Tea Time Treats – Say it with Flowers for May – BIG FAT FLORAL BAKING ROUND UP! Part One

Big Birthday Cake with Flowers

- Tea Time Treats –

Say it with Flowers for May

BIG FAT FLORAL BAKING ROUND UP!

Hello from underneath a HUGE bouquet of flowers, just as well as I am not prone to hay fever, and also just as well I didn’t have to eat ALL the lovely recipes below, otherwise I would have been the size of a GARDEN CENTRE never mind a house! With a HUGE thanks to EACH and EVERY one of you who entered into the May’s Flower Power challenge…….once again, we had a wonderful turn out, and am bubbling over with excitement, as I have to tell you we had FIFTY entries! It’s obvious that you have all LOVED engaging with your FLORAL side! Fifty wonderful entries and all so different too…..savoury and sweet, as well as bakes, cakes, sandwiches and salads……we had them all! As there a lot of entries, I’d better get on with it, so here it is, the BIG FAT FLORAL BAKING ROUND UP – Part One………..

Floral Flavours and Flowers: May 2012

Chouquettes – A Tea Time Treat I Could Eat Every Day

Jennifer over at the rather delectable L’heure du the blog, kicked off the Floral tea party with some GORGEOUS little Chouquettes; having recently read ”Lunch in Paris” by Elizabeth Bard, she set about making these gorgeous little pastries, as featured in the book….and I myself,  just adore these French puffs of sweetness and light!

“Tea” Cakes and some inspiration from across the pond!

 My LOVELY chum Jude from A Trifle Rushed was next! And, as usual, she has been baking up a veritable storm! Jude’s lovely little tea cakes were in fact little fairy cakes but made with TEA! What a GREAT idea, and they were adorned with rose petals and lavender, and I am sure they FLEW off the table! (Expect to see that pun many times!)

May Day, Foraging and a Prelude to Summer – Old Fashioned English Elderflower Cordial

Old Fashioned Elderflower Cordial

It was me next, suffice to say I am always rather excited when I see the fruits of my labour having picked bunches and bunches of elderflowers……and elderflower cordial is one my favourite beverages, and perfect for the tea time table, and so refreshing too. You can still make this recipe, as most elderflower bushes are still in bloom in the UK.

Rose Swirl Vanilla Birthday Cake

LOOK at Lottie’s Rose Swirl cake! Isn’t it JUST fabulous! Lottie can be found over at Lottie’s World of Cakes and Bakes, a place I could quite happily live all year around! Her cake was a birthday cake that was specially made for one of the members of cast playing in Titanic at  the Epsom Playhouse.  THANKS so much for your lovely entry Lottie, encore encore…

Wild Weed Tortilla

Now as lots of you may know, I am a savoury person more than a sweet person, so the next entry from the lovely Shaheen over at Allotment 2 Kitchen was JUST my cup of tea! I LOVED this savoury entry, as I frequently cook with chive and wild garlic flowers too…..as Shaheen has done here with her LOVELY little wild weed torte. She said she overdosed on wild garlic last year, but couldn’t resist picking some in a country lane again this year,  and this is the result! FABULOUS thanks!

Dandelion Honey

LOOK at this next entry from Tango like a Raindrop! Wouldn’t you just LOVE to receive a jar of this honey, cos’ I am sure I would! Apparently, this honey has a very unusual but pleasant taste and it’s great on waffles, scones, pancakes, icecream, or whatever your heart desires…….that’s it, I am off to pick dandelions! THANKS for this super entry.

white chocolate and elderflower victoria sponge cake

Now you know I love elderflower cordial, so the next LOVELY entry from Fleur over at Homemade by Fleur is my kind of cake darlinks! I JUST loved this cake, as it is a Victoria Sponge, my favourite cake, and it has LASHINGS of elderflower cream…..YESSSS! Fleur, I JUST love your little white chocolate crowns too, JUST deliciously regal! Thanks for this Royal entry!

