Apricot Poppyseed Cake
The smell of a ripe apricot is mesmerizing enough to make me want to give up perfumery and tend an orchard instead. It smells of cream, sweet orange, bitter almond, and a hint of rose. Unfortunately, unless you have access to an apricot grove, finding such a perfect specimen is difficult. Apricots are invariably picked green, and even if they soften, they never develop the perfume of tree-ripened fruit.
There is, however, one technique to unlock some of the apricot’s fragrant potential. It’s to cook it. Even the hard supermarket variety becomes luscious and perfumed, especially if you add a touch of vanilla. I often sprinkle apricots with vanilla sugar and rosewater and roast them just until they start to turn jammy and tender. You can add cream, but that’s already gilding the lily. Or I make a poppyseed cake topped with apricots, an ideal late summer-early fall dessert.
Ewan in Spring 2024 Perfume Launches : Lilac, Vetiver, Moss and Seaweed: I took the opportunity to blend seaweed, vetiver and mimosa essential oils. It is a very pleasant and interesting menage a trois. At first the seaweed hits the nose but… April 18, 2024 at 1:32am