Délices et Caprices: La tisane camomille et les sugar cookies chrysanthème

Les fleurs vous font du bien, savez-vous ? Cette chère camomille a de nombreuses vertus, parmi lesquels elle est anti-inflammatoire et anti-spasmodique, ce qui en fait une plante de choix pour des douleurs internes ou externes.

Rien de mieux qu’accompagner un verre de tisane de camomille par des sugar cookies chrysanthème, j’ai testé la recette de la fameuse reine de cakes et décorations de pâtisserie anglaise Peggy Porschen !!

Tisane de camomille

30g de fleurs séchées de camomille romaine

Préparation

Porter à ébullition un demi litre d'eau. Verser sur 30g de fleurs séchées de camomille. Laisser infuser pendant 20 minutes puis filtrer.

Basic Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

Makes about 25 medium-size cookies

200g unsalted soft butter

200g caster sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

400g plain flour, plus more for decorating

Optional flavours

for vanilla cookies, add seeds from 1 vanilla pod

for lemon/orange cookies, add finely grated zest of 1 lemon/orange

for chocolate cookies, replace 50g of the plain flour with 50g of cocoa powder

Method:

1. In a kitchen aid or electric mixer with paddle attachment, cream the butter with the sugar and chosen flavouring until well mixed and just creamy in texture. Do not overwork, or the cookies will spread during baking.

2. Beat in the egg until well combined. Add the flour and mix on low speed until a dough forms. Gather into a ball, wrap in cling film and chill for at least 1 hour.

3. Place the dough on a floured surface and knead briefly. Using two 1/4 inch (5mm) guide sticks, roll out to an even thickness.

4. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes and using a palette knife, lay on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. Chill again for about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F (Gasmark 4).

5. Bake for 8 – 12 minutes, depending on size, until golden-brown at the edges. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Recipe taken from Pretty Party Cakes by Peggy Porschen,Quadrille Publishing Ltd, 2006

Royal Icing by Peggy Porschen

Ingredients

Makes about 1.2 kg

25g merriwhite (dried egg white powder)

1kg icing sugar, sifted

1 tbsp lemon juice

Equipment

Sieve

Kitchen Aid / electric mixer

spoon

sealable plastic container

j-cloth

Method

1. Mix the merriwhite with 150ml water and pass through a sieve to get rid of any lumps.

2. Place the icing sugar in the clean bowl of an electric mixer, add about three-quarters of the merriwhite mixture and the lemon juice, and start mixing on low speed.

3. Once the sugar and the merriwhite are well combined, check the consistency. If the sides of the bowl still look dry and crumbly, add some more merriwhite until the icing looks almost smooth but not wet.

4. Keep mixing for about 4-5 minutes, until it has reached stiff-peak consistency.

5. Spoon into a plastic container, cover with a clean damp j-cloth and the lid. Store at room temperature.

Royal Icing Consistencies

Simply thin down your basic royal icing with water, a little bit at a time, mixing with a palette knife, until you have the right consistency. Keep your icing covered with cling film or a damp cloth when not using it, to stop it from drying out.

Stiff-peak consistency: for piping sugar flowers and leaves

Soft-peak consistency: for piping lines, dots and borders

Runny consistency: for filling in the centres of spaces

Recipe taken from Pretty Party Cakes by Peggy Porschen,Quadrille Publishing Ltd, 2006