Sweet as honey, with roses on top!

Cakes that look this pretty never last long around here. They say you eat first with your eyes, and with these mini loaf tea cakes I did find myself staring wistfully at them for an uncomfortable amount of time.

Everyone is inspired by something, or someone. It could be a favourite cookie, the fragrance of a particular flower, or the in this case, butter. Back in February, Valentine’s Day, Jon took me to Circa 1876. It’s a place we’ve been going to for over 19 years. Back then it was Robert’s Restaurant, but it’s now a foodie paradise farm to table experience that is one of the best I’ve ever had.

The first thing that came out of the kitchen was freshly made house rolls with the best butter in the world, I kid you not. Sweet, floral, light, I can barely put the flavour into words. They created perfection with their honey rosewater pistachio butter, and I’ve been wanting to make a cake inspired by that very butter ever since. We also made our own butter and now keep a log of it frozen to pinch from every time we have bread rolls in the house:)  

Now I’ve made honey tea cakes before, but they were a slightly different recipe. I realised that the original recipe of it was going to be too warm, playing up the homeliness of honey with almond meal. This butter was nothing at all like that. It was light and sweet, with the rosewater giving it a vibrancy and the pistachio is only in the toppings, and not the cakes. That way it adds just the texture and flavour, but doesn’t weigh down the cakes at all. 

Given how wonderful these cakes turned out, I think I’ll need to spend more time eating out and trying new flavour combinations. And now living 5 minutes from Pokolbin, I have some of the best restaurants in the country just a step away. Plus hello, wine everywhere! Why did I stay in the city so long, I should have moved back to the Hunter Valley years ago?