I can think of no more lovely way to dress up a dessert than with the vibrant colors from Creation that preserving flowers with sugar provides.
Certainly just as sweet as store bought confectionaries and undoubtedly more pleasing to look upon, all you’ll miss is the artificial ingredients & dyes. (Not to mention cost.) One of these years, I would love to preserve enough violets to make it all the way to my Lydia Violet’s early-winter birthday cake, but they never seem to last more than a couple days in this house.
There is an enchanting little spot near the edge of our land that comes alive each spring with an abundance of bright and lively violets which yields us enough to enjoy both the beauty they afford the eye as well as the palate.
Sugaring flowers is so simple and the children love to help with the task and, with a little instruction about proper proportions, great quantities can be preserved in no time.
To sugar violets, you’ll need three simple ingredients and one tool: sugar, an egg white (whisked), a paint brush, and, of course, violets.
How to Make Sugared Violets
Snip or pinch off most of the stem… just enough to leave a little handle.
After painting on a light coating of the egg white, making sure to thinly coat the petals, sepals, and deep into the throat, sprinkle the entire flower with a light dusting of sugar. (Too much egg white, especially from little helpers and the sugar will adhere in large hard chunks.)
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Place the flower, Â petals faced down and splayed open to shape them, on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper or foil.
Allow to dry for at least a day or two until they are completely hardened. Gently snip off the remaining stem prior to using.
Enjoy!
Lovely!! How long long do these keep?