Decorating a cake with fresh flowers at home, tips

For what

Store-bought cakes have long been out of fashion due to their dubious composition and taste. It is often expensive to order from famous confectioners, or you want something homemade and dear. And then the housewives remember that baking the cake and making the cream is not too difficult a task.

Then the question of decorations arises. There are many options, everyone will find something to their liking. Decorating with fresh flowers is one of them. You can even organize your own master class on how to decorate baked goods with flowers, don’t you think?

Why is home cooking described? Because it is generally not recommended to order cakes with fresh flowers from pastry chefs. There is too much risk of poisoning.

Confectioners rarely use flowers, so the cake will look fresh and unique. In addition, some inflorescences are edible and tasty. And the smell... natural jasmine or rose flavor, isn't it a dream?

What flowers can be used

It’s not for nothing that confectioners avoid using live plants. Not all flowers are suitable not only for food, but even for contact with food. But let's start with edible plants, they are much more interesting for decoration. It's nice to eat a cake with a rosebud.

Edible inflorescences

Rose, queen of flowers. In addition to the delicate aroma, it gives us a good taste. Petals and buds are edible.
Orchid.
Calendula. Has a medicinal effect, use with caution.
Nasturtium.
Cornflower.
Dandelion.
Chamomile.
Violet.
Clover.
Chrysanthemum.
Daisy.
Acacia.
Lavender.
Lilac.
Geranium.
Jasmine.

This is an almost complete list of edible flowers. The most curious can study the list of medicinal plants, most of which are suitable for food and contain vitamins. For example, mint, rosemary, sage. This is the flavor the cake will have.

It is important to remember that in most cases only the petals are edible. The use of edible inflorescences is especially important at holidays where there will be children. It is impossible to keep track of every flower and the child will eat at least one.

How to decorate a cake with fruits

First you need to prepare the cakes. Any biscuits are suitable as a base. After all, the main part of the cake consists of fruit, protein cream or jelly layers. Prepare the cake, brush the layers with cream. Also coat the cake with cream on top, but only with a very thin layer. Any fruit is suitable for decorating the cake - citrus fruits, apples, pears, bananas, kiwi, grapes, etc. Berries are also especially popular - currants, blackberries, strawberries, cherries and gooseberries. Some of them can be used whole, others can be cut into slices, circles, squares and other shapes. To consolidate the result, it is best to pour jelly over the fruit. This is necessary so that the fruit does not lose its appearance: it does not become weathered or dry out.

Alternatively, the fruit can be boiled in sugar syrup before placing on the cake. These do not require further filling with jelly.

Make a beautiful figure out of fruit. It could be a heart, a bow, a fish or some other picture. You can also lay out the fruits in a chaotic manner - in a circle or in stripes.

You can further decorate the fruits that you will use to decorate the cake by dipping them in powdered sugar or melted chocolate.

If you are going to dip fruits or berries in powder, remember that they must be dry. Otherwise, the powder will simply be absorbed. It will get wet and lose all its attractiveness.

Poisonous flowers

There are flowers that you should never eat. List of poisonous buds for which even contact with food is undesirable:

Lily of the valley, medicinal heart plant. May cause cardiac arrest.
Anemone.
Tulip.
Hyacinth.
Calla.
Lily.
Narcissus.
Snowdrop.
Hydrangea.
Carnation.

This is an almost complete list of poisonous flowers. But it is recommended to check each selected flower for toxicity in open sources.

Most flowers, if they are not included in one of these lists, can be used for decoration, but cannot be eaten. In general, it is better to avoid direct contact of the plant with the food by creating a border of cones or cling film.

The danger of non-poisonous flowers

You saw that there are a lot of non-poisonous flowers, they are all beautiful and look great on the cake. Why do confectioners avoid decorating with buds? Let's trace the path of a flower from seed to buyer.

With the caveat that most mass-market flowers are grown outside of Russia. Although not everything is beautiful in the Russian Federation. The seed is planted, and the grower wants a more beautiful plant in a shorter period of time. What solution?

