I wrote a few weeks ago about the food blogging community and my enjoyment of the events that occur, which, when I started blogging in the days pre twitter and facebook pages, were the way bloggers connected. I’ve had a patch of not being so involved, but I am jumping straight back in now.
The theme for month’s We Should Cocoa (set up by Chocolate Log Blog and Chocolate Teapot) is rose. I immediately knew I wanted to make a loaf cake, but how to make the flavours work, and to get enough rose in, puzzled me. White chocolate was the answer, and I remembered that I had been sent a bottle of Belvoir Fruit Farms Raspberry and Rose cordial to try, and that Valentine’s cupcakes using cordial had been pretty successful earlier in the year.
Another lesson learnt is that no matter now pretty the plate, or delicious the cake, a loaf cake photographed on a round plate looks faintly ridiculous. And for that matter I should have ironed the table cloth, but after the baking my flat was like an oven.
- 60 ml fruit cordial – I used raspberry and rose
- 1 tsp rose water
- 50 g Sugar
- 3 Cardamom Pods optional
- 120 g butter – or baking margarine
- 75 g granulated sugar I use unrefined golden
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp rose water
- 2 eggs – free range please!
- 1 heaped tsp baking powder
- 120 g plain flour
- 50 g white choc chips
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Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F / GM4
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Line a 1lb loaf tin with baking parchment.
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Put all the ingredients for the syrup into a small pan and simmer until reduced by half.
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Using a handheld or stand mixer cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla extract, then the eggs, one at a time. Stir in half the reduced syrup and the rose water. Fold in the baking powder, flour and chocolate chips.
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Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin and bake for about 30 mins until the cake is firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
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When still warm prick the top of the cake all over with a fork, and drizzle the remaining syrup over.
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Dust with icing sugar to serve.
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Enjoy! The cake should keep in a tin for a good 5 days.
Click here to download a printable version of the recipe
looks lovely and moist! am still mulling my entry but have an idea just how to construct it!
Now you know that was all looking pretty good to me, you shouldn’t have pointed out all the things that bothered you. I was thinking the cake looked good and what a pretty plate.
I’ll keep quiet next time then! I love my junk shop £1 plates.
This challenge is vexing me somewhat. I managed to get a bottle of rosehip cordial yesterday, so now I need to work out what to make. Your loaf cake looks very good.
Thank you. Amazingly it is not stale after being made 5 days ago. Even more amazingly there is still some left after 5 days.
I really should get back into the blogging events too. Using fruit cordial for the syrup is a great idea – will have to try that one. I have some Cherry and Vanilla Bottlegreen Cordial in my cupboard…..
Oh! That will be very nice indeed Beth.
Well it’s a pretty plate and a pretty tablecloth. As for the cake, it sounds divine. What a great idea to pour a rose flavour syrup over the cake. Raspberry and rose is such a delicious combination – I want some of that syrup for my very own!!!!!! Thanks for participating in the challenge.
Looks lovely – I know what you mean about loaf cakes, it’s so hard to find a plate they look right on!
Mmm, interesting flavour combination! And yes, what the heck DO you photograph a loaf cake on?? A bread board? LOL!
I can almost smell the scented rose from here, it’s heavenly! And the white chocolate makes it one perfect cake!
This looks amazing. Great idea using the cordial.