SHF #30 Flower Power

"Indeed a rose is a rose makes a pretty plate...."

(Stanzas in Meditation)

Inspired by the “beautiful Spring weather we’ve been enjoying recently,” Monisha of Coconut Chutney, declared this month’s Sugar High Friday (the brain child of Jennifer The Domestic Goddess) theme Flower Power. No, she doesn’t mean to break out your "psychedelic rock music, but rather to experiment with flowers or floral extracts in any shape or form in a sweet treat - go crazy with roses, lavender and saffron; make and use ethereal candied flowers and if all else fails, pipe delicate violets and daisies on your favorite cupcake. Derive inspiration from anything that is blooming and full of life this Spring, the ideas are endless, let your inner flower child loose!"

Fortunately, I can now say that, in addition to the abundance of dried rose petals I purchased on a whim a few months ago, my entry for the Flower Power SHF was inspired by the beautiful spring weather we’re having in NYC right now.

Flowers and flower waters have long been used as a flavoring for sweet and savory dishes and confections in India and the Middle East, and even in early North American baking before vanilla became common. Though I adore the intoxicating aromas and seductive flavors of the various edible flowers and flower waters – hibiscus, honeysuckles, lavender, orange blossoms, pansies, roses, saffron, violets –, for this SHF I chose to both make use of my rose petals and revisit a lemon lavender pound cake I made almost 1 year ago.

Roses have been known as the Queen of Flowers, emblematic of love and sensuality, for thousands of years. Rosewater, the distilled essence of rose, entices, beguiles and tantalizes every one of the senses. Its fascinating fragrance, both sweet and musky, is indefinable, indescribable, and very, very intoxicating. One taste and mouths induce into soft smiles, tongues tied in inarticulate ramblings. Just a touch of rose adds a breath of freshness, depth and a sensual innocence to an otherwise simple recipe. It’s subtle, only a glimmer of something familiar, yet chaos to the senses…and I find that experience fascinating.

Rose Petal Margarita

My friend and former boss was recently married in New Orleans, and I still needed to give a wedding gift. As I typically enjoy giving thoughtful, hand-made gifts, I chose to create my own wedding package. Planning on making David’s favorite Mexican wedding cookies, I decided to pair the cookies with a (somewhat) Mexican beverage – rose petal margarita – along with New Orleans looking margarita glasses.

Now, I love margaritas, and, for me, they're just a way of life. I drink them throughout the year, but they’re an especially fantastic sip for balmy, 80 degree summer nights. As we enter the tender spring season, why not celebrate with a lusty libation. Although there are many variations on the Margarita, the cocktail typically includes tequila, cointreau or triple sec, and lime. Once these ingredients are included, the possibilities for further extrapolation are endless.

For my rose petal margarita, I first prepared a rose petal simple syrup by steeping ½ cup dried petals in a mixture of 1 cup sugar to 1 cup water. Knowing that the best margaritas come in salted glasses, I also concocted a rose petal sugar/salt mixture by taking the leftover rose petals from the syrup (as you can tell, I am conscious to reuse and recycle my products), partially dried them on a cookie rack and them placed them in an airtight container with a mixture of 2 cups sugar and enough salt so you can just taste the saltiness. After about 1 ½ weeks (more or less time would have been sufficient) of agitating the contents about twice a day – that is if I remembered – I used my food processor to finely grind the sugar contents until it resembled fine sand, and then a sieve to get rid of any remaining lumps and flower particles.

And now the margarita… After concocting and sampling 4 variations, I devised this recipe:

Rose Petal Margarita
take a rose petal, from here where they lay,
and toss it overhead, to celebrate this day.

2 ounces Gold tequila
1 ounce triple sec or other orange liqueur
1 ½ ounces rose petal simple syrup
1 ounce fresh lime juice
½ ounce fresh lemon juice

1. garnish glass rim with rose petal sugar
2. shake and serve

Mmm, such a potent elixir! Sorry I did not get a chance to photograph the wedding kit….

