I love a challenge, especially when it comes to creating a new flavor around a loose theme. This time, my challenge was to come up with a flavor to present to The Rose Establishment Cafe for possible distribution. I went into the challenge with an open mind and decided just to take a stroll around the International Market to see what I could find. I had thought that maybe I would find rose buds and make and infused rose bud tea syrup. I found these beautiful rose petals instead. How would I use them? Would they cook ok in the baklava or tasty dry and leafy? Would they look muddy after cooking or would they retain their color?
I had to just try and see what happened, fingers crossed that the baklava wouldn’t make you feel like you were eating Rose Soap! I decided to to just sprinkle the rose petals over the regular baklava mixture on each layer, distributing the color and flavor throughout. I wanted to see how much rose flavor would infuse during baking. I wanted the flavor to come naturally from the flowers themselves without having to infuse rose water in the syrup.
My oven smelled like a rose garden when I pulled out the baklava! Using just the petals was perfect, maybe just a little less next time because the flowers don’t stop infusing flavor once out of the oven. The rose flavor became more intense over the next couple of days.
I prepared it and brought it down to Erica at The Rose and she loved it-said my baklava was the best she had had! However, she had made a commitment to only sell in house made desserts and pastries. She didn’t say she would order, but she didn’t say she wouldn’t either..and she asked how much it would be for a tray..Maybe, just maybe, this beauty will have her own home soon!
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