There’s something about working with fresh flowers in the cake decorating process that gets me so excited! The thrill always starts at the flower shop, because I really get to nerd out on different combinations of blooms. With a color palette in mind, I love to play around with different textures and varieties of flowers. But deciding on a good floral palette involves more than just what will look best – the flowers have to actually be safe for cakes.
In addition to making sure the blooms you’re purchasing for your cake are organic and haven’t been sprayed with pesticides, it’s important to know ahead of time which flowers to avoid. I’ve found that in some cases, the florist won’t even know! So before I teach you how to incorporate fresh florals into your cake designs, make them last, and keep them from leaking their stem juices into your precious cake, I wanted to share a list of flowers that are safe for your cakes (and in some cases, even completely edible!) and which ones to avoid completely:
Flowers That Are Safe: Pansies, Lavender, Violas, Violets, Roses, Marigold, Cornflower, Carnations, Chrysanthemums, Day Lily, Hibiscus, Peony, Chamomile, Freesia, Gerber Daisy, Lisianthus, Queen Anne’s Lace, Primrose, Sunflowers. Here’s a longer list (and what parts of each flower are actually edible!).
Flowers To Avoid: Lily Of The Valley, Daffodil, Poinsettia, Azaleas, Calla Lily, Hyacinth, Oleander, Wisteria, Rhododendron, Hydrangea, Mistletoe, Holly, Sweet Pea. Here’s the long list.
Now that you know which flowers work best for keeping your cake tasty and non-toxic, here’s my method for decorating cakes with fresh florals:
You Will Need:
- Fresh florals (organic, pesticide-free, and from the safe list)
- Floral scissors or pruning tool
- A frosted cake
- Floral tape
- Scissors
Step 1: Wash And Trim The Flowers
Under a sink with cold water running, gently wash your flowers to make sure there aren’t any bugs or dirt lingering in the petals. Locate where you’d like to trim the stem (I usually keep it 2-3 inches long) and place it under the water. Snip the stem at an angle and keep the trimmed portion under the water for another few seconds. I consider that the flower’s final drink.
Pat the flowers and stems dry with a paper towel carefully.
Step 2: Wrap The Stems
Cut a piece of floral tape that’s about 2-3 inches long. Wrap the tape around the stem, focusing on covering the majority of the stem and where it’s been pruned. The goal here is to create a barrier between the cake and the stem, especially the bottom of the stem, and prevent it from leaking flower secretion (ok yes that’s gross sounding but also a good band name!) into the cake layer.
Wrapping the stem in this way also keeps the flowers fresh for longer, because it helps hold the moisture and nourishment within the stem.
Step 3: Decorate The Cake
Now that you’ve created a good barrier between the cake and your floral stems, plus you’ve set your mind at ease by choosing flowers from the safe list, it’s time to arrange them on your cake – my favorite part! I usually take some time to loosely plan where to place the flowers (off the cake) before committing to an arrangement. Once you’re happy with a plan, stick the covered stems into the cake one by one. Simple as that!
For larger flower bouquets, a great trick for keeping those stems from contaminating your cake is to create a small (1-2 inch) fondant ball and stick your stems into that before placing the whole thing on top of your cake. I’ve definitely used that trick for fuller floral arrangements and it works like a charm. You’ll still need to wrap your stems with floral tape before sticking them into the fondant holder to keep the moisture contained.
And if you’re really wanting to keep those flowers fresh, you can always try using one of those plastic tubes you get from the florist. You can fill them with a little water and stick your flowers into it like a vase before submerging it into the cake. I’ve never tried that method, but I hear it works great.
Storage And Timing
Keep in mind that each flower will have a specific lifespan once you wrap the stem, so the best way to be sure how long it will remain fresh is to ask your florist beforehand. In my experience, I’ve had really good luck storing cakes with fresh florals in the refrigerator. Typically, fresh flowers will last around eight hours in the refrigerator and remain fresh for a few hours outside of the fridge environment. Even though I’ve had good luck with the fridge, I always like to prepare and place the flowers at the very last second possible (sometimes even on-site at the event) to ensure the freshest blooms. Because after all that prep work and stressing over a cake, the last thing you want to happen is wilting.
Have you tried any of these methods before? Know any tips that aren’t on my list? I’d love to know your secrets for working with fresh florals too! Let me know in the comments.
The flowers are edible and always safe. They are just like any other food product in your kitchen. However, if you want to keep them fresh for a few days or weeks, freeze them. Take a few of your favorite flowers, wash them, and place them in a ziplock bag. Get a plastic container if you don’t have zip-lock bags. Use a straw to suck out the air from the bag and then seal it. Please keep them in the freezer and take them out before you want to use them.
