Make A Fresh Fruit Bouquet Basket For A Baby Shower

An edible fresh fruit bouquet is a wonderful idea for a baby shower, combining food and decorations in one lovely basket. A unique take on a fresh fruit salad, a fruit bouquet is fairly easy to make (though it takes a bit of time). Not only is it beautiful, but it's healthy as well.

Instructions

1. Wash the fresh fruit and pat it dry.

2. Cut the pineapple into 1/2-inch thick slices. Cut as many slices as you want "flowers" in your bouquet. Place each slice on a flat surface. Use the flower cookie cutter to cut pineapple flowers. Throw the rind away.

Make sure the pineapple flowers are well-formed and pretty, as they are the heart of the fresh fruit bouquet.

3. Cut the cantaloupe and/or honeydew melon in half. Use the melon baller to make melon balls. You will need one melon ball for each of your pineapple flowers. You may want other melon balls for use elsewhere in the bouquet.

4. Stick a wooden skewer through each of the pineapple flowers, with about 1/2 inch of the skewer showing on the other side. Stick a melon ball on the short end of each of the skewers to form the center of your flowers. Make sure the skewers don't stick all the way through the melon balls.

5. Cut the stems off the strawberries and throw them away. Stick a wooden skewer into the stem end of each strawberry. Make sure the skewer doesn't come out the other end of the strawberry. As an optional step, you can dip your strawberries in chocolate before adding them to the bouquet. Let the chocolate dry and become solid before you do anything else with the strawberries.

6. Stick wooden skewers through the longest dimension of the grapes. Stick half a dozen grapes or so on each skewer. These will form the "leaves" of your fresh fruit bouquet.

7. Arrange floral foam inside your basket, filling the basket with it almost up to the top.

8. Start to arrange your fruit inside the basket. Begin with the pineapple "flowers," and work from the center of the floral foam outward. Make sure each skewer is planted firmly in the foam, with no wobbling or shakiness, before planting the next one.

9. Tear the parsley into small pieces. Arrange the parsley carefully around the base of the skewers to hide all the floral foam.

Tags: fresh fruit, pineapple flowers, fruit bouquet, Make sure, floral foam