In September, near the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, many rose bushes here in the Pacific Northwest have another bloom. Since Mary is so intertwined with roses, a whimsical rosewater delicacy is such a fitting way to “taste” the beauty of this holiday!
“The brightness of the sun is upon thy head: the beauty of the moon is beneath thy feet. Shining orbs adorn they throne: the morning stars glorify thee forever.”
St. Bonaventure, from ‘The Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary’
For this vanilla/rosewater birthday dessert for Our Lady, I used a festive cakelet pan featuring flower-shaped molds. Just using a cupcake pan would work wonderfully, too!
I picked some fresh rose petals to make the rosewater vanilla icing, and the result was a fragrant, effervescent birthday treat that was a big hit with everyone. The rose/vanilla combination is so delicate and helps to keep the flavor from being overwhelmingly floral.
We added a whimsical touch by sprinkling pearl sugar over the iced cakelets – they almost look like dewdrops on flowers!
Enjoy!
Marymas Rosewater Cakelets
A fragrant, effervescent birthday treat celebrating Our Lady!
Ingredients
- ROSEWATER
- fresh rose petals from edible roses (free of pesticides, etc.)
- water
- ice
- 2 & 1/4 c flour
- 1 & 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 c unsalted butter, softened
- 1 c buttermilk (if you don’t have buttermilk, adding a tablespoon of vinegar to a cup of milk works fine!)
- 4 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 T unsalted butter, softened
- 2 c powdered sugar
- 2 – 4 T milk
- 1 & 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp rosewater
CAKELETS
ROSEWATER ICING
Directions
- ROSEWATER
- Place a heat-safe bowl in a dutch oven or stainless steel pot on the stove.
- Around the bowl (within the dutch oven), sprinkle the rose petals.
- Add water to the pot with the roses, keeping the interior bowl empty. Add enough water to cover the petals.
- Put a lid on the pot, bring to a boil, and simmer.
- Rosewater will begin to condense into the interior bowl! Inverting the lid and placing ice on top of it can help the condensation process.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a cakelet pan.
- Mix all the dry ingredients together.
- Beat the eggs. Mix with butter, buttermilk, and vanilla in a stand mixer until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients a bit at a time, mixing as you go.
- Pour into cakelet pan (filling each mold about 3/4 full).
- Bake for about 10-15 minutes. Let cool.
- Melt butter.
- Add butter, milk, vanilla, & rosewater to sugar & beat with a mixer until smooth. Add the milk incrementally, so you can get the consistency of icing you want.
- Pour the icing over the cooled cakelets! I garnished them with some pearl sugar to add a little “dewdrops” to the flower cakelets!
CAKELETS
ROSEWATER ICING
PUT IT TOGETHER!
Hearthstone Fables 