Fertilizers, pesticides, acaricides. Since flowers are not eaten as food, they are checked only for the presence of parasites at the border and in front of the store. All chemical treatment remains on the plants. And then, if you are not careful, on your cake.

Now transportation. The plants must withstand a couple of days of travel and arrive at the store fresh and beautiful. Again, treatment with chemical solutions and gases comes into play, they are called biocides.

In some stores, this treatment is also carried out; the flowers are kept in a solution of chemicals to prolong freshness. Already scared? In fact, there is a solution.

Decorating a jelly cake with fruits

You will need:

gelatin;
water;
sugar.

The taste and smell of gelatin can be hidden by adding a drop of lemon juice.

Gelatin is prepared according to instructions.
Sugar is added to the hot solution.
Cool until the liquid has noticeable viscosity, but a film has not yet formed on the surface.
Pieces of fruit can be dipped in the solution or coated with a brush.
The fruits in the frozen jelly film are transferred to the cake.
To hold the entire composition together, pour a small amount of solution directly onto the cake.

The cake can be completely covered with a layer of jelly with fruit.

Decoration is done at the first stage of preparing the dessert:

Place fruit on the bottom of the greased pan. Multi-colored slices are used as mosaics. Halves of berries and small slices of fruit are collected into a composition and transferred to a bowl, turning each piece wrong side up.
Topped fruits are filled with jelly solution.
Cool until completely frozen.
Place cream and cake layers on top of the jelly, assembling the cake upside down.
The soaked dessert is turned over onto a serving plate.
To prevent the jelly layer from breaking, place the mold in hot water for a minute.

The jelly layer can also be applied to a fully prepared cake.

Wrap the sides of the cake tightly with foil to create a protruding edge. You can use the ring in which the cake was assembled.
Grease the top cake thickly with jam or cream so that the jelly is not absorbed into it.
Lay out a composition of fruits.
Fill them with jelly solution.
Refrigerate until set.
Remove the foil.
Grease the sides with sticky cream. Attach long chocolates, waffle tubes or ladyfingers-type cookies to it. The cake will turn into a spectacular fruit basket.

One thing to remember: the jelly will not harden if you put pineapple and kiwi in it. These fruits will have to be scalded with boiling water to stop the release of sour juice.

How to be

The first and obvious thing is to grow the flowers yourself. Then you will know for sure that they are not processed in any way and are edible. The second option, a little more dubious, is to buy flowers from “grandmothers”. Doubts lie in the lack of guarantees.

Maybe the flowerbed was watered with pesticides, maybe not. Familiar, trusted sellers will come to your aid. By the way, if the sale takes place near the road, then the safety of the flowers is also in doubt.

The safest option is to buy from ECO farms. The manufacturer guarantees that the flowers have not been processed in any way. Such plants are completely safe. The seller must provide certificates guaranteeing the safe cultivation of plants.

It is definitely not recommended to buy plants from unverified sellers and mass markets. The flowers there are beautiful for bouquets, but dangerous for use with food.

The seller must provide documents guaranteeing the safe cultivation of flowers. The pastry chef must provide the same documents when ordering a cake.

Another danger is an allergy to pollen or a certain type of flower. A guest's allergy attack can ruin the entire holiday. It is recommended to warn guests about the presence of fresh flowers.

How to preserve fruit decor?

Any culinary creation quickly loses its appearance. Therefore, the only disadvantage of fruit decoration is its fragility. Dessert with fruit flowers should be served immediately, otherwise it will lose its shape and freshness. However, there are some tricks that will help keep such jewelry alive.

If the fruit composition is made in a horizontal plane, then you can fill it with jelly, which is sold in any supermarket. This will create a glass effect, and the cake will be able to stand in the refrigerator for several days.

A voluminous fruit composition can also be preserved using a simple recipe. To do this, you need to prepare sugar caramel by heating 10 tablespoons of sugar with 1-2 tablespoons of water over low heat. The resulting mixture, while still warm, should be applied to the fruit with a brush. As the sugar coating cools, it will create a protective, candy-like layer on the fruit.