Sunflower Seed Cookies

Here is the BRILLIANT second entry from Tango like a Raindrop – thanks darlink for this VERY clever entry! I was wondering if anyone would use sunflower seeds and VOILA! Here we have a plate of delectable sunflower seed biscuits! These also have CHOCOLATE in them…..HELLLO, what a fabulous ingredient combination!

Red, White and Blue Jubilee Madeleines

I LOVE Helen from Fuss Free Flavour’s VERY patriotic photo above, but I LOVE her madeleines more! Helen rather cleverly, I thought, added strawberries, blueberries and white chocolate drops to her wee French bakes, et voila, red, white and blue madeleines, c’est parfait! Helen’s floral addition was some rose water, which I love in cakes and bakes.

Rose Macarons with a Lemon Cream Cheese Filling

Susie over at one of my favourite and recently discovered blogs, Fold in the Flour, made these amazing wee rose macarons with lemon cream cheese filling…..I mean what is NOT to like! I love reading about her memories about Turkish Delight, which was a Christmas treat in her house. She remembers being fascinated by the exotic packaging and contents with the colourful box, as well as the heady perfume when the box was opened…..just like opening a box of these beauties then! Thanks for your lovely entry.

Apple blossom honey, walnut and banana loaf

I REALLY love this next entry, and, I LOVED reading the post that accompanied the recipe……Dom, or dashing Dom as I call him, over at Belleau Kitchen, made this delightful banana and walnut loaf with LOCAL apple blossom honey! How fab is that! Dom bought his honey from The Skibrooke Cyder Company and he says that when eaten raw, the honey has hints of apple blossom and rapeseed but once baked it comes alive a kaleidoscope of ginger, golden syrup and undertones of caramelised pineapple…..I LOVE it!

Rose Petal Shortbread

I was hoping someone might make a floral shortbread, and my LOVELY friend Laura from How to Cook Good Food brought these DELIGHTFUL rose petal shortbreads to the Tea Time table…..Laura’s shortbread is not flavoured with rose extract, as you may think, but it actually has finely chopped rose petals IN it as well as ON it…..JUST magical!  VERY 1001 nights and a wonderful entry.

Lilac Vanilla Rollout Sugar Cookies for Mother’s Day

These were just the most amazing cookies/biscuits – they were made with dried lilac blooms! Lora from Dairy of a Mad Hausfrau, made these for Mother’s Day and she has posted some LOVELY and very helpful step-by-step photos on her blog to accompany the recipe too…..the lilac blooms were made into Lilac syrup, which was the floral element in these GORGEOUS biscuits, along with the pretty flowers piped on the icing!

Saffron shortbread

My LOVELY friend Becky, over at Mint Custard, made the second batch of shortbreads, and with one of my favourite ingredients, saffron. Becky, like me, was one of the few children to like Parma violets! But it was NOT violets that she turned too for this challenge, but the stamens of crocuses, saffron.  I LOVE this idea Becky and your shortbreads look so pretty too!

Lavender Chiffon Cake with Lime Curd

“A food obsessed Brit living in South Africa who loves to cook, collect recipe books and eat pretty much anything”.…….that’s who lives over at the FABULOUS Under the Blue Gum Tree Blog!  And, this entry has to be one of the prettiest cakes I have seen, as well as sounding pretty lush too.  This chiffon cake looks so light and fluffy and anything with lavender in it has my 100% approval!

Anglesey Cakes

Just look at this plate of delicious biscuits……this plate of “posh jammy dodgers”  aka Anglesey Cakes was sent in by Jen from Blue Kitchen Bakes……and  I LOVE them, such pretty flower shapes, as well as having lemon marmalade in them, which ticks all my taste boxes! Jen says the dough is similar to shortbread, even better……

Orange Flower Water Scented White Chocolate Macarons

Linda over at Spicebox Travels sent this box of LOVELY macarons over…..white chocolate and flavoured with orange flower water, how wonderful is that!  This is Linda’s FIRST entry into Tea Time Treats and I want to say a BIG hello! Last summer Linda fulfilled a lifelong  dream by taking a cooking class where Julia Child herself learned to cook, in Le Cordon Bleu, Paris. WOW! And, she even has a certificate to prove it!  And what was the class called?  “Les Secrets des Macarons” of course……and here they are!

