IN PHOTOS: Dried And Pressed Flowers Are The Chic New Trend In Cakes And Pastries
Here's what you should know about them
Dried flowers are the prettiest trend in everything right now, especially in interiors, and with good reason. They’re beautiful, they make the home much more pleasant and fragrant, and they’re much more sustainable than using fresh flowers for decoration.
But did you know that the dried flower craze is now spilling over from our living rooms and bedside tables into the food that we love to eat? Yes, we're calling it right now. Dried flowers in food is definitely trending, and we're loving it.
Incorporating dried and pressed flowers in sweet treats is not rocket science, but while some flowers are edible and have actual health benefits (like hibiscus, dandelions or ternate), you should know that not all flowers can be eaten. If you're ordering a cake with pressed or dried flowers, always make sure to ask the baker if you can eat the floral decor. Also ask about where the flowers were sourced. It's best when the flowers come from good local farms, and were properly processed before they were baked into the goods.
Some cakes are adorned with dried flowers that are strictly for decoration only. They function just like cake toppers and chocolate-coated styro in intricate cake designs. In these cases, the bakers should tell you to first remove or scrape off the flowers before eating the cake.
So do take appropriate care. As in all things, your choice of cake boils down to your preference, taste, and needs. So we’re curating our favorite treats designed and leveled up with dried and pressed flowers, and we’ll leave the final decision to you.
Floral Bakes
Floral Bakes
Betsubara
Betsubara, in Japanese, means "there's always room for dessert.” And if dessert is always as appetizing and delicious as this cake made by Mia Criselle Feliciano of Betsubara Bakery, then we agree! This is her newest creation: an edible pressed flower cake. Blue ternate, torenia, cosmos, marigold, and cadena de amor decorate a clean mango shortcake. According to Mia, the flowers are processed in the microwave to achieve that dried flower look.
Photo Credit: @betsubaramnl
Betsubara
Prior to working with local flowers, Mia dabbled with Sakura cakes designed with real cherry blossoms. But cherry blossoms are not always locally available and is highly seasonal, so she started experimenting with local flowers. We're so happy that she did.
Photo Credit: @betsubaramnl
Betsubara
Mia is also set to launch these pressed flower cookies in time for the holidays. Stay tuned to her Instagram page to order!
Photo Credit: @betsubaramnl
Cakes by Alyanna
Cakes By Alyanna is a premier online bakery that's been producing beautiful cakes for all kinds of occasions: minimalist, floral, fondant, you name it! While they usually adorn their cakes with fondant or buttercream flowers, this time, they’ve incorporated dried flowers into this minimalist birthday cake.
Photo Credit: @cakesbyalyanna
Cakes by Alyanna
If you're looking for a particular aesthetic vibe, you can request for a specific color palette for your cake, like Bea Alonzo did when she ordered her peach birthday cake.
Photo Credit: @cakesbyalyanna
Cookie Co. Philippines
Cookie Co. Philippines started out as a school project by Winryll Banaag, Kent Raquel and their classmates in 2017. They started with cookies, and soon added cakes to their repertoire, eventually offering customized cakes. Just last October, Winryll’s baking skills were challenged when a client requested for a cake decorated with dried flowers. The result is this beautiful minimalist cake and a very happy client.
Photo Credit: @cookieco.phl
Cookie Co. Philippines
The young bakers explain that the flowers are for decorative purposes only. They don't used feather-like flowers and stick to flowers with bigger petals and stronger stems so plant matter won’t mix with the frosting, and you can easily scrape off the flowers before eating the cake.
Photo Credit: @cookieco.phl
Oven and Batter
Oven and Batter is a part-time bakery owned by three sisters who share a passion for art: Venice Joy Baul, Mildred Mae Soyoso, and Claudine Maica Soyoso. The business began just this June, while they were in quarantine, when a friend insisted that the sisters make her a cake for her husband's birthday. Since then, they have created more than 50 cakes, each one a sweet testament to their love for baking and art.
Photo Credit: Oven and Batter
Oven and Batter
This minimalist cake was very special for them because the sisters have always loved flowers. Just like other cakes with dried flowers, the flowers used in this cake are not edible. But since they wanted to make sure that the flowers are safe to be used on the cakes, they baked the flowers for a few minutes.
Photo Credit: Oven and Batter
Flour Bud
If you’re located outside Metro Manila, there are still bakers creating delicious treats that you can order. If you’re in Cebu, check out Flour Bud, a small start-up that offers artisanal pressed-flower tea cookies. Flour Bud began just this year as Dr. Eden Grace Galeos and Dr. Julian Enrico Gonzales’ way to keep themselves occupied and entertained when the lockdown happened.
Photo Credit: Flour Bud
Flour Bud
As self-confessed tea addicts and floral painting hobbyists, they were inspired to combine tea and pressed flowers into cookies. These gave birth to these edible flower cookies that are now becoming fast favorites in the Queen City of the South.
Photo Credit: Flour Bud
Flour Bud
They use fresh butterfly pea petals, rose petals, santan petals, and dried lavender, which are then pressed and baked into the cookies. For now, they are still limited to delivering around Cebu City, but they are working hard to start catering nationwide soon.
Photo Credit: Flour Bud
Kamila’s 4am Art
Mimi started Kamila’s 4am Art as an ode to her love for dried and pressed flowers, first starting with beautiful handmade jewelry, phone cases, and accessories. Now, years after she started, the brand has grown into so much more, and has become a community for everyone who loves all things floral.
Photo Credit: Kamila
Kamila’s 4am Art
One of her latest partnerships is with Baguio-based baker, Dough.ies, who makes sourdough doughnuts in different shapes and flavors. Their most recent collaboration is the Fleur—sourdoughnuts made with freshly pressed edible flowers. Mimi shares that the partnership is very special to her because she wants to help introduce other starting artists to a bigger audience, as a way of paying it forward since other artists opened doors for her before.
Photo Credit: Kamila
Kamila’s 4am Art
These doughnuts use begonia, blue ternate, nasturtium, and impatiens, which come from nearby Cosmic Farms, also a supplier of edible flowers to local restaurants. Right now, the Fleur is only available in Baguio, and ships only every Thursday so secure your slots early!
Photo Credit: Kamila
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