Botanical Baking

Edible blooms and fresh herbs can turn an ordinary cake into a garden centrepiece, and this guide from baker Juliet Sear shows how to do it well. It explains which flowers are safe to eat and which bring good flavour, along with methods for storing, preserving and applying them. Pressing, drying and crystallising flowers and petals are all covered in detail.

The bulk of the book is a set of around 20 botanical bakes, each with instructions for building it from start to finish. Projects include a confetti cake, a wreath cake, a gin and tonic cake, floral chocolate bark, a naked cake, a jelly cake and a letter cake, among others. Each recipe shows how the botanical element is used to shape the final look.

The book suits anyone who wants to bring floral and herbal decoration into their baking, whether they are experienced decorators or just building their confidence with edible garnishes.