Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Lavender Marbled Meringues

These luscious small meringues are so easy to make and so very much tastier than the bland ones you can buy. The lovely lavender flavour echoes the soft lilac coloured swirls of the meringues. What's more, if you want to keep them a while these beauties can be wrapped in cling film and frozen in freezer bags until you're ready to use them. I plan on defrosting a batch of these for the upcoming virtual Mad Tea Party on 28th July, I really can't wait.

Recipe
My own

Makes approx 8 smallish meringues


3 large eggs, whites only, room temperature
150g caster sugar
1 tablespoon of lavender florets, which have been chopped small or ground in a pestle and mortar
food paste colouring - I used SugarFlair paste in Grape Violet


1. Turn the oven to 150C (130C fan), and line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Beat the egg whites in a large bowl for a couple of minutes until stiff. You'll need to use an electic whisk or mixer to beat the whites hard enough.

3. Gradually add the sugar, a  tablespoon at a time, beating between each addition. Add the lavender. Beat until well combined and glossy and smooth. The mixture should be stiff enough that it stands up in stiff peaks.

4. Add a pin prick or 2 of colour paste, gently and briefly swirling it into the meringue with a metal spoon or skewer.

5. Spoon the meringue in smallish circles onto the parchment paper. Leave enough room between them to allow the meringues to expand, I fitted 4 or 5 on each baking tray. If you want to turn them into nests just make a well in the centre of each.

6. As soon as the meringues go in the oven turn the heat down to 120C (100C fan) and bake for 2 hours.

7. When the time is up, turn off the oven and leave the meringues in it to cool for half an hour or so. After this time you can place them on a wire rack if they need to cool further.

8. Once cool, serve with whipped cream and perhaps some berries.

These meringues were idly baked while listening to Charlie Mingus play Mingus Ah Um

Lavender & Lime Cake

This cake owes much to our blossoming herb garden. Pretty and simple, it combines the delicate taste of our beautiful fresh home grown lavender with a dash of lime to cut through the sweetness in the glace icing. We ate it today accompanied by warm cups of tea infused with home grown lemon balm.

Recipe
My own recipe

for the base:
200g butter, room temperature
200g caster sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
half a teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
200g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
75 ml half fat creme fraiche
1 and a half tablespoons grated lime zest
2 or 3 tablespoons chopped fresh lavender florets (or half a tablespoon only of dried lavender)


1. Turn the oven to 170C (150C fan oven). Grease and line a round 20cm baking tin. I used a decorative one from Lakeland, which is still for sale on their website. If like me you use a decorative one then it will need just greasing not lining.

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar together for at least 3 minutes, until pale and fluffy.

3. Add the first beaten egg, vanilla extract and lime juice to the creamed mixture, then sieve in a little of the flour and stir gently before adding the other 2 eggs, and beating well.

4. Stir in the lavender and lime zest before gently folding in the rest of the flour.

5. Spoon in the creme fraiche, and give the batter a final gentle stir until it is well combined.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared baking tin and bake for approx 50mins, until the top bounces back under your thumb and a skewer inserted comes out clean.

7. Leave in the tin for 10 minutes before taking out to place on a wire rack or plate to cool completely.


for the icing:
250g icing sugar
1 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 or 2 tablespoons water
4 fresh lavender florets, chopped, optional (or a small amount of dried lavender)


8. Sift the icing sugar into a mixing bowl. Add a tablespoon at a time of the lime juice, whisking with a fork until the icing is glossy and runny, but thick enough to cover the back of a spoon.


9. Ice the top and sides of the cake. Scatter the lavender florets over the cake while the icing is still wet, then leave the icing to set for at least half an hour in a cool place.


10. Serve for tea with a good cuppa.

This cake was idly baked while listening to the Tonight programme on BBC Radio 4

Lavender Shortbread Fingers

There are times when I want to bake something speedy and easy to eat, and no fuss shortbread fingers are the perfect choice. They remind me of my childhood, of taking tea with my granny and grandad in their pretty South London garden, and of munching shortbread with my little brother as we watched Blue Peter on the telly after school.
We've got some beautiful lavender plants growing in the herb patch, so I decided to add a few florets to the shortbread recipe. Don't worry, there's lots left for the bees to enjoy! If you don't have any lavender to hand, you could add a little lemon, rose or vanilla flavouring to these instead.

Recipe
This is my mum's recipe, originally from Elizabeth David she thinks.
Serves 8

2 tbsp fresh lavender florets
60g ground almonds
170g unsalted butter, at room temperature
84g caster sugar
170g plain flour
56g rice flour or corn flour
vanilla sugar for optional extra sprinkling

1. Turn the oven to 155C (135C fan oven), and get out a good sized baking tray.

2. In a large bowl mix the soft butter into the flour, adding the rice flour or cornflour in stages when the butter gets sticky.

3. Next add the almonds, lavender and sugar and mix well.

4. Once the the mixture is smooth, roll it onto a lightly floured surface. Carefully roll out the mixture using a rolling pin, until the paste is approx 1cm thick.

5. Cut into fingers and place on the baking tray. Press it down lightly and prick with a fork to make rows of dots in the fingers if you like the traditional shortbread look.

6. Place in the low heated oven to bake for 75 mins until a light gold biscuit colour. Leave to cool on a wire rack, but before the shortbread is cold cut it into small wedges or fingers. Once cooled, they can be sprinkled with a little vanilla sugar if you like them especially pretty and sugary.

This shortbread was idly baked to the sounds of BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour.