Flower Power

Sorry I've taken such a long break from posting! I've been kept busy by summer school and the job that (sometimes) pays the rent. Today is Friday (yay!) and even though I don't have any more Friday Morning Flowers at the moment, I do have something related. Edible flowers! On cupcakes!

The other week, one of my friends here, E, turned a year older (and a year wiser, right?). To celebrate, she invited a few friends to a laughter-filled brunch. Now, E is someone who has both fed (pun intended) my baking interest and benefited from it. A couple years ago, she gave me 1000 Cupcakes for my birthday. I haven't tried all 1000 recipes yet, but I've been meandering my way through. Anyway, for her birthday, I made her chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting. Pretty standard, right? So to jazz it up, I added some fresh pansies from one of my many container gardens. Unfortunately, I was already running late to the birthday brunch, so I didn't have time to photograph them, but I did save a couple for me!
I really love how fresh flowers add that extra wow factor. I even got an actual "wow" from the birthday girl! It's the easiest way I've found to decorate quickly and impressively, and you can use large flowers to quickly cover a big area, like a cake.

Of course, not all flowers are edible, and you should always use organic, chemical-free flowers. I found this website to be pretty helpful. There are even some recipes to try.
In this picture, I have two colors of pansies, a miniature rose, a mint sprig, geranium, lavender, and a day lily. Below is a hibiscus. All of these are edible and plucked from my garden. If you choose to use day lilies, be aware that their name is true. Each flower only lasts one day.
Some flowers and herbs can even add additional flavor, so if you use mint leaves, lavender, geranium, scented roses, etc. make sure the flavor they add complements your dessert.