In addition to the above methods, you can use a special glaze for carving, which is sold in culinary stores. It allows you to preserve compositions without caramelization, leaving the natural appearance and taste of fruit.

How to prepare

Now you have chosen the plants, the manufacturer, and are absolutely sure of their safety. What's next? Next, we write down in the calendar that flowers are bought a day before the actual decoration. And by the way, they look beautiful on the cake for about a day.

We buy flowers in the evening, cut off the stem so that about 10 cm remains from the bud. Place the resulting flowers in water and in the refrigerator overnight. It would be a good idea to rinse the flowers and wash away dust and dirt.

We start the morning by baking a cake. Can you handle it before lunch? If not, then start earlier. Cakes also don’t last long, at least without adding preservatives.

When the cake is ready, take out the flowers. Cleans away unsightly leaves, petals and remaining debris. Next, use a spray bottle to treat with an alcohol solution, approximately half diluted with vodka. We wait until the flowers dry and begin the actual preparation.

There are several ways to protect the cream of the cake from grassy flavors, substances in the plant and excess moisture: • Several layers of foil around the stem. • Several layers of cling film around the leg. • Buy special floristic flasks (test tubes). A little water is poured into them, which will also prolong the freshness of the buds.

Choose the option you like and start decorating. If the leg does not look solid or you want to play it safe, including providing additional protection for the food, then you can wrap it in floral tape or, at home, in regular tape. Floral tape strengthens the stem; in addition, when stretched, it becomes sticky and perfectly retains moisture.

Cream for decorating a cake: basic requirements

All creams are culinary creations of incredible taste. They are also characterized by: high calorie content and plasticity. Having a variety of devices in your kitchen “arsenal”, you can decorate desserts with patterns and designs. The basis for the preparation of most creams is the whipping technique. The result is a lush mass ready for use and further consumption.

The only drawback of sweet masses is their short shelf life. And during their production it is necessary to carefully observe sanitary and temperature conditions.

There are a number of basic rules for preparing creams. This is one of the sections of the “bible” of desserts:

To make the mass, you should use only dietary eggs and exclusively fresh products.
The cream must be used within strictly defined periods after its preparation.
It is necessary to calculate as accurately as possible the amount of food to be prepared, because leftovers that have stood for a long time are no longer suitable for decoration.
The cream should be stored exclusively in the refrigerator at temperatures up to 6 °C.
Cream desserts and decorated cakes should be consumed no more than two days in advance.

How to decorate

There is only one general recommendation for creating decor - remember that you are sticking an inedible object into the cake. No matter how much we would like it, the guests will take out the flower on the plate and they will be left with a cake with a hole.

To minimize negative associations, florists recommend making a flower arrangement on one side of the product, preferably in a cluster. Ideally, use boutonnieres.

Otherwise, only your imagination can make the cake unique and beautiful. Multi-tiered cakes are decorated either with each tier or with a flower cap on top.

How to prepare protein cream for cake decoration at home

Protein mass is a light and delicate pleasure. The main thing is that it does not contain fat at all. In addition to the fact that such a mass can be used to create incredibly beautiful decorations for desserts, it can be eaten as a complete delicacy!

List of ingredients

The protein mass according to this recipe is also very cheap. You will need:

5 pieces. chicken eggs;
300 g granulated sugar;
2 tbsp. l. gelatin;
1 tsp. citric acid;
135 ml boiled water.

Step-by-step recipe with photos

Pour the gelatin into a small bowl and fill it with water.
Stir with a whisk and leave for an hour.
Using a blender at low speed, stir the mixture, breaking up all the lumps.
Separate the egg whites from the yolks. Do not allow even the slightest mixing of them, as the whites will not beat properly. Gently open the egg to form two equal “cups.” Pass the yolk from one half of the shell to the other over a whipping container. All the whites will gradually pour out, but the yolk will remain.
Sprinkle the whites with sugar and mix with a whisk.
Add citric acid and beat with a mixer at maximum speed. The mass should become fluffy and the sugar should dissolve.
While continuing to whisk, pour in the gelatin mixture.
Beat until smooth.

