The Little Vintage Baking Company

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Mediterranean Tile and Flowers Cake

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I think this Mediterranean tile and flowers cake may be one of my favorite cakes I’ve made to date. I don’t get to hand paint on cakes very often and was super excited for the chance to do so for this Mediterranean themed wedding. The color palette consists of dark blue, mustard-yellow, and turquoise with bright pinks, reds, oranges and yellows for the flowers. I wanted to incorporate both lemons and olive leaves for more of a Mediterranean vibe, which were both part of the wedding decor.

Mediterranean Tile Cake

Inspiration for the tile is designed based off of elements I pulled from the invitations and also the decorative plates that were planned for use at the wedding. Then, keeping the hexagon panels size in mind, I sketched out a design on sketch paper. Once I was happy with the design, I traced over the sketch with tracing paper. Parchment paper will work as well, but tracing paper is lighter and a bit easier to work with.

For the flowers and foliage, I made pink peonies (check out  my tutorial here), orange and yellow ranunculi, red dahlias, lemon blossoms, olive branches with olives (check out my tutorial here), lemons and lemon tree leaves. I made the lemons with modeling chocolate, using a foam center to keep them more lightweight so they wouldn’t rip through the cake.

Mediterranean Tile Cake

Once the cakes were baked, covered in fondant and thoroughly chilled, I painted the cake tiers. I placed the tracing paper up against the cake and used a dresden tool to lightly trace around some of the main components of the tile design. Just so I could see the outline and spacing of the shapes. The rest of the design I did freehand, just referencing my sketch. I used a mixture of petal dust and grain alcohol to paint the design. The top three tiers were quick and easy to paint. The hexagon tier took hours. Hand painting that much detail takes a lot of time.

Mediterranean Tile Cake

Before stacking the tiers, all the cakes were chilled completely. I always work with cold cakes as I find room temperature cakes too unstable, especially when using sugar flowers and travelling with multiple tiers. After I stacked the cakes, I refrigerated them over night. I placed the sugar flowers into the cake before delivery. I inserted the flowers into milk shake straws that I placed into the cake. Very rarely do I place sugar flowers on cakes onsite. I don’t have much breakage, if any when I travel with a cake with flowers.

I’m super happy with how this cake turned out and I absolutely loved making it. It’s definitely one of my favorites and a good beginning to wedding season.

Mediterranean Tile Cake

For the peony sugar flower tutorial, click here.

For the olive branch tutorial, click here.

 

 

 

 

Meyer Lemon Ginger Tart with Toasted Honey Meringue

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I have sworn my undying love for lemon desserts in my lavender lemon bars post, so it’s no secret I’m a huge fan of all things lemon. Today, I’m sharing with you a riff on the classic lemon tart -a meyer lemon ginger tart with toasted honey meringue. This tart is out of this world delicious – the flavors are perfectly balanced and make for a rock star flavor combination. I’ve swapped traditional lemon curd filling with a Meyer lemon curd infused with fresh ginger. Meyer lemons are a winter citrus gem. They’re incredibly juicy and flavorful, combining the sweet tart flavors of a lemon and a mandarin orange into one fruit. I’ve topped this tart with a toasted honey meringue that compliments the Meyer lemon and ginger. Seriously, so good.

Meyer Lemon Ginger Tart with Toasted Honey Meringue

I use my favorite sweet tart dough to make the shell of this tart. It’s buttery, tender and perfect for holding all of this luscious Meyer lemon ginger curd. The Meyer lemon ginger curd is made with lots of egg yolks, lots of zest and lots of grated ginger. It seems like a lot of egg yolks, but I prefer to use more yolks than whole eggs to lessen the eggy flavor that can sometimes accompany curds. Keep four of those whites though because you will need them to make the meringue. Pop the remaining three whites in the fridge to be used for macarons, meringue cookies or buttercream.

It’s important to get as much flavor out of the zest and grated ginger as possible. I find that the best way to do that is to rub the zest and ginger in with the sugar. This releases the oils from the zest and the liquid from the grated ginger. Add your egg yolks and eggs and promptly whisk to combine. Sugar can actually absorb the water from the eggs, or what some refer to as “cooking” the eggs, so that’s why you want to work fairly fast here, to avoid clumpy eggs. Add in the lemon juice and butter and cook on medium low heat until the mixture has thickened and has reached 170F. Strain the curd in to a bowl to remove any eggy bits and zest and let it come to room to temperature before pouring into your tart shell and chilling.

