February, with pastel hints of Spring

It's now February, and hints of Spring are on the way with crocus, daffodils and snowdrops popping up in abundance. Beautiful and uplifting as these flowers are to see, none of them are suitable for cake decorating due to their toxicity! I prefer to use only seasonal edible flowers for decorating, so in these wintery months I have to work a bit harder to find beautiful edible decorations for my customers’ cakes.

Luckily for me and my cakes, the Primulaceae family of flowers provide a welcome palette of pastel shades at this time of year. The well-known common yellow Primrose can be found growing wild in woodlands between December - May. You can also find them in complimentary pastel colours, mainly peaches and soft pinks. In the same family, the Primula adds interest with a different petal shape, and in the cake below, I've used the variety that looks almost rose-like, with its ruffled petals.

While I wait for the larger showstopper edible flowers that will come later in the year such as Dahlias and Roses, a great option is to use dried petals and flowers to fill this seasonal gap. Dried flowers are available all year round and you can find them in a surprising range of colours. On the cake below, I've used dried rose petals in a purple colour - these also have a glorious scent. These were bought online from a cake decorating supplies shop, but you can always dry your own if you're organised and save some summer flowers for drying such as Calendula and Cornflower.

There might be a lack of flowers at the moment but the garden is gradually coming back to life at this time of year. I’m spending some time preparing my edible flower bed that's been left overgrown over Winter, clearing it of weeds. It's slow progress but it feels good to get these small jobs done and ease back into the gardening cycle!