Edible Flowers

Matron doesn't do flowers!  But, with the exception of edible flowers - here I make that exception.

Whilst out walking I found a carpet of sweet violets in the woods, this common flower is found everywhere at this time of year but only for a few weeks.  The flowers have a wonderful violet perfume hence the Latin name Viola Odorata. 

It was also an old Victorian tradition to preserve the flowers in sugar and make cake decorations, so I decided to have a go.  Just brush the fresh flowers with egg white and sprinkle with caster sugar.

You have to have delicate fingers to make these preserved violets, so gently I put them on greaseproof paper and dried them on my heated propagator for a couple of days.

You can also do this with primrose flowers.  I suppose at this point I should give a warning that if you are not 100% sure what it is then don't pick it or eat it!... so, with the Easter weekend coming up I decided to give it a go.

So I made a lemon drizzle cake and decorated it with preserved flowers!  Happy Easter everyone!