Every time I step out into the garden I cannot help but admire the vibrant colours of Bougainvillea. For special occasions I love to make ice bowls and sometimes decorate them with the colourful papery leaves of Bougainvillea. Serving cold foods in decorated ice bowls adds a sophisticated touch to special occasions and will deliver a few oohs and ahhas from your guests. I was first inspired by the idea of making ice bowls after reading about a restaurant that made them for their dessert trolley, to serve ice cream from, loved the idea and have made ice bowls since.

Ice bowls are easy to make and no special molds are required (although handy if you come across them), all you need is a pair (or pairs) of nesting bowls. Sometimes I make one large ice bowl as a centerpiece for the table and other times I make individual ice bowls for serving, depending on the occasion. As Bougainvillea is non edible I place a smaller glass dish inside the ice bowl, so the food will not come in contact with the leaves… just to be on the safe side. Other times I place the food directly into the ice bowl when using edible decorations. Only limited by your imagination, ice bowls and can be decorated with flowers, herbs, fruits, sweets and whole spices. Wonderful for serving prawns, ice creams, sorbet, chilled soups and fruit.  Continue reading “Making an Ice Bowl with Bougainvilliea” →