Fresh flowers on a cake create an elegant presentation, and by selecting colors and seasonal flowers you can have a cake for any occasion. However, to ensure food safety, there are some simple steps that you need to take. 

I recently made a carrot cake and filled the layers with apricot.  If that sounds like a complicated or time-consuming recipe, it wasn’t.  I used a Duncan Hines cake mix from the grocery store and a can of Solo Apricot filling. The filling also comes in cherry, raspberry and poppy seed so there are all kinds of combinations that you can select to go with your menu. 

I frosted the cake with fluffy white frosting also known as “boiled frosting” or “seven minute frosting,” but you can use any frosting that you like. 

The cake was for a Thanksgiving buffet so I chose small mums in fall colors to top my cake.   

Keeping your cake safe from any pesticides or poison that might be in the flowers or stems requires a little effort.  First, try to research the flower for edibility and toxicity and try to purchase organically grown stems.  

For instance the mum family is touted as a relatively safe flower according to the internet, but to make sure because there are so many varieties, I prepared the flowers in a way to protect my cake before using them. 

1. I washed the flowers and stems in cool water to remove any dirt that might be attached to them. 
2. After drying on a paper towel, I selected a few flowers, cut the stems to about 2 to 2 ½ inches and tied them together by wrapping with florist wire.    
3. I wrapped the attached stems with floral tape, completely covering the stem, including the bottom.
4. I place the wired, wrapped stem in a Bubble Tea straw (because it is bigger than a regular straw) and snipped the straw to match the stem length. 

Voila! I had a holder for my bouquet. I continued until I had enough flowers to place on my cake. 

This technique works great for a small cake.  If you have a larger cake, you can purchase water tubes from a florist, place the flower in the tube and insert the tube in the cake. 

My daughter’s wedding cake was a three-tiered, Naked Cake from Central Market Bakery.  The bakery frosted the cake and added the strawberries and rosemary, but bakery standards would not allow them to put fresh flowers on the cake.  When the cake arrived at the hotel, I added the roses and stock in water tubes to complete the decorated cake. 

Either way, wrapped stems or water tube, your cake is not directly exposed to the flowers. You can remove them as you cut the cake. 

You will get lots of compliments and it is stress-free and so much fun.