Welcome Early Spring or Summer with a gorgeous edible fresh flower cake! Garnish a White Chocolate 6″ round three layer cake with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting and stems of organic fresh flower blooms. What a show stopper for Easter or Spring Luncheon, Buffet or Just Because you love cake and flowers. As the saying goes, this cake is too pretty to eat… it is but it is meant to be shared with family and friends. Let’s make and eat cake! It’s a Springtime Pansy Cake!

Where Do I Find Organic Botanical Flowers?

Make this elegant but easy cake unique with fresh organic flowers. No special skills required to make this cake or decorate just a pretty stacked cake frosted with buttercream frosting that coordinates with your floral selections. My cake features blush to soft pink buttercream tinting the frosting with fresh pulverized organic strawberries. This blush pink also coordinated with my farm fresh cotton pink and white plaid tablecloth.

     

Organic Orchid Fairy Mix and pansies were ordered from California, Gourmet Sweet Botanicals. Be prepared to be amazed, they have everything, even mini vegetables that I also ordered for a charcuterie. This cake was featured in my Spring Issue of All About the Table Magazine as well as other cakes that showcase the Gourmet Sweet Botanicals.

Floral selections for cakes include violets, pansies, dahlias, mums, carnations, marigolds, bachelor buttons, hibiscus, nasturtium, orchids, dandelions, impatiens, and begonias. I am sure there are more like violas and roses, Johnny jump ups, and herbs for stems.

Now that we have the flowers and cake recipe, it’s time to make this cake. Note: you will be attaching the flowers right before serving. Once you receive your flower from the organic grower, keep them covered and chilled in the refrigerator. They should last up to 3-5 days depending on the kind of flowers you selected and if taken care of. Do not wash and air dry until flowers are needed.

Health Benefits of Organic Pansies

Not only are pansies pretty they have healthy benefits. Some of those benefits include possible relief from upper respiratory infections. Pansies contain saponins which are compounds found in plants that have expectorant (mucus clearing properties) and anti-inflammatory properties. Another benefit of the edible pansy is the active ingredient in called salicylic acid, the same main ingredient in modern day aspirin. Interesting isn’t it. The key is organic and you can order organic fresh flowers from Gourmet Sweet Botanicals.

How to Wash Organic Fresh Flowers Before Attaching to Cake

The organic flowers are very fragile so the best way to avoid damaging the blooms is to gently dip them in cool water. Hold the flowers by the stem and carefully immerse the face into the water. Allow the water to drip off and lay on a paper towel. Do not drench the flowers in water. Its’ like you are giving the a facial. Make sure flowers are completely dry before attaching to the cake.

If you frost the cake ahead of time, you will need to attach a tiny bit of frosting to the back of the flowers to attach to cake, especially if applying to the sides of the cake.

How to Make the White Chocolate Cake with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

Start with a good quality white chocolate bar. I used Milk Boy Swiss Chocolate, White Chocolate with Bourbon Vanilla. This chocolate melts like a dream and tastes wonderful. You can also use this chocolate in the buttercream if you would like. Tip: do not use white chocolate chips for melting, most brands do not melt well, except for Ghirardelli.

Making the Cake:

Lightly spray 3-6″ round cake pans with cooking spray, line with parchment rounds, spray with cooking spray. Wet in cold water and squeeze dry baking strips if using. Wrap around base of cake pans, pin in place. (this helps keep the cakes from doming or crowning in the middle during baking). Set aside.

In microwave safe bowl, add milk and chopped chocolate. Microwave at 30 second intervals and chocolate is melted. Stir until milk and chocolate is smooth. Set aside to cool. It should not be very warm.

In medium bowl, measure flour, baking powder and salt, whisk together, set aside.

In bowl of stand mixer with beater attachment, cream room temperature butter and sugar on medium high speed until pale and fluffy. Usually takes about 3-4 minutes. This is an important step. Reduce speed and add room temperature eggs one at at time incorporating after each addition. Add vanilla flavoring.

Alternate flour mixture and white chocolate milk into batter, ending with flour mixture. Ratio is 4 of flour and three of milk. Scrape down sides and bottom of mixing bowl to make sure everything is mixed. Divide the batter evenly between the three baking pans.

Bake the cakes at 350°F on middle oven rack for 35-40 minutes. Tip: place the three cakes on a large baking sheet for easy placement and removal from oven.

Allow cake to cool on wire rack about 8 minutes, loosen edges of cake from pan and flip onto cooling rack, remove parchment rounds. Allow to cool completely before frosting. At this point, you can wrap and freeze the cakes until you are ready to frost and decorate if making cakes ahead.

Tip: Baking the cakes ahead of time like a couple of days before needing as a dessert, will help your stress level and make cake baking more enjoyable. When ready to frost and decorate, unthaw cake as you are making the frosting. Its ok that your cake is semi frozen when frosting.

Making the Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

In bowl of stand mixer, add softened butter and two pulverized strawberries. Whip butter and berries until smooth, might take about 4 minutes. Gradually add confectioner’s sugar, strawberry extract and vanilla. Whip until creamy, add additional confectioners sugar until all 6 cups in incorporated. Frosting should be smooth and creamy, if it is curdled, keep whipping frosting, it will become smooth and creamy.

Cake Assembly and Flower Garnish

Place one cake layer on a 6″ cake board.Spread 1/4 cup frosting over layer, stack with second cake, frost, top with third cake. Skim coat top of cake with frosting. Insert two dowels 1/4″ wide 6″ tall 1/2″ from center of cake. Continue to skim coat sides of cakes with thin layer of strawberry frosting. Chill 30 minutes. Cover frosting with wet paper towel and reserve until cake chill is over.

Frost cake with strawberry buttercream beginning at the top of the cake pushing frosting down the sides of the cake. Use an off set spatula, dipped in warm water and dried to create a smooth finish.

How to Garnish Cake with Flowers

Because I wanted to make the flowers appear as they are growing up from the ground; I placed individual flower heads and stems vertically from the bottom of the cake. Fill the entire cake with flowers at various heights and sizes. Be sure to add leaves, if you don’t have leaves from the flowers, use mint or chive stems. Fill in around the base of the cake with assorted flowers. If you want to add a topper, you can make a wreath of flowers, or position flowers large, medium and small to one side of top and angle the flowers trailing down the side of the cake. You can create the design of your dreams. TIp: Frost the cake with finishing coat then add the flowers while the frosting in soft. Once frosting sets, to attach flowers use small dots of frosting.

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Another way to use the edible flowers Make these MINI LEMON PANSY CAKES. EASY recipe. 

Hope you make a dessert with edible flowers they are a great way to decorate a cake or dessert. Enjoy! 

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