Recipes with Julie Van Rosendaal: Flowers you can cook and bake with

We think of edible gardens as separate from those filled with blooms, but there are so many flowers that are not only edible, but delicious.

Beyond those that come immediately to mind — lavender, roses, hibiscus, elderflower, squash blossoms — you can eat pansies, marigolds, nasturtiums (the flowers and leaves), gladiolus, chamomile, borage, lilacs, peonies, columbine, violets, dahlia petals, bachelor's button, snapdragons, even sunflowers!

Not all of them taste floral — some taste like the plants they are flowering from, like purple chive flowers or radish flowers.

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And some have their own unique flavour. Beebalm is citrusy and minty, calendula tastes a bit like saffron, tangerine marigolds taste remarkably of tangerine, and nasturtiums, which are related to brassica veggies, have a peppery flavour — both flowers and leaves.

Others have very little flavour, like hollyhocks, pansies, violets, alfalfa flowers and tiny periwinkle flax flowers — they're more decorative, but look gorgeous on cakes and other desserts, scattered over salads, suspended in jellies or ice cubes (or rings, for a punch bowl) — anything you'd like to dress up for summer.

Wildflower Panna Cotta

Use blooms that have a floral flavour to make pan cotta — roses, lavender, elderflower (you can buy elderflower syrup at IKEA — I like using it in cocktails, or brushing it over warm cakes) or hibiscus.

Simply steep the flowers in the cream to infuse it with flavour.

You can use the same technique to flavour cream for ice cream or whipped cream, too.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 - 3 cups coconut milk, or half and half or 18 per cent coffee cream
• a handful of rose petals or other aromatic flowers
• 1 pkg plain gelatin (or 1 tbsp), or 4 tsp agar agar powder
• 1/3 cup honey fresh edible flowers, for decorating

In a medium saucepan, heat the coconut milk or cream and rose petals (or other blooms) to steaming; let it sit and steep for at least 20 minutes.

Sprinkle the gelatin or agar agar overtop and let sit for a few more minutes to soften.

Bring to a simmer with the honey, whisking to dissolve it and the gelatin or agar powder.

Divide into small bowls or ramekins and refrigerate for several hours, until set.

If you like, run a thin knife around the edge and un-mould each onto a plate.

Serve garnished with fresh flowers.

Serves: 4-6.

Wildflower Shortbread

Shortbread cookies are perfect for decorating with edible flowers, and if you happen to have some sugar you've tucked some aromatic blooms into, the sugar itself will be infused with a floral flavour.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar (infused with some aromatic flowers, if you like)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• Pinch salt
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten (optional)
• Edible flowers

In a medium bowl, beat or stir the butter and sugar together until well-blended.

Stir in the flour and salt and stir until the dough comes together.

Roll out between two pieces of parchment and chill to firm up while you preheat the oven to 325˚F. (I sometimes roll my dough out on a silicone baking mat, with a piece of parchment on top — either way it's easy to transfer to a baking sheet.)

Cut the dough into your desired shapes, pulling away the scraps in between them.

Brush the tops of the cookies with a little egg white and press a flower (or a few petals) onto the top of each one.

If you like, brush a little egg white over the flower, too.

Bake for 8-10 minutes (or longer, if you made larger cookies) until pale golden.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Serves: Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Flowery Rhubarb Pistachio Pavlova

A pavlova can be made in a range of sizes — a large one to share, individual meringue nests the size of a small dessert plate, or tiny two-biters you can pick up and eat with your fingers.

There are a few ways to infuse a pavlova with floral flavour: stir a big pinch of dried lavender or rose petals into the sugar and let it sit for at least a few hours (or indefinitely) run it through a sieve to remove the flowers before using it to make your meringue.

Alternatively, add a few tablespoons of elderflower syrup or St. Germain (elderflower liqueur) to your rhubarb as it simmers, and/or a teaspoon or two to your cream as you whip it.

You could even infuse your cream with lavender or rose by dropping some in, leaving it overnight, then straining it out before whipping.

Ingredients

Meringues:

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp cream of tartar
• 6 large egg whites
• 100 g pistachios, finely ground

Garnish:

• Fresh berries or sliced stone fruit, for garnish
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 2 tbsp icing sugar or elderflower syrup/St. Germain

Preheat the oven to 250°F and line two large baking sheets with foil or parchment.

Stir together the sugar and cornstarch in a small dish or measuring cup.

In a large, clean glass or stainless steel bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.

Gradually add the sugar a bit at a time, beating constantly until the mixture holds stiff, glossy peaks, like shaving cream.

Beat in the vinegar and vanilla.

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To make small Pavlovas, spoon small mounds (about a heaping tablespoon) of meringue about an inch apart on the lined baking sheets, then make little indents in the middle using the tip of a teaspoon, forming nests.

To make one large Pavlova, spoon the meringue onto the baking sheet and spread out with the bottom of a spoon to form a nine to 10 inch circle with a slight indent in the middle and raised edges; a larger nest.

Bake one sheet at a time, or both in a convection oven, for 1 hour (small) or 1 1/2 hours (large), until crisp and dry.

Let the meringues cool completely, then peel them off the foil or parchment.

Right before serving, fill each pavlova with a small spoonful of lemon curd and/or whipped cream, then top with berries or chopped fresh fruit.