Rhubarb & Rose Honey Cakes – Nonnettes

The next entry is just a delightful fragrant and fruity concoction with……. chocolate! Any ideas who it can be yet? Well of course, it is Choclette from the haven of all things chocolate, Chocolate Log Blog! And, it’s another bake with a French feel to it…..Nonettes are little French cakes, often called Friands, that can be found throughout France and are just divine! Choclette’s entry with her Cornish rose honey and rhubarb sounded absolutely delectable.

Apple Blossom Cake

This next entry is described as the following…..“ light sponge with apple and Calvados buttercream filling and decorating with sugarpaste blossom.…”! Make mine a BIG slice! And this dreamy creation is from the kitchen of  BlissfullyCcrumptious and looks, I mean look at the slice above, and sounds delicious! Although this bake isn’t floral flavoured, it is decorated with flowers and is inspired by apple blossom……that’s JUST perfect and thanks for this lovely entry.

Rose creams

Lovely Laura from Aga Girls blog is extra lovely in my book, as she made and brought along ROSE CHOCCIES! I mean just LOOK at those beauties! I am so impressed with her dipping skills too, as those look like professional chocolates – just amazing! Laura based her recipe on peppermint creams, for the filling, and that’s a very clever idea……they certainly look the business!

ROSE AND STRAWBERRY CUPCAKES

Jean, who like me, is lucky enough to have a house in France too, and you may recognise her wonderful blog name which is Baking in Franglais, brought these GORGEOUS little cakes to the tea time tables for us! And, like me too, she has fallen in love with Liquid Stork margarine, which was used to make these cakes; again, we both agreed that it does not replace butter, but it’s SO easy to use!  I LOVE these little cakes Jean, and thanks for your Tea Time Treats entry.

Hummingbird Cupcakes

Now look, I DON’T want to single anyone out for special treatment, but I think you will all agree with me that these little cakes, that Ros from The More than Occasional Baker blog, made are JUST so amazingly clever!  Ros made the pineapple flowers for the tops of these gorgeous little cakes by slicing fresh pineapple thinly and then baking the slices so they turn into little dried pineapple flowers! FAB! I JUST loved these and she even promised some of these cakes for my birthday, which was in early May!

Honey and Rose Cupcakes

Angela from Garden, Tea, Cakes and Me, made these STUNNING little cakes! And, I have the pleasure of saying that  I recently met Angela at the Blog Camp at Birmingham, which, was lovely to put a face to a name! But, back to these cakes….Angela made these cakes with honey and rose water and then decorated them with a rose scented butter-cream before decorating them with wee flowers…..JUST lovely aren’t they?

Strawberry Muffins with Rose Icing

With a BIG thanks to Sarah from Maison Cupcakes for bringing the first muffins to the table….and again, it’s all coming up roses, as Sarah’s muffins are strawberry flavoured with a rose icing, and then little pieces of  crystallised rose petals are scattered over the top to complete the floral picture.  JUST beautiful thanks!

Rose Madeleines

This is the 25th entry into May’s Tea Time Treats, and is the last entry in Part one! And, what a fabulous way to end part one, with a plate of rose madeleines from signor biscotti, which is one of my favourite blogs.  Signor Biscotti decided to adapt a recipe for mini Rosebud Madeleines (in How to be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson) and the results look fabulous. His are full sized and also use brown butter too, which will add a nutty flavour to the wee cakes.  He also passes on a VERY helpful note that three tablespoons of rosewater may sound like a lot, but it works, and the final flavour is quite mild. Just make sure you’re using rosewater and not rose essence (which would require much less). THANKS for your super entry!

PLEASE do NOT get down from the Tea Time Treats Table!

We have TWENTY FIVE more treats to follow in Part Two!