Flower Ice Cubes
If you’re looking for a way to jazz up your drinks this summer, this is it! Because let’s be honest, what’s more adorable than miniature roses floating in your rosé?
I know it sounds simple—even the most culinarily-challenged can execute perfect ice and drop a few flowers in—but there is a little know-how necessary to make the most perfect flower ice cubes.
The hardest part is getting the ice as clear as possible (it’s actually near impossible to make perfectly clear ice).
Do you know what makes ice cloudy? Because it freezes from the outside in, any impurities or air bubbles get trapped and keep the ice from being crystal clear.
If this science experiment is up your alley—all my serious cocktailers—check out this article for a great explanation of how to execute perfectly clear ice. But for this project, I cut a few corners and used distilled water, and then boiled it!
Have fun and experiment with different flower types and ice cube shapes!
How to make flower ice cubes:
Ingredients / Materials for Flower Ice Cubes
Organic flowers (I used baby sweetheart roses and these edible wild flowers that Whole Foods often carries near the fresh herbs)
1 gallon distilled water, boiled then cooled to room temperature (If the water is still warm, the flowers will cook and look withered)
Large-square silicon ice cube trays
A cupcake tin
Stemless glasses
Wine corks
Steps:
Flower Ice Cubes:
Fill silicon ice cube trays with water (don’t fill quite to the top!)
Cut baby roses so the stems are no longer than 1 inch and arrange a few in each cube (they may float, but I love the look of the flowers popping out!)
Freeze until sold.
Fill the glass with your drink of choice, then float 1-2 decorative ice cubes in the glass. Serve immediately.
Flower Wedge Ice:
Place a wine cork in each cupcake crevasse.
Place the stemless glass in a cupcake crevasse so it balances on the cork, and is tilted at a 45-degree angle.
Gently pour 1/2 cup water into each glass, add a few flowers, then freeze.
Add another 1/2-3/4 cup water, more flowers, then freeze again. (Unlike the ice cube option above, this method freezes the flowers in layers so they don’t float to the top.)
Before you serve, remove glasses and gently wipe the exterior with a wet cloth to melt the frost (so you can clearly see the ice and flowers!)
Fill the rest of the glass with rosé, iced team, or lemonade. Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes:
When experimenting with the wedge ice method I used a very thin Riedel stemless glass and it cracked (ice expands as it freezes!), so consider using thicker glass if you want to try this one!
Recipe by guest contributor Lindsay Kinder, of Food La La. Photography by Erica Garlieb.
Love food? Me too. You can check out more foodie posts here.
Elise Armitage is an entrepreneur and founder of What The Fab, a travel + lifestyle blog based in California. At the beginning of 2019, Elise left her corporate job at Google to chase her dreams: being an entrepreneur and helping women find fabulous in the everyday. Since then, she’s launched her SEO course Six-Figure SEO, where she teaches bloggers how to create a passive revenue stream from their website using SEO. Featured in publications like Forbes, Elle, HerMoney, and Real Simple, Elise is a firm believer that you can be of both substance and style.
