Sugared Pansies

Every year when the heat comes to the prairie, the pansies fade. They are replaced by begonias or petunias in the pots. But before they totally fade, I'm out with scissors cutting off the blooms. For they will continue to "bloom" in the pantry where they'll be used to decorate desserts.

A bowl of beaten egg white, some paint brushes (used only for the pansies) and a saucer of sugar, are all the tools I need to sugar pansies.
I pick a saucerful of blooms and dip them and paint them with egg white and then completely cover them with sugar.
The first of two trays that I did this year -- the bigger pansies are on the left -- the smaller violas on the right.

After sugaring, I let them dry a day before I store them in tins with parchment paper between layers.
The tin is opened and the sugared pansies taken out to decorate desserts like this Everyday Jam Cake. Sugared violas look great on chocolate frosted cupcakes and there is nothing like sugared pansies on cake frosted with white buttercream.

We use pansies to decorate desserts and give color to salads all spring -- we enjoy this "second life" of the pansies -- used to decorate summer, fall and winter desserts. We're always sad to use the last pansy. But soon, it will be springtime again and pansies will once again fill pots at Linderhof.

It's Blue Monday so please join Smiling Sally and see what other blues there are this Monday!