fresh blooms

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THERE IS SOMETHING so graceful about a simply iced cake accented with garden fresh flowers. Keeping a design to the basics, without frills, showcases the simple shapes in the icing and the visual and aromatic experience of the blooms.

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To CREATE THE VERTICAL STRIPES IN THE ICING, apply a rough coat of icing to each tier. Drag a small spatula gently through the icing from the bottom of the tier to just above the top. Repeat just next to the first stripe so that the edge overlaps, then continue to make vertical stripes around the entire tier. To smooth out the top edge, sweep a large spatula towards you, starting above the cake, touching down at the edge of the cake, and then lifting off at the center. Scrape excess icing off the spatula as you work. Continue this motion until you’ve made your way around the entire tier. Refrigerate the tiers for about 30 minutes before stacking and decorating with flowers.

The most common ways to arrange flowers on a cake are randomly, centralized, or cascading. In this design I arranged the flowers randomly. Start by placing the larger flowers, inserting the floral tape-covered stem into the icing and cake, in small bunches around the cake. Continue to fill in with smaller flowers, and finish by placing thin-stemmed blooms gently peeking out from the bunches. This creates an organic, lush bouquet.

When using fresh flowers to decorate a cake, wrap the ends with floral tape to keep the stems from touching the inside of the cake and icing. Be aware that many flowers are inedible or have been grown using pesticides. If you have a local farmers’ market or access to a fresh garden in the right seasons, a few of my favorite edible blooms are arugula, chamomile, chrysanthemums, honeysuckle, lavender, pansies, peas, roses, and violets. Here, I arranged flowers given to me by my florist friend, Liza Lubell: scabiosa, antique garden roses, privet, and gomphrena.

To protect flowers from wilting, keep the cake in a covered box in the refrigerator, or store in a dark, cool environment until it’s time to display it. When on display, place the cake in a cool environment out of direct sunlight. Remove the flowers before slicing the cake. If using edible blooms, you can then use them as accents on each plate.