Get creative and add fresh nasturtiums to your meal, like in this tasty chicken pancakes recipe. The result? Summer on a plate!

SERVES 8 // COOK TIME ± 40 mins

INGREDIENTS
4 eggs
1 cup flour, sifted
1½ cups milk
Salt and pepper
2 red chillies, chopped
1 cup nasturtium flowers
4 chicken breasts
2 tbsp olive oil
8 baby corn, sliced
3 mixed peppers, diced
1 cup salsa
½ cup fresh coriander leaves

METHOD
1. Combine the eggs, flour, milk and a pinch of salt in a food processor. Then transfer to a medium bowl and stir in the chopped chillies.
2. Ladle about one third of a cup of batter into a non-stick crêpe pan set over medium heat and quickly press a few nasturtiums into the pancake before the batter sets.
3. Cook on each side for about 30 seconds. Stack and set aside each pancake until you’ve used all the batter.
4. Brush each chicken breast with a little olive oil and grill in a hot pan until cooked through. Cut into strips and set aside.
5. Place about four strips of chicken, along with two tablespoons each of baby corn and peppers, in the centre of each pancake. Season well and top with a dollop of salsa and a sprinkling of coriander before folding the pancakes into wraps.

Sweet and salty flavours make these chicken wraps with cranberry and whipped feta a delicious pairing for you lunch prep!

The post Nasturtiums chicken pancakes appeared first on MyKitchen.

We used edible flowers to make these rose petal, almond and poppy seed doughnuts come to life for the perfect picnic treats.

MAKES 16 doughnuts + doughnut holes // COOKING TIME 1 hour, plus 2–3 hours rising time

INGREDIENTS
For the poppy seed doughnuts
4 tbsp sugar
2 tsp active dry yeast
¾ cup lukewarm water
4 cups flour, sifted
3 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp poppy seeds
1 tsp salt
100 g butter, softened and cut into cubes
Oil for frying
For the icing
2¼ cups icing sugar, sifted
4 tbsp milk
2 drops pink food colouring
To serve
3 tbsp edible dried rose petals
⅓  cup flaked almonds

METHOD
For the poppy seed doughnuts
1. Place the sugar, yeast and water in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix lightly and allow to sit for 10 minutes until foamy and bubbling on top.
2. Add the flour, eggs and poppy seeds and knead well using the dough-hook attachment. After 5 minutes, add the salt.
3. Slowly add the butter and knead until the dough becomes smooth and glossy.
4. Cover the bowl with cling film and allow to rest for 1–2 hours, or until the dough has doubled in size.
5. Punch down the dough and roll out into a thick rectangle. Cut circles out, using a smaller cutter for the ‘hole’.
6. Place the doughnuts on a flour-dusted surface. Allow to prove for a further hour.
7. When the doughnuts have doubled in size, heat a large pot of oil over medium-high heat.
8. Working in batches, fry the doughnuts until golden brown and cooked, about 1–2 minutes a side. Remove from the oil and drain on paper towel.
For the icing
1. Mix all the ingredients together in a large, shallow container.
To serve
1. Allow the doughnuts to cool completely before dipping the top of each one into the icing and transferring on to a plate.
2. Top with rose petals and almond flakes and set aside until the icing hardens.

Recipe & styling: Kate Turner
Photography: Gareth van Nelson // HMimages.co.za

Lavender Camembert terrine will make a lovely addition to your picnic spread.

The post Rose petal, almond and poppy seed doughnuts appeared first on MyKitchen.

A simple sweet treat for those afternoon slumps, this white chocolate bark with edible flowers is perfect for summer. Break up the pieces and enjoy!

MAKES 20 x 10 cm slab // COOKING TIME 1 hour

INGREDIENTS
3 × 80 g slabs white chocolate, broken up
Dried rose petals
Fresh rose petals

METHOD
1. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. Melt the chocolate: Bring ½ a pot of water to the boil. Place chocolate in a glass bowl that fits snugly over the pot (the bottom of the bowl must not touch the water). Stir chocolate until melted.
3. Pour chocolate on to the baking paper. Spread out evenly with a palette knife and sprinkle with rose petals.
4. Place in the fridge to set, 30 minutes to 1 hour.
5. Break into pieces and serve immediately.

Recipe & styling: Diane Heierli
Photography: Christoph Heierli

Have leftover white chocolate? Use it for these yummy chocolate waffle pops!

