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Did you know that magnolia, the state flower of Louisiana and Mississippi, is edible? While these blossoms are considered southern flowers, magnolias are a common sight throughout the US. Blooms of these magnificent trees resemble butterflies that are ready to take to the skies, and give a free feeling to homes, gardens, and driveways.
Magnolia flowers taste just like they smell: fragrant and sweet. They pair well with roasted vegetables, toasted sesame seeds, burgers, sandwiches, tacos, and soy. The blossoms also go well with sugar snaps, carrots, celeriac, beets, and cucumber. Here are two magnolia flowers recipes:
Pickled magnolia flowers
Pick or order a bunch of fresh magnolia flowers
Separate the petals and stalks
Blanch in saltwater
Process: Shock in ice-cold water and drain.
Place the petals in a a sterile canning jar. In the meantime, make pickling solution by mixing 1 ½ cups of rice vinegar, 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 cup of sugar.
Bring the mixture to a boil and pour it into a pickling jar. Toss in the drained magnolia petals and you have pickled blossoms. You can add the pickled blossoms to tacos, sandwiches or salads.
Magnolia blossom cream cake
2 cups magnolia petals
2 teaspoons of baking powder
2 cups of cream
¾ cup of sugar
1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour
Confectioners’ sugar
2 eggs
Process: Wash and rinse the magnolia blossoms before placing them on paper towels to dry. Chop the flowers into square pieces and put them into a heavy pan together with cream. Heat the cream gently, whisking occasionally to avoid scorching. When bubbles start to appear around the edges of the pan, turn down the flame and allow to simmer for 25 minutes.
Strain and throw away the flowers.
Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease a small Bundt pan. Put flour, sugar and baking powder into a mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Add 2/3 cup of the magnolia infusion, and eggs and whisk until the mixture attains uniform consistency.
Pour the mixture into the greased pan and bake until golden brown. To check if it is done insert a toothpick into the cake, if the toothpick comes out clean then it is done.
Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool for about 15 minutes before turning it out on a plate.
As the cake cools, transfer the rest of the magnolia cream to a small bowl and add confectioners’ sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time as you whisk until you attain the desired consistency to make cake icing. The icing should be fluid enough to pour onto the warm cake but not too thin to slide off the cake.
Serve your magnolia flower cream cake warm or at room temperature for dessert or afternoon tea.
Now that you know magnolias are great delicacies, how about ordering some blossoms for dinner?