Meyer Lemon Ginger Tart with Toasted Honey Meringue

When I make meringue, I usually use the Swiss method of cooking sugar and egg whites over a double broiler to 150F-160F, then whipping the mixture to stiff peaks. The method is the same here, but with honey instead of sugar. I add in a pinch of cream of tartar just to add a bit acidity and a pinch of salt for flavor. The result is a thick, marshmallow-y meringue with the prominent but not overwhelming flavor of honey. I (carefully) pile the meringue (a lot) onto the tart and use a blow torch to toast it. You can halve the recipe if you prefer less meringue. Meringue has a tendency to get weepy and flat over time, so be sure to add the meringue and toast it just before serving.

Meyer Lemon Ginger Tart with Toasted Honey Meringue

If you try this Meyer lemon ginger tart with toasted honey meringue, let me know! Leave a comment in the comment area below and be sure to snap a photo and tag it #littlevintagebaking on Instagram. I love seeing your Little Vintage Baking creations!

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Meyer Lemon Ginger Tart with Toasted Honey Meringue

A sweet and tart Meyer lemon and ginger curd filled sweet tart shell topped with honey Swiss meringue and toasted

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Chilling time 4 hours
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 sweet tart dough recipe, fully baked

For the meyer lemon curd:

  • 7 large egg yolks
  • 2 large whole eggs
  • 2 tbsp grated Meyer lemon zest
  • 1 heaping tbsp peeled and grated fresh ginger
  • 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
  • 2/3 cup (158ml) Meyer lemon juice
  • 6 tbsp (85g) unsalted butter, softened

For the toasted honey meringue:

  • 4 egg whites
  • 1/2 cup (125ml) pure honey
  • Pinch of cream of tartar

Instructions

Make the Meyer lemon ginger curd:

  1. Combine the sugar, Meyer lemon zest, and grated ginger into a bowl. Rub the mix between your hands to release the oils of the zest and the liquid of the ginger. The mixture will be like wet sand.

  2. Add the eggs and egg yolks to the sugar mixture and whisk to combine thoroughly. 

  3. Add the Meyer lemon juice and whisk to combine.

  4. Pour the mixture into a medium sauce pan, and place over a medium low heat. Add the butter. Stir continuously to keep the mixture moving so your eggs don't scramble.

  5. Cook the curd until thick and just beginning to bubble, or until an instant read thermometer reaches 170F. The curd will thicken more in the refrigerator.

  6. Strain the curd into a clean shallow bowl, and let it sit until it reaches room temperature. 

  7. Pour the curd into your cooled, fully baked tart shell. Use a spatula to spread the curd evenly in the tart shell. Place in the refrigerator to set up the filling,  about 4 hours. 

Make the toasted honey meringue:

  1. Place a couple inches of water in a medium saucepan. Place the saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer.

  2. Place the egg whites, cream of tartar and the honey into the bowl of a stand mixer. Place the bowl over the saucepan of simmering water, whisking constantly until an instant read thermometer reads 160F. 

  3. Transfer the bowl to a stand mixer with a whip attachment and beat on medium high until the meringue is thick, glossy and pulling away from the sides of the bowl. Your meringue should hold it's shape.

  4. Using a spatula, gently place scoops of meringue into the center of the chilled tart. 

  5. Make swoops and swirls with a small spatula. Use a hand blow torch to toast and brown the meringue.

 

 

 

Lavender Lemon Shortbread Bars

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I adore lemons. They’re bright, flavorful and so refreshing, easily making them one of my favorite flavors in both sweet (and savory) cooking. Truth be told, I’d chose a citrus-y dessert over a chocolate one any day – like these amazing lavender lemon shortbread bars.

I made quite a few batches of these bars when recipe testing, and while I usually test bake things and give away the bakes, these lavender lemon shortbread bars didn’t get the chance to leave my kitchen. Each batch was consumed so quickly that I had to fight to get a piece to test the recipe. They’re that good.

