Invention Kitchen - Lemon Rosebuds

I’m slightly obsessed with roses at the moment. The roses this year look and smell amazing and after making my rose and pistachio cake the other day I was reminded just how delicious the flavour is. I’m also a bit fed up of cake at the moment if I’m honest. We’re in the hottest summer we’ve had in seven years and it’s just to hot to eat a big whopping slice of cake so I came up with these little beauties. Makes about 20, depending on the size of your cutter.

Ingredients:

For the shortbread

5oz (125g) butter

7 ¼ oz (180g) plain flour

Zest of one lemon

1-2 teaspoons lemon juice

2 ¾ oz (65g) caster sugar

For the rose buttercream:

5oz (125g) butter

10oz (250g) icing sugar

¾ teaspoon rose flavour syrup or a couple teaspoons rose water

Few drops pink food colouring

First make the shortbread. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the lemon zest and one teaspoon of juice.

Sift in the flour and combine to form a dough. Cling wrap and put in the fridge for ½ hour. Meanwhile, stick the oven on at 170C / Gas Mark 3.

Roll out the dough to a thickness of around 5mm and cut into rounds. If you’re having difficulty rolling it out because it’s too dry then add another teaspoon of juice. Use a small cutter. Mine is about 5cm in diameter. Remember you’ll be doubling these up and putting buttercream in the middle. You don’t need them any bigger!

Put on a tray and put back in the fridge for about 15 mins. Then remove and bake in the oven for 12-15 mins.

Allow to cool on a rack and make the buttercream. Put all the ingredients in a food processor and whiz till smooth. It’s better to add your flavouring a bit at a time so you can get it right.

When your biscuits are cool, pipe the buttercream onto the underside of one biscuit and gently sandwich with another. Don’t use too much buttercream of it will smudge out of the sides and be too sickly.

If 20 are too many, don’t worry these freeze (fully assembled) perfectly. This makes them especially good for tea parties. They look very pretty stacked on top of one another on cake stands. I made some of these with my four year old (who was surprisingly good at piping!) as a present for her nursery teachers. And made decorated a box to put them in.  They were much appreciated!

Positive Action on Cancer - Lavender Cupcakes

Anyone who is planning a 'Tea Party for PAC' may want to try making these. They add a 'splash of purple', the colour of the charity. They may not quite be seasonal just yet but you can easily get the ingredients. Also they are easy to make and taste good too!

As with most of my recipes they have been partly pinched from better chefs than myself. The original recipe comes from Nigella Lawson's 'Forever Summer'. This makes at least 12 large cupcakes or around 20 smaller ones.

Ingredients:
5 oz self raising flour
5 oz very soft butter
5 oz caster sugar
2 eggs
Lavender water (I got mine from Mendip Lavender but you can get in some supermarkets, Millers in Frome or Herbs on the Hill)

for the icing:
250g royal icing
more lavender water
lilac food colouring

Method:
Preheat the oven to 200C / Gas Mark 6, line your cupcake tin with cases and make sure your butter is soft before starting

Chuck all the ingredients bar the lavender water in the food processor and whiz till smooth. Add a couple of tablespoons of water and whiz again

Fill the cases (but not totally, remember they will rise and you want to be able to ice them without it running over the edge of the case!) and bake for about 20 mins. Cool on a rack and slice of any 'humps' to level off before icing.

Follow the packet instructions to make the icing but add some lavender water in place of tap water. You might want to do this to taste as some waters are stronger than others and not everyone wants a strong flavour. Add colouring a bit at a time to get the shade right. Decorate the cakes. You may want to add lavender stalks to the tops (if you have any!) or spray with shimmer spray, or just leave as they are, they are pretty enough!

Place on a tiered cake stand for maximum effect. For a guide to the perfect the party see my other blog post. Click here