From garden to kitchen: rose petal white chocolate mousse 

Edible flowers are taking America’s baking satellite by tempest — each kinds — including lavender; pansies; sunflower petals; and dahlia to sanction a few. Seasoned, innovative dough punchers person recovered that comestible flowers, added to baked goods, impart a heavenly fragrance and distinctive spirit to the prime of their “sweet” concoctions, making them unsocial and pretty, to boot! 

In Mexico, however, edible flowers are thing caller since they person been a portion of their cuisine since pre-Hispanic times. These flowers, similar bougainvillea, hibiscus, and Rosita de cacao, were fried, sauteed, stuffed, and utilized successful sauces, quesadillas, and tacos. The Spaniards, erstwhile they arrived, utilized flowers alternatively of nutrient for Easter celebrations owed to the Catholic Church’s spiritual restrictions. Then Mexicans determined that flowers could heighten the aroma, taste, and “look” of desserts and drinks. 

Chef Josué Barona has been pioneering Mexico’s edible angiosperm country for years. (Culinary Backstreets)

Josué Barona is the antheral who present fuels the country’s edible angiosperm country from his booth successful Mercado San Juan successful Mexico City, wherever helium has sold edible varieties of flowers for the past 10 years. He said helium became funny erstwhile helium noticed chefs buying for flowers to adhd to their cuisines and helium sourced them from suppliers who would usually flip them. He present stocks flowers from each implicit Mexico (interesting since astir 80% of the world’s 186 known edible-flower taxon originate here) and sells them to high-end restaurants. Not to beryllium outdone, helium invented his present celebrated “rose cocoa mousse,” that helium serves successful a reddish rose, accentuated by various, beauteous blooms. 

Although I couldn’t find Barona’s cocoa mousse recipe, I bash person 1 that’s precise enticing, a achromatic cocoa mousse made with roseate syrup (from roseate petals) and pistachio paste. Elegant, aromatic and scrumptious. Disfruta!

White cocoa mousse with roseate and pistachio

Recipe adapted from gingerwithspice.com (Canva)

Rose Syrup:

• ½ Cup (10 g) roseate petals,* unsprayed (pétalos de rosa)
  • NOTE: If you’re unsure your petals are sprayed, soak successful 1 tsp. baking soda with each 2 Cups of acold water. Soak for 1 infinitesimal past rinse. (This tin region up to 80% of definite pesticides.)
• ¾ Cup (150 g) sweetener (azúcar estándar)
• ¾ Cup (185 ml) h2o (agua)
• 1 driblet reddish oregon pinkish nutrient coloring, if desired (colorante alimentario rojo o rosa)

Instructions:

• In a tiny saucepan, implicit debased heat, spot sweetener and h2o and disturbance until the sweetener has dissolved. 
• Add the unsprayed roseate petals and permission cookware uncovered, hardly simmering, for astir 30 minutes. 
• Mix successful nutrient coloring, if desired. 
• Strain the syrup into a cleanable bottle, seal and permission to cool.

Pistachio paste:

• 2-4 Tbs. shelled pistachios (pistachos misdeed cáscara)
  • To prevention time, you tin finely chop pistachios to premix with mousse, but blanche and region bitter, purple tegument earlier proceeding. Be alert that the texture won’t beryllium arsenic creaseless arsenic the paste. 

Instructions:

• Blanche shelled pistachios successful blistery h2o for 30 seconds.
• Remove bitter, purple skin.
• Place successful a nutrient processor, connected precocious powerfulness (or a blender oregon a spice grinder) and pulse until the nuts are a good paste. 

White cocoa mousse:

Ingredients:

• ½ Cup (125 ml) dense pick (crema de batir)
• ½ Cup (100 g) achromatic chocolate* (chocolate blanco)
  • Mexican brands of good achromatic chocolate: Feliu Chocolate; Lurka Chiapas Tonka Bean 36%; Valrhona; Cacao Berry 
• 4 oz. (115 g) cream-cheese (queso crema)
• 1 Tbs. powdered sweetener (azúcar glass)
• Pinch brackish (sal)
• 2 Tbs. roseate syrup (and much for drizzling) 
• 2 Tbs. pistachio paste
• Chopped pistachios for decoration

Instructions:

• Whip dense pick until stiff peaks form; acceptable aside. 
• Melt chocolate, utilizing a treble boiler oregon microwave.
• In a mean bowl, utilizing a hand-held mixer, pick unneurotic the cream-cheese, roseate syrup, pistachio paste, melted achromatic chocolate, powdered sweetener and salt. 
• Using a spatula, cautiously fold the cream-cheese substance into the whipped cream. 
• * Divide betwixt 2-4 glasses oregon bowls. 
• Cover and spot successful the refrigerator for 1 hr to firm, but it whitethorn beryllium eaten astatine once. 
• Serve by drizzling other roseate syrup connected apical of mousse and adhd chopped pistachios.  
  • Store leftover mousse, covered successful the refrigerator, for two-three days.

Disfruta!

Deborah McCoy is the one-time writer of mainstream, bridal-reference books who has turned her attraction to food, peculiarly sweets, desserts and fruits. She is the laminitis of CakeChatter™ connected FaceBook and X (Twitter), and the writer of 4 baking books for “Dough Punchers” via CakeChatter (available @amazon.com). She is besides the president of The American Academy of Wedding Professionals™ (aa-wp.com).