Strawberry Roses

I love making strawberry roses because they're incredibly beautiful, edible (sugar flowers taste terrible) and really easy to make. This is a step by step picture tutorial for all those on instagram, who expressed their interest in making them. Give it a go and when you get the hang of it, try making a strawberry rose bouquet.

Step 1 Before you begin, choose strawberries that are nice and uniformly round unlike the ones shown in the photo above. The strawberry on the left is too flat, while the other one is too long.

When I'm in the Uk, I don't have any problems choosing strawberries because the British berries are pretty much plump and perfect. But when I'm back in Singapore, I don't have that luxury so the next best thing is Driscoll's® strawberry. And to think I was complaining about the constant stock of berries in my (London) fridge on my Blueberry Muffins post a while back. Sorry mum!

Step 2 Wash and dry the strawberries. It's important to use a small sharp knife to get clean and intricate cuts.

Step 3 Place the blade on the middle section of the strawberry. Make a cut straight down (the knife should be perpendicular to the table) but do not cut all the way through. Gently push this "petal" outwards and repeat to create 5 petals.

You'll be left with a pentagon shaped core.

Step 4 In a similar manner as the creation of the outer petals, make a straight cut down (but not all the way through) near the corner of the pentagon and push this inner petal outwards to fill the gap between the outer petals. Repeat for all 5 inner petals.

Step 5 Make a cut on the outside of the core and continue inwards, spiralling towards the center of the core. Once you've reached the center, pluck out the leftover tip.

And there you have it, a gorgeous strawberry rose that you can put on top of your bakes. I have also done a short video (without audio) of myself carving up the strawberry if this picture tutorial isn't clear enough for you.