Recipes for Elegant Hibiscus Flower Dishes

This Planner loves little twists on the ordinary, and if you're having a champagne toast during your wedding reception, why not make it a little more memorable by adding beautiful (and delicious!) hibiscus flowers to the bottom of the champagne flute? The flowers are completely edible (they taste a bit like strawberry-rhubarb), and are lovely as they open up from the bubbles in the champagne.

You're not limited to champagne toasts, however. There are a multitude of other ways to use hibiscus blossoms. Check out the recipes below for a creative approach to every part of your wedding meal, from appetizer to dessert:

Hibiscus, Warm Brie and Almond Crostini

24 servings

1 jar Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup

(reserve the syrup)

8 oz. Brie

1 baguette, sliced diagonally

3/4 cup sliced almonds, with skin

Garnish: snipped chives or fresh thyme

Preheat oven to 450° F. Drain hibiscus flowers and reserve syrup. Cut each flower in half. Cut brie into 1/4-inch-thick slices sized to cover about three quarters of a baguette slice. Spread the almonds in a flat dish. Press brie firmly onto the bread slices then, face down, into the almonds. Place crostini right side up on baking sheet and bake until brie is soft, bread is crispy, and nuts are lightly toasted, about 4 to 6 minutes. Right before serving, top each one with a hibiscus flower, drizzle lightly with reserved syrup and garnish with a touch of herbs.

Tip: To thicken hibiscus syrup, bring to a boil in small saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until syrup is reduced by 1/3 or coats the back of a spoon. Syrup will thicken more as it cools.

Hibiscus Flower with Chevre, Chive and Black Pepper Appetizer
11 servings

1 jar Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup
1 small (8 oz) roll of Chevre (goat’s cheese)
Chives cut into two inch pieces
Fresh black pepper

Drain hibiscus flowers and set aside (reserve syrup for other applications like
vinaigrettes or drizzling across pancakes). Pinch off small amounts of cheese to roll into 11 equal sized, neat round balls, then gently push a ball of Chevre into each reserved Wild Hibiscus Flower. Lay a cut chive piece across the top and garnish with a sprinkle of fresh ground black pepper. Serve immediately or prepare ahead of time.

Hibiscus Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
4 to 6 starter servings

1 jar Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup
1 tsp. poppy seeds
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
3 Tbsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper
6 cups mixed salad greens (about one 5-oz bag)
1 large orange, peeled and diced

Drain hibiscus flowers and reserve syrup. Cut each flower in quarters, set aside.
Combine the poppy seeds, mustard and cider vinegar in a large bowl. Add 1/4 cup of the reserved syrup. Whisk in the olive oil and season to taste. Add the greens to the dressing and gently toss. Divide among plates and scatter with orange pieces and hibiscus flowers. Serve immediately.
Save remaining syrup to add to cocktails or lemonade.

Grilled Chicken & Hibiscus Skewers with Sassy Ginger Dipping Sauce
4 skewers

1 jar Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup
1 Tbsp. finely minced or grated fresh ginger
1/2 to 1 tsp. hot sauce
3 green onions (scallions)
1 to1 1/4 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 32 pieces
Vegetable oil as needed
Salt and pepper
4 metal skewers or 10" heavy wood skewers soaked in water

Drain hibiscus flowers, reserving syrup in a small bowl.
To make the dipping sauce: Mix ginger and hot sauce into the reserved syrup.
Trim and cut each green onion into 4 pieces. Thread each skewer as follows: 2 pieces of
chicken, 1 piece of green onion, then 1 hibiscus flower*; repeat twice; then finish with 2
pieces of chicken. Lightly brush skewers with oil and season to taste with salt and
pepper.

Preheat grill to medium-high. Cook skewers until chicken is cooked through, about 4 to 5
minutes per side. Drizzle skewers with dipping sauce and serve extra on the side.
*Cut one flower in half if needed; jars contain approximately 11–12 flowers.

Hibiscus Berry Sundae
4 servings

This sundae is also excellent built on a slice of angle food or pound cake.
1 jar Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup
1 pint vanilla ice cream
1 cup fresh raspberries or quartered strawberries
Whipped cream
Chopped pistachio nuts (optional)

Drain hibiscus flowers and reserve syrup. Cut each flower in half.
Scoop ice cream into 4 bowls. Scatter with berries and then drizzle with the hibiscus
syrup. Top with a pouf of whipped cream and scatter with hibiscus flowers and nuts.
Serve immediately.

Wild Hibiscus Cheesecake

Makes 1 9-inch cheesecake

1 jar Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup
Crust:
1 cup graham cracker meal
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 Tbsp. superfine or baker's sugar
Cake:
1 cup sugar
3 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup reserved hibiscus syrup
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
3 Tbsp. flour

Preheat oven to 350°F. Drain hibiscus flowers and reserve syrup. Cut each flower in quarters.

For crust: Mix together graham crackers, butter and sugar, and pat into bottom of 9″ spring-form pan.

For cake: Beat together sugar and cream cheese until fluffy, then mix in the reserved syrup. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in sour cream and flour until smooth. Pour into crust and bake in lower part of oven about 35 – 45 minutes or until the centre is set but still slightly jiggly. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Loosen cheesecake from rim of pan; remove rim.

To serve: Cut with a knife dipped in hot water. Scatter slices of cheesecake with hibiscus flowers. Store leftover cheesecake refrigerated.

*If you don't have time to make cheesecake from scratch, then purchase a high-quality
cheesecake and serve scattered with quartered hibiscus flowers and drizzled with the hibiscus syrup.

Wild Hibiscus Champagne Jellies

6-7 servings

1 jar Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup
1 2/3 cups sparkling wine
½ cup water
5 gelatin leaves or 3 teaspoons gelatin powder
Whipped cream, dark chocolate curls & maraschino cherries for garnishing

Add sparkling wine to a mixing bowl
Pour ½ cup of the Hibiscus syrup (no flowers) into the wine. In a small saucepan over low heat, warm water & dissolve gelatin. Do not boil. Pour into the wine through a sieve & mix through. Place a Wild Hibiscus Flower into 6-7 champagne flutes or fancy glasses & 2/3 fill with the jelly mix. Refrigerate overnight to set (the flowers will set in all sorts of crazy positions) Top with a whipped cream swirl, maraschino cherry & curled dark chocolate.
Tip: Curl dark chocolate by warming slightly & using a potato peeler, Enjoy!

More Hibiscus Cocktail Recipes are available here: http://www.wildhibiscus.com/cocktails/

This Planner loves hibiscus blossoms due to their versatility, beauty, and the unique element they bring to your wedding meal, regardless of the course in which you choose to serve them. Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup are available online, but in an effort to help you make your day unique and special, Unmistakably You now carries them for $45 per large jar of 50 blossoms. Contact me today to order!