Botanical Baking Ideas to Try Today

Did you catch Wednesday’s episode of The Great British Bake Off? Of course we certainly did! We’ve been rooting for our favourite ever since 2016’s long-awaited series aired a handful of weeks ago and we’re pleased to say they’re still in the competition following this week’s instalmemt.

If you missed it, the show challenged the contestants to its first ever botanical theme, with the bakers tasked to create three nature-inspired treats. Plants and flowers in baking, you say? Well I never! But when carefully-selected and used in the right way, nature’s favourite produce can spice up your cakes, bread and pastries in just the right way.

Thinking of giving botanical baking a go? We’ve rounded up a few recipes from around the net which are a good starting point for any novices out there…

Poppy Seed Rolls

Setting to and whipping up some homemade soup this evening? You can do a lot worse than make some delicious, fresh poppy seed rolls to go with it. Perfect when dipped into hot soup or broth, or just as tasty eaten on their own, poppy seed rolls are a great place to begin when it comes to botanical baking.

We’ve got to hand it to good old Tesco for its poppy seed roll recipe. Why? It’s relatively simple to follow and the end result is a beautifully soft bread you’ll definitely want seconds of. In terms of ingredients, you won’t need anything too ‘out there’ – with some strong plain white flour, salt, fact-action dried yeast, butter, milk and sugar being the main elements to the bread. What you will need, however, is some poppy seeds, but you can pick these up relatively easy at the supermarket. Ready, set…bake!

Carrot and Marigold Cake

Now here’s a twist on a classic carrot cake…one that features marigolds! Yes, you read that right. Pop on over to the Natural Pantry site, where you’ll find all sorts of interesting flower-based recipes, for the full method.

The blog’s author, Sally, suggests how strange it is to think you can simply head out in your garden, pick out a few flowers and get baking – but you can!

She says: “My favourites for salads are white and blue borage flowers, dill flowers, chive flowers crushed into their individual buds, thyme flowers and parsley flowers as the herb goes slowly to seed.”

Simply click the link (above) to be taken to Sally’s classic carrot and marigold cake recipe, which trust us when we say looks stunning and tastes even better – a real Bake Off-esque ‘showstopper’ for your next family gathering.

Grapefruit Meringue Pie

Like the look of Benjamina’s grapefruit meringue pie on The Bake Off? Mary and Paul definitely did! Have a go at making one just like it, thanks to this recipe we spotted on Taste of Home. The site is jam-packed with baking ideas and recipes you’ll love and this is just one we’ll be trying after feeling inspired by Wednesday’s show.

Will you be having a go at any of these recipes? Don’t forget to let us know by commenting on this blog (below).

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Until next time…