edible flowers

Valentine's Day involves going all out to show your loved one you care, and this floral pudding cake with fluffy meringue surely does just that. It's a mouthful that's as delicious as it sounds.

The recipe holds true to the original, from an enchanting cookbook called Vintage Cakes, but I changed up the flavor profile quite a bit so that these pudding cakes taste of chamomile and rose (instead of lemon). If you have access to edible roses, sprinkle the petals throughout the cake. Otherwise, the rose water will be strong enough to express that floral flavor.

If you've never made a pudding cake before, here's the deal. There's only one cake batter involved, so you don't need to make both a pudding and a cake. When the batter bakes in the ramekin, half of it rises to the surface to form a cake, while the bottom half remains viscous and pudding-like.

But this is no ordinary pudding cake — it's topped with marshmallow-y meringue, which is lightly toasted in the broiler. The meringue is so pillowy, sweet, and addictive that you should just plan on scraping the bowl clean.

Once the cakes emerge from the oven, it's extremely fun to crack them open and scoop up a bite. Impress your Valentine this year by making this three-tiered treat.

Some people care to receive flowers for Valentine's Day, but if you're like me, you would prefer an edible arrangement. While this salad isn't technically a bouquet of any kind, it does contain a colorful sprinkle of edible flowers. I chose purple pansies, snapdragon, and violets to keep in line with the Valentine's Day color scheme, but you can use bright yellow marigolds, orange nasturtiums, and other known edible flowers too. You'll find the flowers are mild in flavor and taste much like greens (slightly peppery and leaf-like).

Slices of pink grapefruit also adorn the salad. If you do not like the bitterness of grapefruit, try salting it before tossing the slices in with the greens. It neutralizes the tartness, letting the essence of the grapefruit flavor shine through. Slices of watermelon radish add a bit of crunch and vibrant color. Compared to other radishes out there, watermelon radish is mild in spiciness, plus it's fun to chomp on a naturally neon pink food!

Finally, Point Reyes Toma, a semihard cow's milk cheese, provides a creamy, buttery counterpart to the salad. Everything is tossed in a very simple vinaigrette to let the fresh ingredients dazzle your taste buds.

Click here to see the recipe.