You can also roll the butter into circles with plastic wrap or waxed paper, chill, and then cut into rounds. Finn said sprinkling a few more flowers and floral salt on top of each slice makes for a memorable, restaurant-quality presentation.
“Food that looks good tastes better. If you look at the little plates at a lot of Michelin star (restaurants), they all have flowers painted on them,” she said. “These little details show that someone cares.”
DIY: Rose petal honey
Makes about 2 cups
This recipe is from Maria Finn’s cookbook, Forage. “Feast” (Sasquatch Books, April 2024) is perfect for May in North Her Bay, when roses are at their peak. Finn says almost all roses are safe to eat, but make sure they’re organic or pesticide-free. Remember, the more aromatic the rose, the more it will dissolve in the honey. Drizzle this honey over yogurt, scones, or use it in the recipe for Rose Petal Honey Pot de Crème (below).
2 cups loosely packed dried rose petals
Approximately 1 pound of local honey
Place rose petals in a clean 16-ounce glass jar. Pour honey over the rose petals and cover.
Infuse the honey in the cupboard for two weeks, pouring the mixture every five days (as the rose petals tend to float to the top).
Strain the petals through a colander, crush the roses with a wooden spoon, and squeeze out more honey. (Or, if you leave it in, it gets so dirty that you keep infusing it. If you leave it in for too long, the flavor goes from floral to almost cinnamon-like.)
Return the infused honey to the jar. It will keep indefinitely, but may begin to crystallize after about a year.
Rose Petal Honeypot de Crème
Makes 4 servings
“This is a recipe to make for your loved one. It’s not complicated and it’s packed with lots of ‘wow’s,” Finn writes. For extra flavor, soak whole vanilla bean pods in the cream overnight, then scrape the vanilla beans into the heated honey.
4 large egg yolks
A pinch of kosher salt
1/3 cup rose petal honey (see recipe above)
1 vanilla bean (split lengthwise)
1 1/2 cups fresh cream
1/2 cup whole milk
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Combine egg yolks and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, cook, stirring occasionally, until the honey begins to blacken and bubble. When you want a slightly overcooked aroma like Duce de Leche. Rub the vanilla beans into the honey.
Gradually add the cream and milk to the caramelized honey, stirring constantly.
Add 1 cup of the honey cream mixture and whisk to soften the egg yolks. Pour in the remaining honey and cream mixture, whisking constantly.
Place the ramekins in a large baking dish and pour boiling water around them, coming halfway up the sides. Divide custard mixture among ramekins. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours or until the edges of the custard are set but the center still jiggles slightly.
Remove the ramekins from the water bath and let the custard cool. Chill until firm, at least 2 hours.
Preserved cherry blossom truffle
Makes about 2 dozen
Truffles are super easy to make, delicious, and fun to unleash your creative urges. Wrap it in torn rose petals and top with a pinch of floral salt or cherry blossoms.
2/3 cup fresh cream
8 ounces semisweet dark chocolate
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 tablespoons preserved cherry blossoms (recipe below) or dried rose petals or lavender, chopped
Line a shallow mold with parchment paper.
Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. In a mixing bowl, break the chocolate into small chunks. Once the cream is warm, pour it over the chocolate. Add vanilla. Count to 50 and stir until all the chocolate is melted. Pour into molds and let cool, then leave in the refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight to harden.
Remove from the refrigerator and let come to room temperature. Use a melon baller to scoop out the truffles. Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week (or in the freezer for up to 3 months) until ready to eat.
Just before serving, sprinkle with a pinch of dried flowers. You don’t need a lot of flowers to enrich the flavor. Once the cherry blossoms are attached, it will not be possible to preserve it.
Preserved cherry blossom flowers
Makes 2 cups
There is a Japanese tradition of preserving cherry blossoms by pickling them in salt or plum vinegar and making them into tea or mixing them with rice. It is also made as a dessert for tea ceremonies. Now is a good time to preserve cherry blossoms, especially ornamental cherry blossoms. Finn likes to chop tart, floral and fruity preserved flowers to sprinkle over ice cream with olive oil or on top of homemade truffles.
10 cups cherry blossoms and leaves (about 3 flowers for each leaf)
1 cup kosher salt
1 cup plum vinegar
1 cup rice vinegar
Place the flowers and leaves in a large bowl and sprinkle with salt. Lightly toss the flowers and leaves with salt until everything is coated.
Add water until everything is covered. Cover the flowers with a plate to hold them in the brine.
After 3 days, strain the water very gently and toss the leaves in to add flavor). Pack the petals into a jar and pour in the plum and rice vinegar. After soaking in vinegar for three days, take the flowers out to dry or place them on a baking sheet lined with a grill and place them in the oven at the lowest temperature possible.
Once everything is dry, bottle it and store it in a cool, dry place. It will last at least a year, but then it will start to discolor a little.
Contact Staff Writer Jennifer Graue at 707-521-5262 or jennifer.graue@pressdemocrat.com. X on Twitter @JenInOz.
