Strangely, I like the sports/activities associated with this season - skiing, skating, tobogganing, and who knows, I just might try ice fishing some day in the very, very distant future...or not. The very thought makes me shudder.
Quick, run the reel where we are half naked, skipping though the lawn sprinkler before jumping in the pool from which we emerge to large colourful plastic cups filled with sweet lemonade and mounds of crushed ice. Ahhhhhhh...
Lemonade! Just saying it makes me want to shed my sweater and long underwear. My grandmother made THE BEST lemonade I have ever tasted. Bizarrely, she used limes - freshly picked limes straight from the garden.
As kids, we were given the important task of prepping them for the squeeze. This involved, washing them, lining them up on the kitchen table and using our tiny palms to press and roll before passing them off to be cut and stripped of their deliciously tangy juices and pulp. We would sometimes sprinkle a little salt on the gutted halves and suck the little remaining juices out before discarding them. Not sure why, but we clearly enjoyed it.
While we were busy being kids, my grandmother worked in the background transforming the freshly squeezed juice into lemonade with the addition of brown sugar, water and a touch of Angostura Bitters. Yeah, you heard, bitters! The same stuff used by mixologists around the world to flavor drinks and cocktails was being served up in my grandmother's kitchen to us kids!!
But before you judge, you should know that bitters is believed to have restorative properties. What they restore exactly, I am not sure, but I do know for a fact that it cures hiccups! So there!! And just so that we are clear, I will never call it limeade. It will always be THE BEST lemonade EVAH!
Sadly, try as I might, I could never replicate the taste...
Ingredients
Cake
- 350 g superfine sugar
- 1.5 g salt
- 125 g cake flour sifted
- 375 g egg whites at room temperature
- 4 g cream of tartar
- 100 ml water
- 1.5 g Lemon Myrtle tea
Crème Chantilly
- 475 ml whipping cream 35%
- 3-5 g icing sugar adjust to taste
- 2 g Lemon Myrtle tea
- The rind of 1 lemon optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Bring some water to a boil and pour 100ml into a measuring cup. Add the tea leaves to the water, cover and leave to steep and cool for a few minutes.
- In a large bowl, sift the salt and flour.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk together egg whites,
- and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and tea and whip for a few more minutes
- at medium speed until medium peaks form.
- Remove bowl from mixer stand and using a sieve, sift the flour mixture, a little at a time, in with the egg mixture.
- Use a spatula to gently fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture.
- Scoop batter into the wells of a mini Bundt pans and bake for 20-25 minutes.
- Insert a toothpick in each to check that they are fully baked.
- Remove from the oven and place upside down on cooling rack until completely cooled.
To make the crème:
- Chill the mixing bowl in the freezer for 5-10 minutes, or in the fridge for 15 minutes.
- Place the cream and the tea leaves in a small sauce pan and bring to a simmer.
- Let cool before refrigerating.
- Pour the chilled whipping cream into the bowl of an electric mixer and whip to soft peaks, adding the sugar to taste as you whip.
- Grate the lemon rind into the cream mixture and whip again briefly to form medium peaks.
- Chill until ready to use.
Assembly:
- Slice the mini cakes in half, horizontally and pipe a generous amount of crème on the bottom half using a decorative tip.
- Place the top half on the crème and pipe a little crème in the center. Serve with a side of berries and lemon curd (optional).
I Sugar Coat It! says
I love all your stories of 'culinary memories' with you grandma. I also love citrus flavors, so I am all for lime lemonade and lemon tea infused minicakes!! What a great idea 🙂
I Sugar Coat It! says
Thanks, Regina!!
I Sugar Coat It! says
I am very fond of citrus dessert! Your luscious Mini Cakes are just irresistible!
I Sugar Coat It! says
This looks so yummy!
I Sugar Coat It! says
"Approve"
I Sugar Coat It! says
I share your fondness of citrus desserts. Thanks for your sweet comment.
I Sugar Coat It! says
It was, G, it certainly was! Thx.
I Sugar Coat It! says
Enjoyed reading of your memories of making lemonade with your grandmother. Also, I did not know that Angostura Bitters cured the hiccoughs. Must remember that.
Love the look of these Chantilly Mini Cakes. They sound wonderful and refreshing...the perfect little dessert.
I Sugar Coat It! says
I just tried to make this tonight. I find some of your instructions to be lacking. Did you do anything to your bundt pans to keep them from sticking? When you put the cake upside down on the rack, should it come straight out of the pan? My batter looked lovely until I tried to remove the cake from the pan post-oven, and then there was no way to salvage -let alone recreate - the beautiful form we see in the photo. Also, with the crème, do you mean for the excess tea leaves from the cake to be used, or do you want dry tea leaves? I followed your instructions to bring the cream to a simmer and then chill, but it wasn't able to peak at all. Why simmer it? **frustrating**
I Sugar Coat It! says
Sorry to hear it did not go so well for you. I used a non-stick pan, although some would tell you that is a no-no, but it worked for me. I had to coax the cakes out with toothpicks, but not much effort was required. I used fresh tea leaves for the cream - 2g, as indicated. The bowl in which it is whipped should be cold and the cream should be throughly chilled. An alternative to simmering, is cold infusion - let the tea soak in the cream overnight in the fridge. I find the flavour isn't as pronounced in this method, with the exception of lavender. In all scenarios, the cream is strained to remove the leaves. I will certainly try to be more descriptive in my instructions. Had not realized they were 'lacking'. I hope at least the taste was to your liking.
I Sugar Coat It! says
I certainly enjoyed them, Paula!