Bolo de maça com chá verde de rosas. (Apple and rose tea cake)

My cake baking gets put on back burner during the summer months 

but now the clocks have gone back and the nights draw in the oven comes into its own again.

Here I have infused apples with the intoxicating scent of this fragrant rose tea from

 Companhia Portugueza do Chá in Lisbon.

The addition  of vanilla and honey in this recipe make it perfect for chilly damp winter afternoons, but the same time evoking summer scents wafting from flowers you brush past in the garden.Roses are the hero of this cake and using the best quality rose tea leaves ( see link above ) you can find will produce the most subtly fragrant and flavoursome cake. If you can´t source high quality tea or large re-usable tea bag or muslim bag to put them in, you can substitute with 10 -12 regular tea bags for the cake recipe and two for the icing.The choice of apples is crucial here too.The apples I used were maça Reinetas ( large russets ). They are very fleshy and extremely good for the job. I suspect English Coxs would work equally well. You do not want either the sourness of a Granny Smith or the sweetness of a Jonagold or Fuji here.

For the cake

400–450g (2 large or 3 small)Maça Reinetas or russet type apples

10g good quality rose tea leaves

500ml boiling water

200g unsalted butter
100g brown sugar
½ vanilla bean, seeds scraped (or 1 tsp vanilla paste)
2 large eggs, at room temperature
150g caster sugar
240g plain flour, sifted
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp fine sea salt
Dried rose petals (optional) to decorate

Rose Tea Icing

240g icing sugar, sifted
125 ml (½ cup) reserved rose tea
Squeeze of lime juice (optional)
Pinch of fine sea salt

Preheat oven to 165°C (145°C fan-forced) and grease 20cm (8”) bundt or round cake tin.
Wash, peel, core and dice apples into 2cm crescent pieces.
Place the apple pieces in a large bowl.
In suitable vessel such as a teapot ior cafetière pour the boiling water over the tea.Allow it to steep for a few minutes but before it cools pour it over the apples and leave to steep further overnight with the bowl covered with clingfilm.
Strain the liquid into a jug, you will need it later.Discard the leaves and remove any tea leaves that might be on the apples.
Melt butter and brown sugar gently on low heat in wide bottomed deep saucepan. Add the apples, toss and coat with the butter mixture, then swirl vanilla seeds or paste through.
Remove from heat and leave the apples in the butter for approximately 1 hour.
Beat eggs and caster sugar in free-standing mixer until thick and pale (approximately 3-4 minutes).
Fold in infused buttery apple mixture until well combined, then sifted flour, baking powder and salt.
Pour cake batter into prepared cake tin and bake for 40 mins, or until lightly golden and a skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool for 15 minutes in cake tin, then turn out onto wire rack and allow to cool completely.

Rose tea Icing
bring the reserved tea back to the boil
Add tea to icing sugar in medium bowl, one teaspoon at a time, until mixture starts to come together as a thick, sticky icing until icing is of a thick pouring consistency.
If icing is too thick, add a little more tea. If icing is too thin, add a little more icing sugar.
Use icing immediately, as it sets quite quickly.

To serve place the completely cooled cake on a serving plate and drizzle with the rose tea icing , then sprinkle with dried rose petals.