***

Rose Petal Baklava with Almonds and Cocoa Nibs

I must admit, I felt like a cop-out for last month’s SHF using cocoa nibs in only cookies. Humble and surely a divine treat, but cocoa nibs deserve to be showcased in a much more alluring recipe. Eyeing my bag of rose petals, I knew my next pairing. Chocolate and rose…a combination sure to arouse and excite all of my senses...as baklava.

So, I began to bake. Buttery, flaky layers of phyllo held together by a sweet, crunchy mixture of almonds, cocoa nibs and subtle Middle Eastern spices. As the baklava baked, my kitchen air was scented with spices and the seductive essence of early spring blossoms.

Eyes closed, I took a bite. My mouth moved very slowly as my tongue embraced the exotic crunch. I inhaled seemingly sinful wafts of spring, and I knew I did right. The baklava, held together by a sweet, sticky syrup, was moist and slightly chewy, yet utterly fragile and flaky. Almost chocolately, the addition of bitter cocoa nibs tempers the sweetness of the syrup giving it a more complex edge, and much to my delight, contrasted quite exquisitely with the delicate kiss of rosewater. A spectacular twist on an already exotic treat.

For the Syrup:
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
¼ cup honey
1 cinnamon stick
rind of ½ a lemon cut into ½ inch strips
2 tablespoons rose water

For the Baklava:
1 cup clarified or unsalted butter, melted
4 cups coarsely chopped almonds
1 cup cocoa nibs
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon cardamom
1 1-lb package fresh or frozen phyllo sheets

Prepare the Syrup:
Stir the sugar, water, honey, cinnamon stick and orange rind in a small saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a simmer. Remove from heat and let steep for 10 minutes. Strain to remove rind and cinnamon stick, and then mix in rose water. Chill until cold.

Prepare the Baklava:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Brush a 13x9x2 inch baking pan with some melted butter. Mix the almonds, cocoa nibs, cinnamon, allspice, cardamom and sugar in a medium bowl. Set aside. Fold 1 sheet of phyllo in half to form a 12x9-inch rectangle. Place the folded sheet on the bottom of the prepared pan. Brush with melted butter. Repeat with 7 more folded sheets, brushing the top of each folded sheet with butter. Sprinkle half of the nut mixture over the 8th sheet. Top with another folded pastry sheet and brush with butter. Repeat with 5 more folded sheets, brushing the top of each with butter. Sprinkle the remaining nut mixture over the 6th sheet. Repeat the buttering process with 8 more folded sheets, also brushing the top of the final sheet with butter.

8 layers of phyllo
nut mix
6 layers of phyllo
nut mix
8 layers of phyllo

Using a sharp knife, make diagonal cuts across the phyllo, and then repeat in the opposite direction to form diamond pattern. Bake until golden brown, about 45 minutes.
Pour the syrup over the hot baklava; cover and let cool for about 1 hour. Recut the baklava along lines all the way through layers. Refrigerate and let stand at least 4 hours to continue soaking. Serve the baklava at room temperature. Enjoy!

***

Lemon Lavender Pound Cake

Being borderline obsessive-compulsive and having little (if any) restraint to completely outdo myself testing and retesting, tweaking and retweaking recipes, this SHF event gives me an opportunity to revisit the lemon lavender pound cake I made almost 1 year ago….

This cake had a rich buttery flavor and a dense tight crumb, as all good pound cakes must, but within the first glance of rereading my recipe, I realized a change I should make to greatly improve the cake. I use buttermilk to give the cake a lush, moist texture, but I only included 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder in the original recipe. I should instead use ½ teaspoon of baking soda in addition to only ½ teaspoon of the original baking powder. Both baking powder and baking soda are chemical leavening agents that cause batters to rise when baked, but baking soda should be used in recipes that contain an acidic ingredient (ie: buttermilk), as it neutralizes the acids in the recipe plus adds tenderness and some leavening to the final product.

Unfortunately, I have not had the time to bake the cake yet, but it is on my to-do list for this week….and I'll keep you posted on the results.

See more of the Pastry Princess' dessert recipes!
The Pastry Princess' Sweet Shop



gilded fork, dessert, recipe, pastry, princess, Monica Glass, chef