Victorian Cake with Pink Geraniums
Complexity: average
Servings: 4
Pink geranium, or pelargoniumNot only is the geranium a delight to the eye as a houseplant, but it has also long been used in cooking. Oddly enough, it's not the flowers, but the leaves, that have a distinctive aroma. They were widely used by British confectioners as early as the Victorian era to impart a wonderful aroma to baked goods. A wide variety of notes can be discerned: floral, citrusy, spicy, and sometimes even chocolatey. Before using, gently rub the geranium leaves between your fingers to release the oils. The more you rub, the more intense the cake's aroma will be. Add this scent to both the cake base and the pink icing.
Give a fragrant dessert for Women's Day on March 8th. This Victorian-style cake will be the first reminder of spring blossoms.
1 glass (st.) - 250 ml.
3/4 cup (st.) - 180 ml.
2/3 cup (st.) - 160 ml.
1/2 cup (st.) - 125 ml.
1/3 cup (st.) - 80 ml.
1/4 cup (st.) - 60 ml.
1 tablespoon (tbsp) - 15 ml.
1 teaspoon (tsp) - 5 ml.
1/5 teaspoon (tsp) - 1 ml.
Ingredients for the recipe:
Cake with pink geraniums
- 16-18 rose geranium leaves, rinsed and dried
- 220 g butter, plus extra for greasing the pan
- 3 cups of premium flour, plus extra for dusting the pan
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 and 3/4 cups sugar
- Protein of 6 large eggs
Pink icing
- 4 leaves of rose geranium, rinsed and dried
- 1.5 cups of sugar
- Protein of 2 large eggs
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- A pinch of salt
- 5 drops of red food coloring
We recommend
Cooking the dish according to the recipe:
- Flavoring butter for cakesCrush 6 rose geranium leaves to release the oils. Wrap the butter in the leaves. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
- Flavoring sugar for icingCrush 4 rose geranium leaves and place them in 1.5 cups of sugar in an airtight container. Leave overnight at room temperature.
- Preheat oven to 175°C. Grease and flour a 22x32cm loaf pan.
- Bake the cakeCrush the remaining 10-12 rose geranium leaves and arrange them in the bottom of the pan. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the milk, 3/4 cup water, and vanilla. Unwrap the butter and remove the leaves.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter with 1 3/4 cups sugar with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in the egg whites, two at a time. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk mixture, beginning and ending with the flour.
- Pour the batter into the pan and bake until golden brown, 30-35 minutes. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, turn it out onto a wire rack, and remove the leaves. Frost the cake with pink icing.
Pink icing
Remove the leaves from the sugar. Combine the sugar, egg whites, cream of tartar, salt, and 1/3 cup cold water in a large heatproof bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 1 minute. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Beat the mixture until stiff peaks form, about 7 minutes. Remove the bowl from the double boiler, add the food coloring, and beat until a paste forms, about 2 minutes.
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