Our Favorite Edible Flower Recipes That Are Colorful & Delicious

Embellished wreath cookies with edible flowers — Credit:
Mike Krautter

For most home cooks, the idea of eating from your garden conjures up images of peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, squash, herbs, and other vegetables picked straight from a backyard bed. But it's not just your vegetable plot that can provide seasonal flavor to your favorite recipes: Edible flowers also add a hint of floral depth to your creations. Garnish entrées, sweets, and drinks with nasturtium, pansies, roses, and other petite and pretty blooms to add an unexpected flavor complement—and create a truly eye-catching presentation.

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Pansy Pancakes

Perk up traditional buttermilk pancakes by setting pansies into the batter before you flip each flapjack. Consider it a one-of-a-kind way to serve a bouquet of flowers alongside breakfast in bed.

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Goat Cheese with Edible Flowers and Arugula

Give plain goat cheese a colorful makeover by mixing in edible blossoms, like nasturtium, borage, and pansy, and placing whole flowers on top. Add the colorful rounds to arugula salads or display them with baguettes at brunch.

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Daffodil Cake

The two layers of this cake mimic the spring daffodils that inspired it: One is a light and airy white angel food cake layer, and the other a richer orange and lemon cake. Copy the daffodil color palette by topping the glazed cake with orange, yellow, and white pansies just before serving.

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Lillet Rosé Spring Cocktail

This fruity and refreshing three-ingredient cocktail calls for Lillet Rosé, a wine-based aperitif, gin, and ruby red grapefruit juice. Strain into coupe glasses and top with edible flowers (pink varieties are best to complement the color of the drink).

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Sugared-Flowered Doughnuts

Donuts dipped in orange blossom glaze and finished with candied flowers are a sweet addition to a brunch menu or bridal shower. Sugaring the flowers lends them both a crunchy coating and a dewy look; it also preserves the color and shape of the blooms, letting you prepare this treat ahead of time.

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Green Salad With Edible Flowers

A simple salad of baby greens tossed with a homemade Dijon mustard and red wine vinaigrette is brightened with a topping of pastel-colored edible violas.

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Spring Cupcakes With Sugared Flowers

These decadent cupcakes are embellished with purple icing and sugared edible flowers. Use gel-paste food coloring to adjust the shade of ganache to coordinate or complement the blooms you choose.

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Rose-Scented Sugar

You can use any edible, fragrant flower or herb, such as lavender or rose geranium, in place of the rose petals to make herbal sugars. They're excellent in hot and iced teas, fruit salads, baked goods, and icings; just substitute the amount of sugar called for in a recipe with an equal amount of scented sugar.

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Embellished Wreath Cookies

Wreath cookies aren't just for the holidays: These classic crisp sugar cookie rings are spring- and summer-ready when topped with a pastel palette of candied flowers, crystallized ginger, and chopped pistachios.

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Rose Petal Syrup

This three-ingredient syrup is easy to make: Bring rose petals, water, and sugar to a boil, let steep, and strain. Use it in a festive rose petal gin fizz, mix it into sparkling water for a floral mocktail or add whipped cream for topping cakes and fruit.

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Mini Pistachio Bundt Cake

mini pistachio bundts recipe — Marcus Nilsson

These mini cakes aren't your classic bundts: Ground pistachios, pistachio extract, and orange-flower water give them a rich, complex flavor. Top with nuts and rose petals, two traditional toppings for Persian love cakes.

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Edible-Flower Cupcakes

Even the simplest cupcake looks professional when topped with a few carefully placed edible blooms. Top vanilla cupcakes with basic buttercream and edible flowers of your choice to create custom desserts for your next celebration.

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Rose and Ginger Cupcakes

Rose-flavored glaze and candied ginger add sweetness and spice to these mini ginger cakes. Sugared rose petals—brushed with egg wash and sprinkled with superfine sugar—sit on top.

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