Lavender Lemon Shortbread Bars

I’ve sworn my allegiance to lemon meringue pies and lemon cream tarts over the years,  but until I developed this recipe, I wasn’t too impressed with lemon bars. I’ve made and tried many lemon bars over the years and have had some decent ones, but could never find one that was balanced enough for my liking. My ideal lemon shortbread bar has a buttery, rich shortbread crust that doesn’t become a soggy mess, a perfect balance of tart and sweet filling (more on the tart side preferred) and the right ratio of filling to crust. I set out to develop my own recipe, hoping to settle my lemon bar qualms once and for all and this one definitely does not disappoint.

Lavender Lemon Shortbread Bars

In this recipe, I’ve added lavender to the shortbread crust. I urge you to keep the lavender in this recipe even if you have tried lavender in desserts before and didn’t like it. It is true that lavender can be soapy and overwhelming if overused but that is not the case in this recipe. The lavender is subtle, but compliments and amplifies the lemon flavor. It’s beautifully fragrant and absolutely addictive in this recipe.

This lavender lemon shortbread bar recipe starts like many others, by combining the crust ingredients in a food processor allowing the lavender to break up and blend into the other ingredients before adding softened butter. While the mixture is sandy and clumpy, it is pressed into a pan and sent off to the oven to bake.

Lavender Lemons Shortbread Bars

Meanwhile, the filling ingredients are mixed together and set aside until the crust is finished baking and is lightly browned. While the crust is still warm, pour the ingredients into the crust and bake at a reduced temperature until the center has a so very slight jiggle.

While I have to admit that many times I’ve dug into these lavender lemon shortbread bars with a fork while still hot because they are THAT good, they are best served cut into squares or wedges at room temperature and finished with a dusting of confectioner’s sugar.

If you try these lavender lemon shortbread bars, let me know! Leave a comment in the comment area below and be sure to snap a photo and tag it #littlevintagebaking on Instagram. I love seeing your Little Vintage Baking creations!

For another lemon recipe, check out this Meyer Lemon Ginger Tart with Toasted Honey Meringue!

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Lavender Lemon Shortbread Bars

Bright, fresh and citrus-y lemon bars with the addition of subtle, fragrant lavender in a crumbly shortbread crust.

Course Dessert
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 9 3x3 squares

Ingredients

For the shortbread base:

  • 1 stick (113g) unsalted butter, cut into cubes, room temperature
  • 1 1/4 cups (177g) unbleached, all purpose-flour
  • 1/4 cup (55g) granulated sugar
  • 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
  • 1/2 - 3/4 tsp dried culinary lavender

For the lemon filling:

  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 1/3 cup (266g) granulated sugar
  • 1 tbsp lemon zest
  • 2/3 cup (160ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup (80ml) half and half
  • 3 tbsp all purpose flour

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a 9x9 square baking pan with parchment paper. 

  2. In a food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar, salt and lavender until well blended. You want the lavender to be dispersed and chopped up a bit.

  3. Add in the cubes of softened butter and pulse until the mixture is sandy and starts to form clumps.

  4. Gently press shortbread mixture into an even layer over the bottom of the prepared pan. Use a light hand when pressing in your dough to keep the shortbread crumbly and cookie-like. Refrigerate for a minimum 20-30 minutes.

  5. Bake crust for 22-25 minutes or until the edges start to turn a golden brown.

  6. Remove shortbread from the oven, let it cool slightly and reduce the temperature to 325 degrees F.

  7. Prepare the lemon filling. In a medium bowl, rub together the sugar and lemon zest between your hands to release the oils from the zest. Whisk in the flour until blended. Add the eggs and whisk briskly so that the sugar doesn't "cook" the eggs and form clumps.

  8. Add the lemon juice and half and half and whisk to fully incorporate.

  9. Pour filling over the warm shortbread and bake for an additional 25-30 minutes, until the center jiggles very (very) slightly.

  10. Let the bars cool to room temperature, about an hour. The longer they cool, the easier and prettier they are to slice. Transfer bars to a cutting board and cut into squares or wedges. Using a sieve, sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.