One of our youngest (participating) mini-chefs, F, recently had her 2nd birthday, and we wanted to celebrate her in style. Because Miss F deserves something super fancy pants for her big day, my morning class put together some cupcakes, frosted the palest pink and topped with edible flowers.

If you stroll out to your greenmarket or out to your back yard for those of you lucky enough to have a flower garden, you can pick all sorts of flowers-roses, violets, squash blossoms, lavender, and more- to top your summer treats. We also love making simple syrups with these blossoms, as we did to use in the our frosting recipe below. The syrup will have the flavor of the flowers you use and take on a hint of their color, too.

It seems as though Miss F approved of our technique. Happy Birthday to our Little Flower!

A note before beginning: Please take time to discuss the word “edible” with your mini-chef. Because you definitely don’t want him or her going out and chowing down on just any flower they see, you should tell your mini-chef that certain flowers are edible, eat-able, and that some flowers are poisonous, and that should always ask you whether the flower is edible before popping it in their mouths. No poisoned Yummies please!

Fresh Strawberry Frosting with Edible Flower Simple Syrup

For the Simple Syrup:

*1 c. sugar

*1 cup water

*1 c. violets or roses (organic only)

Together: Wash the your flowers with your mini-chef. Drain the water off and pat dry. Combine equal parts sugar and water in a heavy-bottomed pot.

Big Person: Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stir in whatever flowers you have on hand, keep stirring for another few seconds (you can count to 30 with your mini-chef), and remove it from the heat. Let the mixture cool to room temperature. Pour the syrup through a fine mesh sieve to strain out the bits of flower. (These sugary flower leftovers are delicious in iced tea or lemonade, FYI.)

For the frosting:

*1/4 c. fresh strawberries, pureed

*2 T. edible flower simple syrup

*1/4 t. vanilla

*1 c. unsalted butter, cold

*mini-chef pinch of salt

*3-4 c. confectioner’s sugar

*1/4 t. vanilla

*more edible flowers to top your cake or cupcake

With your Yummy, stir together the strawberries, pinch of salt, vanilla and simple syrup in a small bowl. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter till fluffy, about 5 minutes. On medium speed, add the strawberry mixture and beat another 15 seconds or until just combined. The frosting should be a very pale uniform color but still light and fluffy.

Frost your cake or cupcakes. Top with more edible flowers.