Inspired by a bee

We have some rampant lavender bushes in the garden, planted alongside some beautiful David Austin roses.  Together with the jasmine, honeysuckle and dianthus, these scent the warm evening air to an intoxicating degree and provide us with a summer long supply of cut flowers for the kitchen table.

Whilst providing an olfactory overload for us humans, they also attract all manner of bees and the sound of them buzzing their busy way around the stems is mesmerising and soothing.  As long as I can hear the bees I feel that whatever else is going on around the globe, in this small corner at least, all is right with the world.  There may even be hope for the rest of it.
The bees were particularly active earlier this week, when the sun was warm and the air still and it took ages to capture one of the busy bees bumbling around the flowers.

But as I waited patiently for the moment to click, I pondered the combination of lavender and honey and, having captured this fat fellow's picture, headed back into the kitchen to experiment.

Coming up with the idea of a honey based, lavender scented syrup, I decided on a denser style of cake, which would be drenched in the syrup and served as a dessert.
This also happens to be gluten free and you could quite easily double up the quantities and make a thicker cake, if you wished..... just turn the oven down by 20ºC and cook for a further 15 minutes.

For the cake
120g butter

120g sugar

2 eggs

60g polenta

60g ground rice

2 dstsp creme fraiche

For the syrup

100ml water

3 dstsp honey

8 lavender heads

Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC

Grease a cake tin and dust with polenta.  Tip out the excess (you can add this to the polenta you are weighing out for the cake mix).

Cream the butter and sugar vigorously, until very pale in colour.  Add the creme fraiche and beat again.

Add the eggs and mix thoroughly - don't worry too much if it separates.

Fold in the polenta and rice flour.

Spoon the batter into the cake tin and spread out evenly.

Place in the oven and cook for 20 - 25 minutes, until a skewer, inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.

While the cake is cooking prepare the syrup.

Put water, honey and lavender in a pan, (our milk pan or 6" saucepan is ideal) heat slowly until honey is fully dissolved.

Bring to the boil and reduce by half.

Strain and set aside.

When the cake is cooked, pierce it all over with a skewer or fork.

Pour over the honey syrup, while the cake is still hot.

I strewed the top of my cake with lavender petals, thyme and hyssop, but a plain top is perfectly acceptable.

When the cake has cooled, gently turn out of the tin onto a plate and then invert onto your serving dish.  This pretty plate is from 1265 degrees north and the flower petals are from our garden.

 

Serve with a generous spoonful of creme fraiche and I reckon a few raspberries wouldn't go amiss.

A note of caution; flower petals are a very simple way of making your dishes look pretty and summery, but please, please make sure that the ones you pick are edible!!  

© Netherton Foundry 2017 ©

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk