I was introduced to Water Kefir when I was searching to learn Kombucha Tea, my instructor was unable to find a suitable cooking studio and ended up teaching us in an Eco-Farm Restuarant at Signal Hill and she said Water Kefir is much easier to handle and learn and she taught us that instead.
Here are my first attempt photos.
First Fermentation Process :-
1/4 Cup Sugar
1 Litre Clean Water
Water Kefir starter (1 Tbsp)
Need about 2-3 days to ferment to see bubbles. When it is starting or waking up or adjusting to new home, it will need longer time to ferment. While adjusting, you may need to throw away the water after 3 days and keep changing it till it ferments within 3 days.
Once in a while, add pinch of Soda Bicarbonate and use jaggery sugar, water kefir loves these and will grow more.
Second Fermentation Process :-
1 Tbsp Sugar (pour into bottle)
100 ml Juice or Fruit Tea or Roselle
400 - 500 ml Water Kefir Water
Ferment for max 2 to 3 days, flavour is up to your family likes and your creativity.
I count it comfort when I am down and I have a few friends to rely on. I count it blessings when I am wrong and I have friend to tell me so. I count it joy when I could tell my wrongs and be accepted as me. I count it freedom when I am allowed to express my inner self. I count it special when I am given a favour I undeserved. I count it peaceful when I could rest in the midst of turmoil. I call it love when I am loved for who I am. I call it grace when I am given another chance in life. I call it faith when I believe in what my eyes have not seen. I call it kindness when I fall and I am helped to stand up again. I call it rest when I could sleep in the midst of storm. I call it complete when in vulnerability I am set free.
Lemon and elderflower cake recipe – how to make your very own Royal Wedding cake
Claire Ptak, owner of Violet Bakery in Hackney, east London, was chosen to make a lemon and elderflower cake for the Royal Wedding
By Becky Pemberton
19th May 2018, 4:48 pm
Updated: 19th May 2018, 4:52 pm
AS the nation gets swept up in Royal Wedding fever, people want to know every little detail about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's big day.
Kensington Palace revealed the couple would have a lemon and elderflower wedding cake made by a London baker, but how can you make your own version at home?
Make your own elderflower and lemon drizzle cake to have a royal feast at home
Ingredients
225g/8oz butter, softened
225g/8oz caster sugar
4 large eggs
225g/8oz self-raising flour, sifted
zest and juice 1 lemon
100ml/4fl oz Belvoir Elderflower Cordial
30ml/2tbsp granulated sugar
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/Gas Mark 4. Grease a 20cm round, deep, loose-based tin and line with baking parchment.
Place the butter, sugar and lemon zest in a large bowl. Use an electric whisk to beat the butter and sugar together until they are pale and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs, whisking well between additions and adding 2 tbsp of the flour with the last egg – this will prevent curdling.
Sift over the remaining flour, then gently fold in with a metal spoon along with 2 tbsp hot water. Spoon into the prepared tin, level the surface and bake for 45-50mins or until it is shrinking away from the sides of the tin. A fine skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean. Cool in the tin for 5 mins.
Squeeze the lemon juice, then sieve to remove the bits, and stir in the cordial. Use a fine skewer to prick the cake all over. Pour over the syrup, then sprinkle over the sugar – it should sink in but leave a crunchy crust.
Alternatively decorate the top with a thin glaze made from icing sugar and lemon juice. Add edible flowers.
Leave to cool completely before removing the cake from the tin.
Kensington Palace also shared a video of Claire Ptak assembling the lemon elderflower cake, just one day before Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding.
The royal wedding is just one day away, people. Break out your British flags and your tea kettles, set your alarm for 6:30 in the morning, and get ready to witness one of history’s most momentous occasions. With just one day until the wedding, Kensington Palace gave the couple’s followers a look behind the scenes at how Claire Ptak, the founder of Violet Bakery and official royal wedding cake baker, is putting together Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s lemon elderflower cake. The palace even shared some super coveted information: The cake’s recipe—which is great news for anyone who hopes to recreate the royal wedding in their own home.
Before we get to the recipe, let's talk about how Ptak is handling the stress of creating the wedding cake. In a video detailing her experience, the baker reveals that her team consists of six bakers who have created three different cakes for the occasion. The lemon sponge cake is filled with lemon curd (very British) and topped with a “light and fluffy” elderflower buttercream frosting. Ptak admits that opportunity to bake this cake is an honor and that she’s just “happy to be involved.”
Now to get to the recipe: The couple’s cake took 200 Amalfi lemons and ten bottles of elderflower liquor to make. As of this week, it seems as though Ptak and her team were still putting together the tiers of the cake, which makes sense given that a sponge cake won’t last forever (after all, this isn’t the traditional choice of fruit cake, which has a much longer shelf life). Besides, no future Duchess in her right mind would serve stale cake at her wedding.
WPA POOL/GETTY IMAGES
Ptak also mentioned that the three cakes will form a sort of “installation” at the wedding reception, so look forward to (hopefully) plenty of shots of the stunning cakes just before being devoured (okay perhaps more like politely enjoyed) by the guests.
