organic rose petals
It seems like a loaf cake kind of week and I’m off today to visit with my dear friend who has breast cancer. In times of need, I need to bake.
It isn’t often when one can combine their passions into one single endeavor. Sometimes it’s challenging to do so. On my page, it’d be flowers, baking and travel.
In the mornings I like to step out the door early on, usually before dawn with the dog, to deeply inhale the crisp cool air of the morning. It’s refreshing and, if it’s clear, a tantalizing beckoning of the day to come (sort of like that feeling in Montecito – well, sort of). As long as I’ve had a few sips of coffee, it usually comes with an awakening of yearnings. Most of the time they involve memories of cool morning walks in New York, Paris, and Florence. Morning is my “stim” time, when the brain can become activated and inventive, inquisitive and creative. If the environment is right, well then, I can get to functioning on all cylinders.
Today’s wanderings, take me off this continent and not to my treasured western europe, but, to an even more intriguing location – a place where the exotic flavors of mango, rosewater and pistachios are celebrated in their cuisine. Well, I could be in Sicily, couldn’t I? That would make sense. But, I’m actually not there either – here is a loaf cake inspired by the Middle East and Morocco that I’m just a little fascinated with:
FRESH MANGO LOAF CAKE WITH PISTACHIO AND ROSE – adapted from Jamie Oliver
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground ginger
2 cups ripe mango, mashed,
2 eggs, beaten
8 tblsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup finely chopped pistachios
3/4 tsp almond extract
3/4 tsp rose water Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and lightly flour a 9″ loaf pan. Set aside. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and ginger. Add the pistachios and whisk in.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, mango, butter, oil, almond extract and rose water. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and beat in with a wooden spoon until well blended. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a cake tested inserted into center comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on baking rack.
Make glaze: 1 cup confectioner sugar and 1 scant tblsp meyer lemon juice plus 1 capful of rose water. Drizzle glaze over cake. Sprinkle with rose petals and minced pistachios. Enjoy!
