Tag Archives: cake

rose petal jam: part 2

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I must start by saying that this is not a fail-safe recipe. I think there are far too many variables involved to make such a claim. So much depends upon how heavily scented your roses are, maybe even how large the petals are, and of course their colour must play a part too. And then there is the issue of what time of day you pick them and whether they have been baking in the heat of the sun or pounded by a summer downpour.

It’s probably best to use my recipe as a sort of jumping off point, and then experiment until you get a flavour and consistency that you are happy with. And because it really isn’t very practical to make a large batch, it won’t feel so very awful if it all goes wrong. Above you can see the second batch of jam made from 40g of petals, below you can see both versions, and the runny first attempt, made using 30g of petals, is in the Kilner jar.

The first batch, although delicious on a crumpet, was far more successful stirred into a rhubarb fool and later some plain yoghurt. I’d happily use the method again if I wanted a rose-scented syrup for a pudding.

Both methods are very straightforward the only time-consuming part of the process is picking or cutting off the pale section at the bottom of each petal which is boring, but worth doing as it’s bitter and will affect the flavour.

1) Rose petal jam / syrup

30g petals (white part removed), 60g jam sugar, 500ml water

I began by massaging half the sugar into the petals as I had read somewhere about the importance of bruising them in order to release  colour and oils. I left them in the pan for a couple of hours with the lid on. Then when I was ready to make the jam I added the water to the petals. One method I had consulted suggested placing petals in a measuring jug and then using the same volume of water. On reflection I should have pressed the petals down a little as I had far too much liquid. The smell was wonderful and the water quickly turned a fabulous garnet colour. I stirred in the rest of the sugar and raised the heat to a rolling boil. After half an hour I poured the liquid into the Kilner jar and once cooled I placed it in the fridge. If you feel the rose flavour is too faint, you can always boost it with a dash of rose water.

2) Improved rose petal jam

40g rose petals, 80g jam sugar, 80g water,

This time I weighed my water and then having tipped 40g of water over the petals, I decided it needed another 40g.

So – take your rose petals, white bits cut off, and massage them in half the sugar. Leave for half an hour or so – I don’t suppose it would matter if you left them overnight even – and then add the water. If you like to test your setting point with a cold plate, put that in the freezer now. Bring the water and petals to a simmer and stir in the remaining sugar, taking care that it doesn’t catch as there isn’t much liquid. Then turn up the heat and once you have a good rolling boil, set the timer for five minutes. I had a set after the first five minutes.

Inspired by a comment left by Thrifty Household, I used most of this batch in a cake.

40g of petals also produced enough jam to cover a few slices of toast as well, and would have gone further were it not for the girls who preferred to eat it from their fingers.

I shall certainly be making more of both the jam and the syrup throughout the summer. And I think I enjoyed the process almost as much as the jam itself – the whole business of stripping petals from the flowers, and then stirring them with sugar and water took me straight back to childhood potion making.

a teenager!

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Birthday flowers for Matilda, who turned thirteen yesterday (I can’t quite believe we have a teenager in the house): roses Gertrude Jekyll and William Lobb on one side,

Gertrude again, alongside Ferdinand Pichard, on the other, and none of them smelling as lovely as they should because of the damn weather.

A birthday cake, the usual, Nigella’s buttermilk number filled with a layer of strawberry jam, a layer of sliced strawberries and then lots of whipped cream, and more cream and strawberries on top. It began as a tasteful, slightly Jubilee-inspired affair, and then…

And sticking with the Jubilee theme, I made Coronation Chicken using the original Rosemary Hume recipe via Rose Prince, from her lovely book Kitchenella (stuffed with great recipes – I highly recommend it). If you are interested, you can find the original recipe here, but I think Rose Prince’s version is more straightforward. And I simplified things further by poaching chicken breasts and thighs rather than roasting several chickens as I knew time was against me.

cake two

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Yesterday was Matilda’s last pre-teen birthday party, which is quite a strange thought.

It was lovely to meet some of her new school friends, and a huge relief not to have to deal with party bags or party games – just a trip to the cinema and supper back here. But although most aspects of the celebration have changed, the cake remains the same -

Nigella’s Buttermilk birthday cake from How to Be a Domestic Goddess. It’s very versatile and I used it for last week’s cream and raspberry cake as well. 

