MOST ELEGANT ROSE GERANIUM POUND CAKE
(Source: Dr. Lelia Scott Kelly, Area Horticulturist, Northeast District, Mississippi State University Extension Service)
This cake is absolutely delicious served with a spoonful of lemon curd or a few fresh raspberries and a dollop of rose geranium-infused whipped cream.
10-12 rose geranium leaves, stems removed
1 1/2 cups butter
3 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 eggs
3 cups sifted flour
6 ounces lemon-lime soda (do not use diet soda)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Additional rose geranium leaf for garnish
Grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt® or tube cake pan. Place geranium leaves face down on bottom of pan, overlapping some, as needed, to fill in completely. Preheat oven to 325°.
Cream butter and sugar with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Add flour alternately with soda, beating well. Stir in lemon juice.
Pour batter into prepared cake pan, smoothing top. Bake 1-1 ¼ hours. If necessary to prevent over-browning (ovens vary), place a piece of aluminum foil lightly over the cake toward end of baking. After cake is removed from oven, cool for 10 minutes and invert carefully on plate. Peel away the leaves to reveal their imprints. Cool cake completely and dust lightly with confectioners’ sugar.
Slice cake and serve with warm lemon curd or berries and cream. Garnish with fresh rose geranium leaf. Yields: 15 - 20 slices.
Cook’s notes:
Although many “flavors” of scented geraniums are available, two stand out as truly essential for the culinary herb garden – rose and lemon. Rose lends its beautiful perfume to recipes like the one above. Lemon, particularly the variety “Mabel Grey” (a favorite of The Herbfarm author and chef, Jerry Traunfeld), rivals lemon verbena in intensity.
Both will easily flavor simple table sugar. Bury 3-4 whole leaves per 2 cups sugar. Use in baking or to sweeten drinks.
Steep leaves in milk or cream (8-12 leaves per 2 cups) to flavor ice creams, custards and whipped cream, or in syrup or honey to flavor sorbet, fruit sauces and fruit salads. Rose blends well with fruits like apricot, berries, apple, orange and lemon and with other flavorings like vanilla, ginger, cinnamon and chocolate. Lemon is best if not exposed to heat. Grind leaves in sugar, dissolve in liquid, let steep then strain out any tough bits for a lovely bright green syrup.
Mary Collins-Shepard
Avid Gardener and Food Enthusiast
January 2006