Like most of us normal people, I can’t be there for proceedings, but I still know what I'll be doing this weekend: Streaming the ceremony while trying to recreate Ptak’s creation for myself.
The royal couple’s choice of wedding cake reflects the style of their relationship: contemporary, unconventional and fun.
With a few key ingredients, you can indulge in the same floral and citrus flavours that will be enjoyed by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and their guests in Windsor on May 19.
According to Kensington palace, the cake will embody “the bright flavours of spring”, be made with organic ingredients and even decorated with fresh flowers.
Ptak has dropped hints on her Instagram account of a cake decorated with peonies, which Markle has said are her favourite flowers.
Elderflower is a traditional Victorian flavour that has become fashionable again, the flowers are harvested in spring to flavour cordials, syrups and liqueurs.
By using a syrup – and liquor if desired – the floral notes of the blossoms can be produced in all three elements of the cake.
Tip: Ask your local florist in advance for edible, organic flowers as they often need to be ordered. Along with peonies, violets and roses add delicate dimensions to the cake decorations. Be sure to thoroughly but gently wash them in cold water first.
According to Kensington palace, the royal wedding cake will embody the bright flavours of spring, be made with organic ingredients and even decorated with fresh flowers. Photo: dpa/Rosalie Delaney
Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl and combine the two ingredients by whisking gently by hand.
In another bowl cream the butter, sugar and syrup until fluffy in consistency and pale in colour, then add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Fold the dry ingredients into the butter mixture until just combined, taking care not to over-mix the batter.
Grease two 20cm cake tins and line the base and sides with baking paper. Divide the cake batter evenly between the two tins and bake the cakes for 25-35 minutes or until springy to touch.
Make the syrup by combining the elderflower syrup, liqueur and zest. If you are not using liqueur then double amount of syrup.
When the cakes are out of the oven, slice them down the middle so as to make four layers. Brush all sides generously with the syrup. Leave the cakes to soak up the liquid for 20 minutes while they cool down.
Elderflower is a traditional Victorian flavour that has become fashionable again, the flowers are harvested in spring to flavour cordials, syrups and liqueurs. By using a syrup – and liquor if desired – the floral notes of the blossoms can be produced in all three elements of the cake. Photo: dpa/Rosalie Delaney
To make the buttercream frosting, beat the butter and icing sugar together either by hand or using an electric beater until the mixture is light and fluffy, and then add the liqueur. Continue to beat until the icing is pale and has a thickened, fluffy consistency. Add more icing sugar or milk accordingly to ensure spreadable consistency.
Spread the icing onto the cake layers and sandwich them on top of one another. Frost the cake tower entirely and refrigerate for 25 minutes.
Decorate the frosted cake with either full blooms, petals or a combination of both. Be creative: Flowers arranged in a free asymmetrical arrangement look lovely too! – dpa/Rosalie Delaney
This lemon and elderflower cake isn't too sweet. (Juie Van Rosendaal/CBC)
Cake ingredients
1 cup butter, at room temperature.
1¾ cups sugar.
Grated zest and juice of one lemon.
3 large eggs.
2½ cups all-purpose flour.
½ tsp baking soda.
¼ tsp salt.
1¼ cups buttermilk.
Elderflower cordial or liqueur, for brushing.
Drizzle ingredients:
1 cup of icing sugar.
2 tbsp elderflower cordial or liqueur, or lemon juice.
Water or milk, to thin if needed.
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 177 C (350 F) and grease a bundt pan well.
In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar and lemon zest for three to four minutes, until pale and light. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda and salt. In another bowl or measuring cup, stir together the buttermilk and lemon juice.
If you like, add up to ¼ cup elderflower syrup.
Add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk in two and beating after each just until combined.
Smooth the top of your batter. That will become the bottom of the cake once cooked. (Julie Van Rosendaal/CBC)
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top.
Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until the cake is golden, domed and cracked on top. It should be springy to the touch.
Bake until golden, domed and cracked on top. The cake should be springy to touch. (Julie Van Rosendaal/CBC)
Let cool for a few minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool while it's still warm.
Poke several holes deep into the top of the cake with a bamboo skewer and brush with the elderflower syrup.
Use a bamboo skewer to poke holes deep into the cake. These will help the cake absorb the elderflower syrup brushed on top. (Julie Van Rosendaal/CBC)
To make the drizzle, whisk together the icing sugar and elderflower cordial or syrup. Add a bit of water or milk, or extra elderflower, until you have a thick drizzling consistency.
Aim for a thick drizzling consistency. (Julie Van Rosendaal/CBC)
Drizzle over the top of the cake and decorate with fresh, edible flowers, if you like.
Serving: Sixteen people.
Decorate with fresh, edible flowers. (Julie Van Rosendaal/CBC)
200 Amalfi lemons
500 organic eggs from Suffolk
20kgs of butter
20kgs of flour
20kgs of sugar
10 bottles of Sandringham Elderflower Cordial