It often happens that protein mass is not obtained for various reasons. Therefore, I want to share with you some secrets, and then you will always get a dense and strong protein cream for decorating cakes.

Keep a close eye on the squirrels. Neither fat nor yolk should get into them. Otherwise, they will not beat well and will not rise.
All ingredients should be well cooled. Plus, the whipping container should also be cold.
To make the whites whip stronger, you can add a pinch of salt or a few drops of lemon juice.
The tools and utensils used must be thoroughly washed, grease-free and dry. Remember that even one small drop of water can prevent the egg whites from whipping!

Video recipe for cake decorating cream

Here is another recipe for you, only this time for protein cream, for decorating the cake. It is simple and has amazing results. You should definitely get a thick and fluffy protein mass with which you will decorate your delicious baked goods.

Other ways to decorate a cake at home

How else can you decorate a cake at home? For small celebrations, you can bake a cake that does not require decoration. For example, anthill, Napoleon. But, of course, it won’t work as a wedding cake. Fantasy must come into play! What ideas can I come up with:

Candies

Fruits and berries. Strawberry is a classic option.

Cream jewelry

Cream, chocolate and a little imagination. Decorating with chocolate figures is a classic among confectioners and a rich field for imagination.

There are many options for decorating cakes, and choosing non-standard ones means being remembered by guests and getting a truly unique creation. What other ideas come to mind? Maybe something non-standard that we haven’t seen on the Internet yet?

Stencils for decorating a cake at home

If a person knows how to draw at least a little and beautifully cut out contours, then you can use the following option for decorating homemade baked goods:

Take a sheet of paper whose diameter is slightly larger than the cake itself. We draw on it any ornament that comes to mind.
We cut out the contours as evenly as possible, but if some error occurs, it’s okay.
Hold the sheet over the cake (it’s better to ask for help if you don’t feel comfortable doing everything yourself) and sprinkle it with powdered sugar or sifted cocoa.

Work examples

What kind of cakes do craftsmen make from flowers?

Minimum glaze

Some strawberries

I wonder how to cut such beauty?

Wedding option

Bon appetit

Decorating a cake with fresh flowers is a very interesting and lively idea. Such cakes are not found in the mass market; they look delicate and a little vintage. Or not? You can find quite modern and bright options, and leave the tenderness to lovers of cream flowers.

With the right choice of colors and imagination in the design, you can get a truly unique cake, and most importantly, delicious and absolutely safe.

For some flowers, the cake will also be completely edible, which is especially important on holidays with children. Have a nice day and write, have you ever decorated a cake with flowers? How's that for an idea? Write your ideas in the comments, and I’ll finish our delicious review here.

Ivan, a lover of sweets, was with you.

How to decorate a cake with chocolate with your own hands, making flowers

Flower-shaped chocolate cake decorations look very nice. In addition to roses, carnations are often made. They are syringed from a flat tube with an oblique cut. The sharp corner of the tube is placed motionless on the surface of the cake or pastry and they begin to squeeze out the cream, turning the opposite end of the tube 180°C around the motionless end with wave-like movements. Exactly the same, but in the opposite direction they “assemble” the second row of petals, etc.

It is advisable to complement cream flowers with leaves. They are planted from tubes with a wedge-shaped cut of various diameters. The leaves can be green, brown, yellow and even white.

You can make a border or an entire design entirely from leaves. Leaves look especially good on small cakes. Words, names, numbers, congratulations and wishes are often written on cakes and even pastries. For inscriptions to be expressive, there must be a contrast between the inscription and the background. For example, you cannot write chocolate on chocolate or write with white cream on white icing.

The inscriptions are syringed from a small cornet with a very narrow round cut or using a metal “pencil” tube. Protein, custard and butter creams of various colors and shades are used. But there should not be even the smallest lumps in it, otherwise it will get stuck at the exit from the tube or cornet, and you will get uneven, broken lines. You can also write inscriptions using two-color cream. In this case, the cornet is filled with cream of two colors in longitudinal stripes.

Watch the video “Chocolate Cake Decorations” for some fresh ideas: