Flower Ice Cubes

5 from 2 votes

Dress up your drinks with these pretty, homemade, edible flower ice cubes! Made with edible flowers, this gorgeous ice is a surefire way to impress your guests.

a glass of bourbon with a pansy ice sphere

The April showers are in full swing, which means May flowers will be here shortly.

Where I live, flowers have been blooming for a while, and after a long winter, it’s so nice to see!

Using flowers in culinary applications, especially cocktails, is a really fun way to explore your garden. From lavender syrup to rose cocktails, there are so many ways to use flowers in drinks.

Freezing fresh flowers in ice cubes is one such way to elevate your drinks with garden flavors and colorful hues.

I love making pretty ice cubes to dress up my drinks and add more flavor, like these tea ice cubes, but flowers take ice to a whole new level.

For more fancy ice recipes, check out these berry ice cubes.

a pansy frozen in a large ice cube

Flower ice cube recipe

Freezing flowers in ice cubes is something fancy restaurants and cocktail bars have been doing for years. Edible flowers in a drink provide a feast for all the senses.

How fun it is to look at your drink and see all the colors of purple pansies or red rose petals! Plus, you can sometimes smell and taste them too as the ice melts.

Flower ice cubes are a great way to impress your guests, especially at a special occasion such as:

  • holidays like Valentine’s Day, Easter and Mother’s Day
  • baby showers
  • bridal showers
  • engagement parties
  • weddings

Basically, any time a garden cocktail is desired, serve drinks with flower ice cubes!

flower ice on a marble background

Tips for choosing edible flowers

When choosing flowers for these pretty cubes, there are a few things to keep in mind:

  • Make sure they are edible flowers. Not all flowers are edible. In fact, some flowers are poisonous, so you want to be careful which flowers you use for your decorative ice cubes.
  • Keep in mind that you should never eat flowers that have been treated with pesticides.
  • If you struggle with pollen allergies, edible flowers may not be for you. Some people may have trouble eating and drinking floral cocktails like this Rose White Hot Chocolate, so bear that in mind. Talk to your doctor if you have concerns.
different types of edible flowers on a white background

Types of edible flowers

Including these pretty ice cubes in your summer cocktails will give off floral notes in the drink and on the nose.

Most flowers have a flavor similar to their fragrance, but some are surprising. Check out this list of edible flowers for more about what they taste like.

Here is a shortlist of flowers you can use for your ice cubes:

  • lavender
  • roses (and miniature roses)
  • violets
  • marigold
  • bee balm
  • borage
  • pansies
  • honeysuckle
  • elderflowers
  • nasturtiums
  • hibiscus
  • zucchini blossoms

You can even use the flowers from your herb garden like basil, mint, thyme, rosemary and chive blossoms.

And for a little extra green, you can use some of the leaves of your fresh herbs too! These herb ice cubes are another favorite to wow guests.

Use whole flowers, flowers with or without stems or simply just some of the flower petals.

a hand dropping a flower ice sphere into a glass of bourbon

Best ice molds

To make these beautiful ice cubes, you can use any kind of ice mold or ice tray. Keep in mind that your flowers should be able to fit neatly in the cavities.

My favorite mold is always a silicone ice cube tray because the flexible material makes it so much easier to release the ice cubes.

Sphere ice molds and large ice cube molds are great for spirit-heavy drinks like a classic old-fashioned. For larger trays, you can use larger flowers like marigolds, pansies, hibiscus and roses.

A regular ice cube tray will work just as well but will work best for smaller blooms and petals. For smaller trays, use small flowers like basil flowers, violets, lavender blooms and honeysuckle.

You can get creative too! Sometimes I will use a muffin tin to make big, round, flat ice. (See this post about hacking your kitchen for cocktail tools for a tutorial.)

You could also freeze flower ice in a bundt pan, then serve the resulting ring in a big punch bowl.

a cookie sheet with flower ice cubes

How to make floral ice cubes

Floral ice cubes are easy to make! However, it is a multi-step process so you do need to plan ahead and make them 1-2 days before you plan to serve them.

The easy way

You absolutely can fill the molds all the way with the flowers in them, but keep in mind you can’t as easily predict the placement of the flowers. They will float and won’t be perfectly suspended.

flowers in water in an ice cube tray

The best way

First, I recommend using freshly boiled water that has cooled to a warm temperature. You can also use warm tap water or warm distilled water. Warm water that has been boiled of impurities will result in clearer, more perfect ice. If you skip this step, you can get cloudy ice which would not be ideal when including these pretty blooms! (Some clouding is normal.)

However, if you use boiling hot water, you risk cooking the flowers to the point that the pigment is released into the water. It will result in blue and purple ice!

Then, fill the ice trays about 1/3 of the way. Freeze until solid, about 3-4 hours. (We do this so the flowers aren’t right at the top or bottom of the cube, and they can have more of a suspended look. The flowers will float when in water.)

an ice tray with water and flowers before freezing

Next, add your flowers. Trim off the stems right to the blooms. Place some facing up and some facing down — because it’s a bit of a gamble how they will turn out exactly. That’s what makes this process so fun!

Then, top with more warm water until two-thirds full. Freeze again, about 3-4 hours. (Sometimes I skip this step and fill right to the top. It depends on how much time I have.)

Once frozen, fill the remaining third and freeze until frozen, about 3-4 hours.

Remove from ice trays and store in freezer-safe ziptop bags. (If your ice is hard to remove, hold the tray upside down under room temperature or warm water, which will help to release the ice from the tray.)

Repeat until you have the number of ice cubes you desire!

Floral cocktail recipes

Serve the prettiest ice cubes ever in your favorite beverages. Try one of these floral concoctions:

Try this ice in an elderflower rose gimlet with a rose or rose petals frozen inside.

This cucumber vodka elderflower cocktail would be gorgeous with green

A hibiscus ice cube would be stunning in this tequila rose cocktail.

Freeze fresh lavender flowers in large cubes or spheres to serve in this lavender old-fashioned.

The drinks don’t have to contain alcohol, of course! You can dress up a glass of spa water, iced tea or lemonade! (This lavender lemonade remains a favorite of mine.)

flower ice cubes melting on a silver tray
a cocktail with a pansy ice cube and a violet garnish

Flower Ice Cubes

Yield: 12 ice cubes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Freeze Time: 12 hours
Total Time: 12 hours 15 minutes
Ice cubes with edible flowers are so pretty! Serve them in cocktails, mocktails or even water, iced tea and lemonade for special occasions.
5 from 2 votes
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ingredients

  • 12 edible flowers such as pansies or violets
  • 3 cups distilled water tepid

instructions

  • Fill ice cube molds ⅓ full with water. Freeze 3-4 hours or until frozen.
  • Trim stems from flowers. Place a flower in each cavity. Top with water until ⅔ full. Freeze 3-4 hours or until frozen.
  • Top with more water. Freeze 3-4 hours until frozen.
  • Release from ice molds. Store in freezer-safe ziptop bags.

notes

Use freshly boiled water that has cooled to a warm temperature. You can also use warm tap water or warm distilled water. Warm water that has been boiled of impurities will result in clearer, more perfect ice. If you skip this step, you can get cloudy ice which would not be ideal when including these pretty blooms! (Some clouding is normal.)
If you use boiling hot water, you risk cooking the flowers to the point that the pigment is released into the water. It will result in blue and purple ice!
Try these edible flowers:
  • lavender
  • roses (and miniature roses)
  • violets
  • marigold
  • bee balm
  • borage
  • pansies
  • honeysuckle
  • elderflowers
  • nasturtiums
  • hibiscus
  • zucchini blossoms
You can also use the flowers from your herb garden like basil, mint, thyme, rosemary and chive blossoms. You can use some of the leaves of your fresh herbs too!

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nutrition information

Yield: 12 ice cubes

amount per serving:

Serving: 1ice cube Calories: 0.3kcal Carbohydrates: 0.1g Protein: 0.02g Fat: 0.002g Saturated Fat: 0.001g Sodium: 3mg Potassium: 3mg Vitamin A: 39IU Vitamin C: 1mg Calcium: 3mg Iron: 0.01mg
did you make this recipe?Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram with the hashtag #feastandwestrecipes!
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Comments

    • Susannah says

      Oh how lovely! I’m so glad the bride-to-be could enjoy these pretty things. They really do make such a nice statement!

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