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Publication Date: Friday, August 20, 2004 Partying with posies
Partying with posies
(August 20, 2004) These recipes have zero carbs and no calories
By Jill Slater
Imagine soft, sweet, buttery cake icing heaped up high and falling generously over the sides of your favorite decadent cake.
Or, how about large scoops of homemade ice cream oozing over the edges of a sundae glass, deliciously dolloped with fresh whipping cream and then topped with a beautiful crimson Maraschino cherry?
Celebrating with high-carb and calorie-ridden, diet-disaster desserts is just part of living and enjoying life. However, if the fingers and toes are maxed out counting indulgences, look to flower versus flour delicacies instead.
Whatever your sweet tooth desires, create it sans the fat with fresh-cut flowers. A blooming dessert is a sure way to have your cake and eat up the compliments too.
No floral experience is necessary to create real flower feasts, as these inedible displays are surprisingly easy to create. The "faux" lasts longer than the real thing too, about a week at least.
As a matter of fact the popularity of these delightful dishes are such that Filoli Center in Woodside is offering a class on preparing Desserts without Calories, Aug. 28. Each student will learn to create delectable goodies and gifts and carry them home in -- what else -- pastry boxes. It's a wonderful opportunity to experience the unforgettable gardens at Filoli too.
If hands-on instruction is inconvenient follow this writer's simple recipes for a Bakery of Blooms and Sipp'in Sundaes. Fun and festive floral desserts are great for birthdays, anniversaries, weddings and life's everyday special occasions.
Bakery of Blooms
Maybe it's a special birthday or anniversary, did you say wedding? Celebrate by creating a centerpiece that looks good enough to eat, but as scrumptious as it looks, is completely inedible.
Materials:
2 bricks of floral foam
25 stems of miniature white daisy or white button chrysanthemums
3 stems of pink standard carnations
2 stems of white miniature carnations
Decorative ribbon -- 12-inches of 1-inch-wide pink or lime-green double satin ribbon
Steak knife
Bread plate as pattern for cake
Footed cake plate or other decorative cake platter
Floral clippers
Scissors
Floral preservative
One small paper clip
Directions:
Soak the floral foam in water that has been treated with floral preservative for at least 30 minutes.
Place the 2 bricks of wet floral foam side by side; set the bread plate upside down on top of the floral foam. (Because the foam is not wide enough to accommodate the entire plate, center the plate where the two pieces of floral foam meet). With knife, cut around the bread plate.
Place the cut floral foam on the decorative cake plate. Make sure the two pieces of cake are set closely together to make a round cake shape.
To "frost" the cake, cut the mums to approximately 1-inch in length. Begin inserting the mums at the bottom of the cake right next to each other. Work in rows going up the sides of the cake.
Fill in the top of the cake with more mums but leave the center empty. In the center top of the cake, insert a grouping of miniature and standard carnations.
Open the paper clip and make a bobby-pin shape. With the ribbon, tie a bow. Now thread the paper clip through the center of the bow. Finally, push the paper clip wire with attached ribbon into the top-side of the cake.
Sipp'in Sundaes
Keep cool in the heat of summer by making a mouth-watering floral sundae. Real carnations are used to create a faux ice-cream sundae.
Materials:
1 sundae glass, avoid clear glass
1/2 brick of floral foam
12 to 16 white, pink or novelty colored standard carnations
1 small red rose bud
plastic drinking straw(s)
Knife
Floral clippers
Floral preservative
Directions:
Soak the floral foam in water that has been treated with floral preservative for at least 30 minutes.
With the knife, shape the floral foam into a ball shape that is a bit smaller than your fist.
Cut the carnations to approximately 2-inches in length and insert them deeply into the floral foam ball right next to each other.
Now add the drinking straw(s) and one small rose bud to mimic a cherry topping.
Jill Slater is media spokesperson for www.flowerpossibilities.com, a Web site that offers easy and creative ideas on flower arranging. She is also a frequent guest on Henry's Garden-KRON-TV Channel 4.
Information:
What: Desserts without Calories class
When: Saturday, Aug. 28, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Where: Filoli Center, 86 CaŅada Road, Woodside
Fee: $45 per person, includes all the flowers and admission to the gardens
Call: 364-8300 or register at www.filoli.org
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