Cooking Series: Edible Flower Recipes, Almond Fairy Cakes with Candied Borage Flowers, P4

Shidonna Raven
2 days ago
4 min read

By LINDSAY LANDIS

July 14, 2014

UPDATED September 5, 2018

Source: Love & Olive Oil

Photo Source: Unsplash,

Almond Fairy Cakes with Candied Borage Flowers

cook time: 1 HOUR

total time: 2 1/2 HOURS

Ingredients:

For Candied Flowers:

36 fresh borage flowers, gently rinsed and dried
Pasteurized egg white
Superfine or granulated sugar

For Fairy Cakes:

1 cup cake flour
1/4 cup almond flour or very finely ground almonds
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon almond extract

For Poured Fondant:

2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Directions:

For candied flowers: gently rinse flowers and pat dry. Keep in mind when harvesting the flowers, you’ll want at least a 1/2-inch stem to hold on to. You can always trim it later if it’s too long.
Using a small (clean) paintbrush, gently paint a thin layer of egg white onto entire flower, front and back. Sprinkle with fine sugar. The trick is to get a thin, even layer over the entire flower. Big clumps of sugar will dry that way, so take your time. Place flower on a parchment lined baking sheet and repeat with remaining flowers.
Let flowers dry for at least 24 hours or until completely dry. I found it best to put the flowers in a cool oven with the light on, and prop the door open with a wooden spoon. Dried flowers can be stored indefinitely, though they will darken the longer they are stored.
For fairy cakes: preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line mini cupcake pans with 36 paper liners.
Sift together cake flour, almond meal, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside. In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of stand mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. In a separate small bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla extract, and almond extract.
Add 1/3 of dry ingredients to bowl with butter, and mix on medium-low speed. When almost incorporated, pour in half of wet ingredients. Repeat, alternating dry ingredients and wet when the previous addition is almost incorporated, and ending with the final 1/3 dry ingredients. Mix until just incorporated. Do not overmix.
Drop a scant tablespoon of batter into each cupcake paper. You want the cups to be just under half-full, much less than if you were making standard mini-cupcakes. You want to be sure the cupcakes, when fully baked and risen, still fall under the top rim of the cupcake paper. Bake for 11 to 12 mintues or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
For poured fondant: combine sugar, water, and corn syrup in a heavy medium saucepan set over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring gently just until sugar is completely dissolved. Place a candy thermometer in the saucepan and cook until the syrup reads 238ºF. Remove from heat and dip the bottom of the pot into a pan of ice water to halt the cooking process. Clean off thermometer if necessary, then place it back in the saucepan. Let the syrup cool to 150ºF, about 30 to 45 minutes.
When syrup has cooled, pour into a clean mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Add almond extract and beat on high speed for 5 to 10 minutes or until it thickens and turns an opaque white. Transfer to a microwave-safe bowl. At this point, the fondant should be the consistency of honey: coming off a spoon in thick ribbons and dissolving into itself within a few seconds. If it is too thick, add a few teaspoons of water and microwave for 15 seconds, then stir until smooth. The fondant will set rather quickly, so if at any point it becomes too thick to settle into an even layer, simply microwave it for 15 seconds and then stir until smooth and pourable again.
Spoon a teaspoon or two of liquid fondant on to each cupcake, tapping gently to level the fondant to the edges of the cupcake papers. While fondant is still wet, top each cupcake with a candied flower.
Cupcakes are best enjoyed the day they are made, but will keep up to 2 days when stored in an airtight container.

Poured fondant recipe from SprinkleBakes.

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