The beautiful violets are springing up everywhere in the Midwest, in the meadows, on the forest floor and if you are lucky in your back yard. They are not just beautiful but are edible too. Violets are a great source of food for butterflies and people as well. There are so many things you can make with these flowers. Today, we will make chrystalized violets that can be used to decorate our cupcakes.
You will need violet flowers for this recipe. Violets can be found in many places. If you can’t find them outside, you can get potted ones at stores, just make sure they had not sprayed. You can make about 80 flowers with the one egg white. I pick about 15-20 violets at a time because it is better to work with the freshly picked plant material. The flowers do not need to be washed, just make sure you pick them from a clean place free of dirt that have not been sprayed. When I pick the flowers, I like to leave a 1″ green stem so I can handle the flowers easier while working with them. You can remove the stems at the end.
If you plan on eating the candid violets, you have to use fresh eggs. You can do the fresh egg test to see if your egg is fresh. Immerse the egg in a pot of cold water and see if it stays flat on the bottom of the pot. It any of the sides move up or the egg moves to the surface of the water, the egg will not be suitable for eating. You can still use that egg just don’t eat it. Only use fresh eggs that will stay flat on the bottom of a pot when immersed in water if you plan on eating the violets.
Recipe for the candied violets
Ingredients
- about 80 organic violet flowers with 1″ stem if possible
- 1 egg white
- 1-2 tsp water
- about 1 cup of fine white sugar (you can use regular white sugar and grind it quickly in a blender. Just a few pulses before it becomes powder).
Directions
- Seperate the egg white and put it into a small bowl. Add the water to make it more workable. Lightly beat.
- Measure out the sugar. 1/4 cup is enough for the first round. Use more for the additional violets.
- Go and pick the violet flowers, about 15-20 at a time. I like to leave a 1″ stems on so the flowers can be handled easily later.
- Using a paint brush, ‘paint’ the egg whites on the flowers. I like to put the egg white on the back first and sprinkle with sugar and do the same on the front side. Just make sure you cover the flower material well with the egg white and the sugar on both sides.
- Place the prepared flowers on a sheet of wax paper and let it dry for about 6 hours. I like to occasionally move the flowers to prevent them from sticking.
- You can cut off or just pinch the stems off the flowers any time.
- After they are dry, put them in the fridge in an air-tight container. Refrigerated flowers are edible for 1 week and can be stored for 1 month.
Recipe for the cupcakes
Source for cup cakes: Natasha’s Kitchen, Source for frosting: Natasha’s Kitchen
Ingredients for the cupcakes
- 1 1/4 cup of cake flour or check out source on how to make cake flour (how to make cake flour)
- 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2-3/4 cup of sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup of vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup of buttermilk or plain kefir at room temperature
Ingredients for the icing
- 8 oz cream cheese at room temperature
- 1-1 1/2 cup of cold heavy whipping cream
- 1-1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
Directions for making the cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Butter a cupcake/muffin pan or line with cupcake liners.
- In a medium sized bowl, wisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a bowl, beat the eggs for 15-20 minutes. You can use an electrical mixer on medium high speed.
- Add the sugar slowly and continue to beat for another 30 minutes on medium high speed.
- Add the vanilla and the oil and beat for 1 minute on medium speed.
- Add half the flour mixture from the earlier step and beat on slow medium speed until incorporated. Add half of the buttermilk and mix until incorporated. Repeat with the remaning flour nd buttermilk. Beat shortly until just combined and smooth, scraping down the sides of the mixing bowl as needed. The batter should be thin.
- Pour batter into muffin pan. Divide evenly.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes in the pre-heated oven.
- When cooled and are at room temperature, you can pipe on the frosting. See the frosting recipe below, please.
Directions for making the frosting
- Whip the cream on high speed until thick, fluffy and speadable (1-2 minutes).
- In a different bowl, beat the cream cheese and the powdered sugar together starting ata low speed. When mix together, add the vanilla extract.
- Fold the whipped cream gently into this mixture. Store in the refrigerator if not ready to use.
Text, photo and recipe for candied violets by twincitiesherbs.com
Source for the cupcake recipe
http://www.natashaskitchen.com/perfect-vanilla-cupcake recipe/
Twin Cities Herbs 
This looks delightful!
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Thank you!
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