen wild violets, with stems

• 1 egg white

• 1/2 cup superfine sugar

These are a labor of love and a little time consuming. You’ll beat the egg white with a fork until frothy for about 30 seconds. Using a small paintbrush, paint a thin layer of the egg white onto the front and back of each violet petal. Hold the flower over the bowl of sugar and sprinkle sugar by the spoonful over the petals to coat the flower head completely in sugar. Place the flower onto a sheet of parchment paper or waxed paper to dry and pinch off the stem. Repeat steps 2-4 for each flower. Let the candied flowers air dry for at least 24 hours in a warm dry spot or dehydrate them fully in a dehydrator. Place the dried flowers into an airtight container lined with a paper towel as a cushion to store them until you are ready to use them.

I plan to use these to decorate cakes and other bakes, just as I would use fresh flowers!

Lilac Sugar

I also snagged some lilacs branches from the bush that resides right outside the window of my childhood bedroom. Right now, these are scenting up my living room with their intoxicating floral smells and looking pretty, but soon I will use them to infuse some sugar! With only 2 ingredients and little prep, this is the most simple of my spring projects.

• 2 cups granulated sugar

• 1 cup lilac blossoms

Layer the sugar and blossoms in a glass jar, lightly cover it and let it sit in a cool, dark place. Shake the blossoms and sugar together once a day for a week. After a week, pick out or strain out the blossoms and store the sugar in an airtight jar for up to 1 or 2 years.