Hi I am having an Hawaiian themed birthday party for my husband and want to decorate his mango cake with orchids. Is that ok?
Hi Connie! Most varieties of orchid flowers are fully edible, so depending on the variety you should be totally okay. I’d just do a little google research to confirm or you can get freeze dried edible orchids on Etsy/Amazon as well.
Hi Whitney,
If the safe flowers are properly wrapped with flower tape etc, what is the harm with pesticides? Or is that harm particular to edible flowers only that will be ingested?
Thank you so much for all your info!
Hi Nathalie! Since pesticides are considered toxic, making sure you use pesticide-free flowers is just an extra measure to prevent anything toxic from contaminating the cake portions that the flowers may touch. It’s a really small chance that the pesticides will contaminate the cake (especially if they’re not edible flowers), but still worth mentioning. Hope that helps!
I am making a wedding cake with flowers on each layer to make it look like it is sitting on the flowers. I am going to put a cardboard round on each cake to fill the gap, I am thinking about sprinkling hot glue on the stems on the cardboard to hold in place then we just have to lift the ring of flowers off. It is a cake stand the screws together in the middle so it should go together pretty easy, what do u think? Can I put the flowers on the cake 5-6 hours in advance as it will be wayside? About 70-75 degrees, help!
Hi Allison! That sounds like a good plan, but I’m not sure about hot gluing the flowers just because I’m not sure if that will make them wilt faster or not. Instead, I would figure out how to insert the stems into some little vessels like this: https://amzn.to/3NiLWxQ and then glue those vessels to the cardboard. This way the flowers will stay fresh and easy to arrange. Hope that helps!
Thank you for this information. I am attempting my first fresh flower cake this week and the advice has been invaluable and makes me a lot less nervous about it. I will be using marigolds. The design I’m doing involved foliage as well. Is the wrapping procedure the same for leaves? Is there anything else I need to consider before using marigold leaves?
Yay, Esther! I’m so happy you found all this info helpful and put you at ease. Leaves don’t tend to wilt quite like flowers do though, so the wrapping procedure isn’t necessary unless you’re planning on inserting them directly into the cake.
Hiya, if using supermarket flowers, how do you know if pesticide free? Thanks
Hi Nik! You’ll have to ask the florist to be sure they’re pesticide free.
Hi Whitney,
Do you have a list of greenery or leaves that would be safe to use on cakes?
Hi Pat! I don’t have a list of greenery but you can always google! Any herb would be totally fine to use but I’m not sure which other greens are edible.
Hi are orientalist lilies cake safe?
Hi Sarah! I’ve never heard of those. I would do a little research to see what the toxicity level is and if anyone else has used those on a cake before.
Hi! Thanks for the detailed info and all the comments have helped. I was wondering if I can’t get straws or floral tape. Would a good amount of normal tape or duct tape with cling film work ok and still be safe?
Hi Katie! I’ve never considered normal tape/duct tape wrapped in cling film. I’m not sure how safe it would be. I would do a little research to see if there are alternatives to the methods I’ve described here.
Really helpful post, Thanks so much!
I recently did a birthday cake with fresh flowers thanks to your information. Came out beautiful and was much appreciated by the recipients.
Ive got a 50th Golden Anniversary cake this weekend, and will be applying the same technique with some golden hues.
The link to the bigger edible flowers list is also really helpful… might have to try some in my next salad! 🙂
Thanks
Yay, Pauline! I’m so happy to hear that you were able to make a beautiful cake with this info! Thanks for taking the time to let me know 🙂
Hi Whitney! Would you say it’s safer to maybe add another layer of cling wrap over the floral tape just because I don’t really trust the quality of the tapes we get where I live !?
Hi Jae! You could do that and/or stick the wrapped stems into boba straws inserted into the cake. Hope that helps!
Hi, has anyone experience with decorating a fondant covered fruit cake with fresh flowers? If so any tips?
Hi,
sorry, just a quick note as I saw that your post says that both Chrysanthemum and carnations are safe, but they are both grade 2 toxins so shouldn’t be used on cakes. This is a really handy list for anyone looking for what’s safe to use.
https://ucanr.edu/sites/poisonous_safe_plants/Toxic_Plants_by_common_Name_659/
A really helpful blog, thank you
Yay, Noelle! Happy to help!
Thanks for all of the great tips! I have used florist tubes many time’s embedded into a cored out section of cake stabilized with icing. It works well with roses! I’m excited to try some other flowers on your acceptable list
Yay, Laura! Happy to help!