Over the years I have adapted my own butter icing, which I judge by eye and taste, simply slinging the stuff in the mixer and adding a few drops of milk if it gets too thick; Nigella’s icing recipe contains so much sugar I find it completely inedible. I usually only make one cake which I slice in half and spread with Nutella mixed with extra thick double cream, again a something I’ve adapted over many years – it’s very simple and extremely moreish. Just splodge about three heaped tablespoons of Nutella in a small bowl and then add thick cream, stirring vigorously between each spoonful – it will seem to split and go very sticky at first, but as you add more cream it will gradually emulsify, becoming smooth and glossy, but with a mousse-like texture. For a more sophisticated, grown-up version, you can melt some good quality dark chocolate and add that to the mix.

the best laid plans and all that…

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It’s Friday, and this is supposed to be the weekly post in which I sing the praises of a wonderful Bristol-based someone or something, but I’m afraid that will have to wait as things have gone a little awry here.

First, the decision regarding what colour we should paint the back of the house remains unmade – the back wall is dotted and splodged with various shades of pink and orange as though it has a nasty skin complaint. More samples are required, more opinions will be sought. Second, I am finding it extremely hard to get my head down for my next set of exams. There are a number of reasons for this, and I won’t bore on with them now, though no doubt they’ll crop up in another post. Third, Matilda’s twelfth birthday party is tomorrow and I have no idea how many children are coming – she’s at secondary school now, so I don’t know who any of the children are, I don’t have their home phone numbers so no means of contacting them. Grrr. But whether two or twelve turn up, there’s still a cake to be made (this one will be put on a high shelf, beyond Sybil’s reach), and a lot of stuff to be shifted, tidied, sifted and perhaps even chucked out.

Oh, and we have mice. The cupboard under the sink is filled with their droppings and the cats keep catching them and bringing them in. Otto ate one for his breakfast this morning – in just two or three crunches apparently. So things aren’t going well for the mice either.

So, no write-up today, but I have something lined up – a favourite place on Colston Street. I’ll try to post it after the weekend. Meanwhile out in the garden things are fattening up and filling out, which is nice. My experimental pea shoots are poking out of the soil, so I will shove more seeds in around them to keep the crop going.

Have a lovely weekend.

PS the door panel in the photograph is on Stokes Croft. Initially I was struck by how lovely the layers of paint looked, and then of course it reminded me of my inability to make up my mind about the colour for the back of the house. Today it suggests to me that perhaps there is beauty in indecision – ah! the art of the positive spin.

here’s herman

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Or rather, here’s the last of Herman. He was delicious, if a little too sweet for me. We baked him with chopped apples, walnuts and the remains of a bag of mixed nuts that happened to be kicking about in the back of the cupboard. But first of all I divided Herman into five, bottled up four and gave three away.

Of the two remaining portions I baked one and restarted the whole process with the other. I’m planning to tweak the recipe a little by adding less sugar when I make the final mix for the cake stage, and I might add some ground almonds in place of some of the flour – not sure how this will affect the balance of fat to sugar and flour, but I’m not sure that any of that really matters given that he started with a pretty unscientific measurement of goo in the first place – or at least that’s what my friend revealed when I asked about the division process.

my friend herman

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On Friday my friend Penny arrived bearing a small pot of sweet-smelling goo and a leaflet explaining how to look after it. The goo has a name – it is called Herman and is the starter for a friendship cake. We have to stir Herman each day, and at various points we must feed him with flour and sugar and milk. We also have to divide him into five equal parts and pass four of them on before feeding the fifth once more and cooking it. I’m quite excited about this, even though there is a distinctly creepy tone to the instructions…

Day 4: Herman is hungry! Feed him …                                                                                      Day 6: Stir Herman (he really loves your visits)…..                                                               Day 10: Herman would like to go to a hot resort, the oven will do… Leave him at the resort for about half an hour. After all this care and nurturing …. EAT HIM

Intrigued by the idea of friendship cake, I googled Herman and discovered thousands of recipes for cakes and breads involving starters that you feed and then divide. As the name suggests, this appears to be a German tradition, though most of the recipes seem to come from America where it is also known as Amish friendship bread.

Today is day three and I have to stir Herman and talk to him. The girls are fascinated by this and ask constantly if I have remembered to check on Herman. I wonder how they will feel when it’s time to eat him.

Having a cake in progress prompted further cooking: a batch of Maids of Honour cakes.

LATER EDIT: I ran out of time before posting and forgot to add that my baking choice was inspired by the cake in this post, an Original Maid of Honour, and the kind sentiments that came with it which also seemed to chime with Herman. I dug out the recipe (From Kettle Broth to Gooseberry Fool, of course) and sent it to Jane as a thank you in return, and then felt compelled to have a go at it myself. Mine look rather lumpy in comparison – there are many recipes out there, but the one they use at the tea shop in Kew is a closely guarded secret and evidently not the one I followed.