How to use Chocolate

Feb 13, 2015

How to Make Strawberry Roses

Cut flowers may be beautiful, but you can't eat them. Why not break from tradition and make your sweetheart(s) an edible bouquet of strawberry roses instead! They're easy to make and a sweet treat to eat. I guarantee you will get huge bonus points for putting in the extra handmade effort. Here's how to make a dozen, long stemmed, strawberry roses.

organic medium sized strawberries*
12" bamboo skewers
bunch of inexpensive roses
green floral tape
pairing knife
rose vase
white sugar, rice, or small white rocks
whipped cream or dipping chocolate

*I bought two containers so that I'd end up with at least 14-16 good looking, similar sized berries. I wanted to end up with 12 good ones and left myself some practice wiggle room.

Go through the bunch of roses and pull off 12 nice looking leaves. You can then put the roses in water and either give them to your loved one along with the strawberry bouquet, or keep them for yourself!

Note: You can also make paper leaves or use leaves from silk roses if you'd prefer.

Put the rose leaves into a colander and give them a good rinse. Rub them with your fingers under water to remove any surface residue.*

Lay them out on a cloth or paper towel and lightly press them dry.

Set them aside.

*Commercial roses are sprayed with lots of chemicals so it's important to clean them thoroughly.

Heart Filled Valentine's Day Treat

This instructable came about from some last minute inspiration in the spirit of Valentine's Day!

I baked pumpkin bread for an entry in the Snow themed contest just a few days before Valentine's Day. While I was decorating it I thought about how I could use the space in the middle of the heart shaped bundt and came up with the ideas presented in this instructable. I was quite happy with how it turned out, enjoy!

Here's my instructable titled "Snowy Pumpkin Bread":
http://www.instructables.com/id/Snowy-Pumpkin-Bread/

These two have the same baking steps, just different decorating ideas.

Here's the list of ingredients that you'll need:

For the pumpkin bread:

dry ingredients:
4 cups flour
3 cups sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp ground cloves

wet ingredients:
1 cup vegetable oil
1 15 oz can of pumpkin
2/3 cups water
4 eggs

bundt pan
non stick spray

For the decoration:
strawberries
powdered sugar
sieve

Note: The bundt pan that I used is one made by Nordic Ware. Here are links where you can find it:

* https://www.nordicware.com/store/product_detail/bundt-quartet-pan#.UxX_zPRdV-g

* http://www.amazon.com/Nordic-Ware-Cast-Bundt-Quartet/dp/B001TRDQUO/ref=sr_1_11?s=kitchen&srs=2597461011&ie=UTF8&qid=1393950300&sr=1-11&keywords=nordic+ware

Mix all of the dry ingredients well with a fork. Add the vegetable oil, pumpkin, and water and mix with a wooden spoon.

Add four eggs, one at a time. Mix well after adding each egg.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray the pan you're going to use with non-stick spray.

Fill the bundt pan with the pumpkin bread batter. Bake for about 1 hour or until a tooth pick inserted into the bread comes out clean. Let it cool.