How to Make Edible Flower Mini Toasts

Tutorial by Lily Morello

Perfectly bite-sized, satisfyingly crunchy Petits Toasts make a great base for any number of mini appetizers and hors d'oeuvres. They are so convenient for when it’s too hot to toast up an oven full of crostini and they are nice and sturdy for holding up whatever you want to pile on them. I like to think of them as the cutest little edible blank canvases, and this guide is going to show you two ways to transform them into mini floral-themed works of art that are sure to wow at your next sunny brunch or backyard gathering.

When working as a food photographer, I love decorating dishes with edible flowers and I often get asked where to source flowers that are safe to eat. The answer is that I am very lucky because—though I live in a major city—I have a humble amount of outdoor space where I can grow my own blooms. I realize, though, that not everyone has access to outdoor growing space, and even then, it’s tricky to keep delicate plants alive. Fortunately, you won’t need a green thumb to make these flowery bites!

Instead, we are going to be crafting our flowers out of fresh fruits and veggies—that’ll definitely guarantee that these blooms will be safe to eat! Below are step-by-step instructions for two edible flower creations:

How to make violas out of daikon radish slices
How to make roses out of cherry and grape tomatoes

Making these edible flowers will require a little bit of patience, but the amount of effort sure beats waiting for months for your real plants to bloom only for them to get decimated by backyard bugs before you can enjoy them (trust me on this one). I like to think of making flowers out of food as an edible arts-and-crafts project; you’ll want to take your time and have fun with it along the way.

Of course, we’re going to need some edible glue to hold these crafted creations together and make sure they don’t budge from our mini toasty canvases. Three Little Pigs Mousse de Foie Canard au Porto is a lovely choice because it is a rich mousse pâté with such a creamy texture, and the hint of tanginess from the port wine compliments the fresh veggies quite nicely. This elegant spread is certainly befitting of the dainty edible decorations that will adorn it.

What you’ll need to make radish violas for Petits Toasts:

Purple daikon radishes: Slice these into thin disks, about 1/16th of an inch thick, using a mandoline. You will likely need about 2 slices per flower, to form the “petals” of the viola.
Persian cucumbers: You’ll be cutting small leaf shapes out of these. Slice the cucumber lengthwise to separate the darker green exterior, which is what we want to use, from the soft seeded core.
Yellow bell pepper: You’ll be cutting this into teeny tiny pieces for the centers of the flowers; all you’ll need is a thin strip of bell pepper to make enough for lots of “violas”. A baby carrot would also work for this.
Kitchen shears: Kitchen shears will be your tool for cutting out the shapes you need to form the “petals” and “leaves”. You could certainly do this with a small, sharp paring knife, but having kitchen shears would be easier because it’ll be just like cutting the shapes out of paper with scissors.
Three Little Pigs Petits Toasts: This will be the base for each bite-sized floral treat.
Three Little Pigs Mousse de Foie Canard au Porto: This will act as the glue to hold all your veggie pieces in place and add a great flor to each bite.

How to make radish violas on Petits Toasts:

Use kitchen shears to cut 5 petals from the prepared slices of daikon, in the shapes shown above. The 5 petals should be:

2 small fan-shaped petals
2 larger fan-shaped petals
1 petal that is similar in size to the larger fan-shaped petals, but has a small notch, like an upside-down heart shape

Use kitchen shears or a paring knife to cut 1–2 leaf shapes from the prepared pieces of cucumber.

Cut a small piece of yellow bell pepper to form the center of the flower.

Spread about 1 teaspoon of Three Little Pigs Mousse de Foie Canard au Porto on top of 1 piece of Three Little Pigs Petits Toasts. This will be the glue for holding the pieces of the radish viola in place.

Arrange the 3 larger petal pieces as shown above, pressing them into the pâté.. The 2 larger fan pieces should form the top and the heart-shaped petal should form the bottom of the viola.

Place the 2 smaller fan pieces as shown above. Embedding them into the pâté at a slight angle will create a more three-dimensional look.

Tuck 1–2 of the cucumber leaves under the daikon flower.

Place the bell pepper piece in the center of the flower. Your edible viola snack is complete!

What you’ll need to make tomato roses on Petits Toasts:

Grape or cherry tomatoes: You will need 2 per rose. Firm grape tomatoes work best for this.
Basil leaves: Small basil leaves, or the leaves of any other tender herb; these will be used as the leaves for your roses.
Serrated knife: A small serrated knife will be the best tool for cutting the tomato skins off the mini tomatoes.
Three Little Pigs Petits Toasts: This will be the base for each bite-sized floral treat.
Three Little Pigs Mousse de Foie Canard au Porto: This will act as the glue to hold the coils of your tomato roses in place.

How to make tomato roses on Petits Toasts:

Spread about 1 teaspoon of Three Little Pigs Mousse de Foie Canard au Porto on top of 1 piece of Three Little Pigs Petits Toasts. This will be the glue for holding the pieces of the tomato rose in place.

Use a serrated knife to cut away the skin off the top half of one tomato; use a gentle sawing motion through the flesh just underneath the skin, taking care to keep it all in one piece as shown above. Flip the tomato around and repeat with the bottom half. Then, repeat again with a second tomato. This will give you 4 strips of tomato skin.

Select the thinnest strip and coil that tightly into a spiral. Place that upright in the center of the mini toast.

Wrap another strip of tomato closely around the center spiral.

Repeat with the third strip of tomato.

And then the last strip of tomato.

For the finishing touch, tuck 1–2 small basil leaves into the pâté. Now your edible rose bite is complete!