The last time I baked with rosemary, I paid a brief tribute to my sister and brother-in-law’s wedding anniversary. If I would have looked a little more closely at the history of rosemary, I could have written all about the herb’s historical associations with weddings. I missed that at the time, but since I mentioned love on Sunday, and my cousin Ashlee is getting married in just over a week, I feel okay writing about it now.
Way back when, brides wore headpieces made of rosemary while grooms and wedding guests wore sprigs of rosemary during wedding ceremonies. The goddess of love, Aphrodite, is associated with rosemary, and over the years, rosemary has been considered a love charm.
Tonight’s recipe for Rosemary Loaf Cakes comes courtesy of Nigella Lawsons’ “How to Be a Domestic Goddess“. I don’t know that baking these cakes will make anyone fall in love, but I find bringing fresh baked goods to people certainly does not hurt your reputation.
I don’t remember if I wanted to bake this recipe because I bought a mini loaf pan, or if I bought a mini loaf pan to bake the recipe, but regardless, I was happy with the results. The batter was a soft buttery color, and the cakes puffed up to a nice lovely brown. Before baking, I topped the loaves with some lemon sugar leftover from the week’s blueberry muffins.
As for the taste, the rosemary is just noticeable, and the texture is like that of a very soft pound cake. These cakes would likely pair well with a dollop of whipped cream, and they might even make nice shortcakes should you have any strawberries available. You are sure to love these rosemary loaf cakes however you choose to enjoy them.
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons milk
- ½ cup self-rising flour
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons rosemary needles, chopped fine
- Cream the butter and the sugar together on medium speed.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition
- Add the vanilla extract and the milk and continue to mix.
- Slowly fold in the flours and the rosemary needles.
- Grease the wells of a petite loaf pan and fill with batter nearly to the top, more than ¾ full but not quite to the top.
- If desired, sprinkle the tops of the batter with sugar before baking.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until light brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.
- Allow the cakes to cool in the pan for approximately 3-5 minutes, then remove the cakes from the pan and allow to finish cooling.
I too am a fan of rosemary. I made a chocolate rosemary tart this past fall (it’s on my blog somewhere) and it was delish. I guess it is like brussels sprouts, you are either a fan or not.
I received a tart pan for Christmas, so I am so going to check out the chocolate rosemary tart ASAP. It’s funny you mention Brussels sprouts. I recently tried a recipe that called for cooking them with pears, apples, cinnamon, and cider. They aren’t my favorite vegetable, but I think they get a bad rap so I want to keep trying them in new ways.