CTV Recipes
Search Recipes
Garden flower canapés
These fresh, delicate bites of spring are an ideal way to enjoy the taste of the gardens. Flowers and flowering herbs pair superbly with a glass of Champagne or an herbal-inspired cocktail. Here the blossoms steal the spotlight. Flowers have some serious flavour and some can even pack a punch! I’ve used spicy mustard varieties in the cornet, fresh cilantro in the cucumber and citrusy marigold in the madeleine, but you can easily substitute any delicate herb or edible flowers.
SERVES
4
Ingredients
Marigold Madeleines
- 1 1/3 cups cake flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon minced marigold leaves
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter
- Marigold leaves and flowers, to garnish
Bouquet Cornets
- 1 large egg yolk, for brushing
- Pinch of kosher salt
- 1 sheet brik pastry (feuille de brick)
- 1 cup Crème Fraîche, ), in a piping bag fitted with a small plain tip
- Mix of radish flowers, horseradish greens, ground elder, mustard flower, wild dame’s arugula flower, to garnish
Cucumber Cilantro
- 1 English cucumber
- 1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup loosely packed roughly chopped cilantro leaves and stems
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
- Cilantro leaves and flowers, to garnish
Serve
- Lemon gel
- Lime leaf powder
Directions
Marigold madeleines
- In a medium bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder and salt.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, honey, sugar, marigold leaves and lemon zest until light and frothy, about two minutes.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat, then remove it from the heat. Using a spatula, fold the sifted flour mixture into the egg mixture in two additions, being careful not to overwork the batter. When combined, slowly incorporate the melted butter until emulsified. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a large plain tip and rest overnight in the refrigerator.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C).
- Brush the moulds of a madeleine pan with some melted butter and dust with flour, tapping off any excess. Pipe the madeleine batter into the moulds. Place the pan on a baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes, rotating front to back halfway through until the madeleines are lightly golden to golden brown on top. Allow to cool for five minutes, then remove the madeleines from the moulds and cool on racks. Repeat if needed to make about 20 regular or 40 mini madeleines.
Bouquet cornets
- Reduce the oven temperature to 300°F (150°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and salt. Using a three-inch round cookie cutter, punch out four discs of brik pastry. Wrap each disc around a cornet (cone) mould, brushing the seam with the egg yolk to glue it together. Arrange standing up on the prepared baking sheet and bake for seven minutes or until golden brown. Allow cooling before removing the cornets from the moulds.
Cilantro cucumber
- Peel the cucumber and cut into one-inch × four-inch rectangular bars. In a large bowl, whisk together the white balsamic vinegar, olive oil and salt to form a dressing. Add the cucumber and toss it together.
- Transfer the cucumber with the dressing, chopped cilantro and coriander seeds to a sous vide bag.
- Vacuum-seal on full pressure and allow the cucumber to marinate for one hour. Remove the cucumber from the bag and cut it into one-inch cubes. (No vac pack? No problem. Just marinate the cucumber in a covered container for one hour.)
Serve
- Using a squeeze bottle or spoon, dot a couple of small spots of the lemon gel on top of a madeleine to glue the flowers to it. Dust with lime leaf powder and garnish with marigold leaves and flowers.
- Garnish the cucumber with cilantro leaves and flowers, using some lemon gel if needed to hold the flowers in place.
- Half-fill a cornet with the thick crème fraîche.
- Build a mini bouquet with the spicy herb leaves and flowers and set it in the cornet. Enjoy!
