Rose Petal Butter - Tea Rooms .. AT MY ROSE GARDEN

At a time when most of us are on summer holidays, there is time to linger over a relaxed afternoon tea after a morning of swimming, walking or sightseeing.   And a simple home-made touch imbues feelings of timeless luxury without fuss.   Perfect when gathering with friends or family.  

Prepare a simple feast of home-made sandwiches alongside plates of fragrant, summer strawberries.  And for a final flourish, freshly made scones served with rose petal butter on pretty china!    

Rose petal butter can be prepared days ahead.  Here’s how:  

Pick a handful of fragrant, organic pink and red rose petals (best picked first thing in the morning on the day you plan to make the rose petal butter).   Shake and rinse, then pat dry with a clean tea towel.  

Place butter (about 150 g) in a small bowl to soften slightly (to room temperature).    

Add most of your clean, dry rose petals (save some petals for decoration) to the softened butter.  

Mix in the rose petals with a stainless steel knife.  The knife will simultaneously chop the petals and mix them into the butter.

The rose petal butter should be creamy with rose petals evenly mixed through. 

  

Rinse a small ceramic bowl or mould with cold water.  Do not dry (this allows the butter to be released easily for serving).  Pat the rose petal/butter mixture into a small ceramic bowl or mould. 

Cover with the remaining rose petals (this will form a seal and later a base for the butter).  Cover with cling film.  Refrigerate if using in the next few days, or freeze for later use. 

 To serve; remove cling film and invert mould onto a pretty plate.  (To release butter from mould, place a warm cloth over mould.  You may need to insert a hot knife around edge to help ease butter out of the mould).   

Your rose butter will have taken on subtle hues and aromas of the fragrant rose petals.  Serve with warm date scones... A simple touch of luxury that is just delightful.