Violet cake ideas

[Becky]

It's Ian's birthday coming up, and he has developed a real love of chocolate violets (that is, dark chocolate with a violet flavoured cream filling). As a result he has requested a violet flavoured birthday cake, so my first thought was that I could make a regular chocolate cake and just add some violet flavouring.

I've never used violet flavouring before though, so I was just wondering whether anyone here had any advice for using it? It can be quite a strong flavour so I don't want to over-do it. Also if anyone has any other ideas for a cake then please feel free to let me know!

 

[Norcalbaker59]

I’ve only used violet flavoring once. I found it similar to lavender in that a small amount goes a long way. Too much and it goes from a lovely hint of floral to seemingly eating a bar of soap. A 1/4 teaspoon to 1/2 teaspoon maximum is what I’d suggest.

Florals are best balanced with other flavors, so your instinct to add it to a chocolate cake is a good idea.

Violet and chocolate also pair well with berry flavors. A chocolate Creme de Cassis and violet cake with a berry frosting would make a nice flavor profile.

 

[ChesterV]

I always find this strange, as I've never heard of people using floral extracts before I saw The Great British Baking Show.

I wouldn't even begin to guess at how floral extracts taste. I've never known anyone to use them, much less ever heard of such a thing before I started watching that show.

 

[Becky]

You make some good points @Norcalbaker59, I'll be very cautious when I add the flavouring. I'll perhaps add a slight hint of flavour to the cake, but make the frosting more obviously violet. My thinking is that I can taste as I go with frosting, whereas cake batter would be guess work.

@ChesterV yeah I suppose it must sound like a weird concept if you're not familiar with it! Sweet things flavoured with flowers isn't new here, there are some very popular sweets called 'Parmaviolets'. I don't know if they are popular outside of the UK though. I guess rose is more common than violet - eg Turkish Delight.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

@Becky, my grandmother used to buy a square hard candy called C Howard violets. The first time I tried one I was quiet young, so I spit it out, saying it tasted like soap smells. As I got older I would learn to appreciate it.

But oh the Turkish delights brings back such a fond memory. There’s a company in the US that produces them. Another company produces a similar confection called applets and cotlets.

When I was about 15 years old I was a guest at a dinner party in one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in San Francisco. I had never been to such a fancy house before. It was an adult dinner party so they were only one other teenager there. So the other girl and I sat in the living room while the adults had cocktails in another room. The hostess had a beautiful covered candy jar that was filled with Turkish delights sitting on the coffee table. I could not stop eating them. At some point the hostess came into the living room and graciously told me there were confections in the candy dish and to please help myself. She then lifted the lid on the candy dish to discover it was nearly empty

 

[Becky]

Haha sounds like something I would have done too!

One of the nicest cocktails I ever had was a Turkish Delight martini. It was delicious! I wish I could remember the ingredients, and sadly the place closed a while ago.

 

[Becky]

I've decided on a recipe - it's from The Hummingbird Bakery's 'Home Sweet Home' book, and it's a really moist chocolate cake (it has sour cream in the recipe). I'm going to make some violet and vanilla buttercream for the filling / topping, and I got some crystalised violet petals to decorate it with (they're not whole leaves, more like little nuggets). I'll let you know how it goes!

 

[Norcalbaker59]

@Becky sounds delicious. im crazy about sour cream in cake. that and kefir. they produce a very nice moist crumb. In gluten-free cakes they really help to mask the graininess that rice flour imparts. do keep us posted.

 

[Becky]

Yeah I know what you mean. Buttermilk works very well too! I've never tried kefir though, I must give it a go sometime.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Yeah I know what you mean. Buttermilk works very well too! I've never tried kefir though, I must give it a go sometime.

i like to enhance flavor by using kefir... my orange chiffon cake I’ll use mango flavored kefir.

 

[Becky]

i like to enhance flavor by using kefir... my orange chiffon cake I’ll use mango flavored kefir.

Ooh that sounds like a delicious combo!

 

[Becky]

Unfortunately the cake didn't turn out well! For a couple of reasons...

First I under-baked the cake (even though the skewer came out clean, I'd forgotten that the recipe was a bit odd and needed longer - for some reason I'd forgotten to note that down when I last did it). It tasted nice but it was too dense.

Secondly, when I made the buttercream I asked Ian to help me with the violet flavouring. He added half a tsp first then tasted it - it was a very light flavour, quite nice, but Ian decided it wasn't strong enough. He then made the mistake of licking his finger and obliterated his taste buds with concentrated violet!! Big mistake! He added another half tsp of flavouring, and he thought that it was just right. A little bit of buttercream was ok, but by the time you finish eating a slice of cake it was way too much violet. So we should have stuck with the half tsp... you live and learn. When it comes to flower flavours, less is more!

I think it would have gone better if I could stand up longer - my back gets so sore I'm always in a rush at the moment. The upside to this story is that we decided to make another cake (and we'll probably steer clear of the violet this time)

 

[Norcalbaker59]

@Becky, glad to hear you are up and about. Hopefully you will continue to improve and get real relief from all the pain.

I’m sorry to hear the cake wasn’t what you hoped. I find it normally takes a couple of tweaks to get a new recipe where I wanted.

of late I’ve been using temperature to test doneness on cakes. This after a cake with a clean skewer and touch test was still under-baked.

 

[Becky]

Yeah it's a shame it didn't work out, but to be honest even if it did I still think Ian would be the only one eating it - he seems to be the only one who truly loves the violet flavour! Usually when I make a cake I like to share it with friends/family, so that we don't eat it all ourselves, but no-one likes violet

Going to have a think about what I can make as a replacement...

Also, that's a good idea re checking the temperature. I've got a probe which is meant to change colour when the cake is done, but it doesn't work well. I need to get an electronic probe really.