The post White chocolate bark with edible flowers appeared first on MyKitchen.

The perfect summer treat exists, and it’s these holiday floral ice lollies with edible flowers! Keep them in the freezer for a hot summer’s day.

MAKES 8 // COOKING TIME 30 min

INGREDIENTS
250 ml water
100 g caster sugar
100 g strawberries
Handful edible flowers (we used pansies)
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp rose syrup

METHOD
1. Place the water and sugar in a pot over medium heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside to cool down.
2. Place the strawberries and flowers in 8 ice-lolly moulds. (Pack in the strawberries so they hold the flowers in place against the sides, otherwise they will float up.)
3. When the sugar syrup has cooled, add the lemon juice and rose syrup and mix well.
4. Pour the syrup into the ice-lolly moulds. Insert a stick into each one. Place in the freezer until set, about 4 hours.

Recipe & styling: Diane Heierli
Photography: Christoph Heierli

Keen to try more recipes like this? Make these fruity yoghurt lollies!

The post Holiday floral ice lollies with edible flowers appeared first on MyKitchen.

We love a good doughnut, but these stunning floral doughnuts take the cake! Use edible flowers straight from your garden to garnish these.

Not sure which blooms to use? Here’s our list of edible flowers.

MAKES 8 // COOKING TIME 2 hours

INGREDIENTS
For the floral doughnuts
310 ml milk, lukewarm
2 tsp dry yeast
2 eggs
120 g butter, melted and cooled
50 g sugar
1 tsp salt
530 g cake flour
Vegetable oil, to deep-fry
For the royal icing
1 egg white
½ tsp lemon juice
200 g icing sugar, sifted
Sprinkles, to decorate
Edible flowers of your choice, to decorate

METHOD
For the floral doughnuts
1. In a bowl, combine milk and yeast. Let sit until the mixture is foamy, 5 minutes.
2. Using an electric beater, beat eggs, butter, sugar and salt into the mixture.
3. Mix in ½ of the flour until combined. Mix in the rest of the flour with a wooden spoon until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Add a little more flour, 2 tbsp at a time, if the dough is too wet.
4. Knead the dough until smooth, about 7–10 minutes.
5. Grease a bowl with a little oil. Transfer the dough to the bowl and cover. Let rise at room temperature until doubled in size.
6. Turn out the dough on to a well-floured surface and roll it out to 2 cm thick. Use two cookie cutters to cut out 8 doughnuts and make holes in them (the larger cutter should be about 10 cm and the smaller one about 3 cm), flouring the cutters as you go.
7. Arrange doughnuts on floured baking trays so there is plenty of room between them. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place until slightly puffed up and delicate, about 45 minutes
8. After about 30 minutes, place the oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat and heat it to 180°C.
9. Carefully add the doughnuts to the oil. When the undersides are deep golden, 45 seconds to 1 minute, use a slotted spoon to flip. Cook until golden all over. Adjust the heat as needed to keep the oil at the same temperature while you fry the whole batch.
10. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
For the royal icing
1. Lightly whisk together the egg white and lemon juice. Gradually add the icing sugar, whisking until smooth.
2. Spread icing over each of the doughnuts. Decorate with sprinkles and flowers.

Recipe & styling: Diane Heierli
Photography: Christoph Heierli

This berry granola tart is another springtime favourite!

The post Celebrate spring with these pretty floral doughnuts appeared first on MyKitchen.

Summer calls for fresh fruity flavours to enjoy with all of your loved ones, like these watermelon ice lollies with ginger and edible flowers.

MAKES 8 // COOKING TIME 20 min plus overnight freezing time

INGREDIENTS
8 wooden ice-cream sticks
½ cup sugar
3 cm piece of ginger, finely sliced
½ cup fresh lemon juice
1½ cups watermelon juice (blended and strained)
Edible flowers

METHOD
1. Soak the ice-cream sticks in water for one hour.
2. Combine ½ cup water and the sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add the ginger and leave to infuse for a few hours.
3. Remove and discard the ginger pieces.
4. Combine the sugar syrup, lemon juice and watermelon juice and mix well.
5. Divide the mixture between 8 ice-lolly moulds and push the flowers into the sides.
6. Freeze for at least one hour and then insert the soaked sticks. Freeze overnight.
7. Run warm water over the moulds to loosen the lollies.

Recipe & styling: Diane Heierli
Photography: Christoph Heierli

The post Floral watermelon ice lollies appeared first on MyKitchen.