Easy Peasy Dandelion Bread
Updated: Apr 3, 2023
Easy Peasy Dandelion Bread
I served this Dandelion Bread (cake) at the 2023 Ostara / Spring Equinox Celebration, and it was very well received. No wonder really, because it is truly delicious.
I was asked to add the recipe to the Blog, so here it is 🌼
What better way to welcome the arrival of Spring than to share some of Nature’s sunshiny bounty in the form of bright yellow flowers.
This recipe includes Dandelions, but it would work just as well with any other flowers that come into bloom through the year, perhaps Forsythia. Violet, Primrose, Hibiscus, Lilac, Lavender, Rose, Rosebay Willowherb, Rosemary, Heather, Clover, Himalayan Balsam, Meadowsweet, Elderflowers, Self-Heal, Dead Nettles, Pea Flowers, Speedwell, Cornflowers, or Thistles, to name but a few you could choose from.
For larger flowers or flower petals, chop up most of them before adding to the mix. Leaving just a few whole flowers or larger pieces, will add some surprises inside the finished cake. It's up to you if you want to do this.
Dandelions are sweet flavoured flowers, but other flowers have distinct flavours of their own, so the flavour of the cake will vary according to the flowers you choose.
Find out more about foraging, harvesting and drying flowers at the end of the recipe.
PREPARATION FOR THE DANDELION BREAD
You will need some Dandelion Flowers.
You can either pick these fresh if they are in bloom around you, or you can use dried petals if you harvested and preserved some last season.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
A standard loaf tin
Greaseproof paper to line the loaf tin
Oven heated to 180C
Large Mixing bowl
Fork
Spatula
Small Jug
Measuring Spoons - Cup, 1/2 Cup. 1/4 Cup, Tablespoon, Teaspoon.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup Fresh Dandelion Flowers - be sure to separate the petals and don’t include the green parts, unless you want to add bitterness to your cake.
OR
1/4 cup Dried Dandelion Petals
2 cups General Purpose Flour
Choose your favourite flour or flour mix. I used Pizza Flour, but any all purpose flour, or even bread flour, or mix of flours, such as rice / coconut / maize / gram / pea, etc., would work. The texture of the finished cake will vary according to your choice of flour(s).
3/4 cup sugar
I used British Beet Caster Sugar, but again, you can choose your favourite vegan sugar. White sugar is probably better than the darker sugars for this recipe, if you want to keep the light colour of the inside of the cake.
1 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Again you can choose your favourite veggie oil. I used extra virgin Rapeseed Oil.
1/4 cup freshly squeezed Lemon Juice
Plant Milk - of your choice. I used Oat Milk, but this would work with any plant milk.
1/2 cup (if using Fresh Dandelion Petals)
OR
3/4 cup (if using Dried Dandelion Petals)
GLAZE
1/2 cup powdered sugar (icing sugar - check it’s vegan)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
DECORATE
Decorate the top with fresh flowers. Dandelion Petals would be great.
I used Forsythia Flowers because I had some in bloom.
You cam match the decoration with the flowers in the cake, or use different ones, oe a mix to achieve the look you desire.
ENJOY
Now you are ready to enjoy your cake.
You could share with friends (recommended 😁) or you could scoff it all yourself, but not all at once 😂
Energy
CAKE
Flour 910 kcal
Sugar 660 kcal
Oil 1927 kcal
Oat Milk 97 kcal
GLAZE
Sugar 233 kcal
Total kcal for the cake and glaze = 3827 kcal
You can get 18 decent pieces by cutting in half lengthways, then each half into 9 slices.
These would have approx 213 kcal per piece.
9 whole slices would be 426 kcal per piece.
STORAGE
The cake will store in a cake tin or similar for a day or two at room temperature.
Putting cakes in the fridge tends to make them sweat, but will keep them for longer if you are not going to eat the whole cake in a short time.
Cakes freeze well, so you could slice it, wrap each slice in greaseproof paper, and pop in a freezer proof box, place in the freezer, then take out a slice when you want, for example, when you are preparing a packed lunch, and it would be defrosted ready to eat by lunchtime, ta da!
Do please let me know how your flower and flour choices work out.
Send them in an email hello@daltonmoorfarm.co.uk or
Post them in the Facebook Membership Group
Baking with wild flowers and herbs, should be an adventure, so grab your creative hat and start experimenting. Keep it safe, but have some fun.
FORAGING FOR FLOWERS
Obviously we can harvest and use fresh flowers for our recipes while they are out in bloom, but it’s a good idea to also collect flowers while they are in season and dry them for later uses.
When collecting flowers it is best to collect them in the morning to capture the sweetness of their nectar, before the pollinators have collected it.
Always forage responsibly, and safely, and collect from areas where the flowers won’t have been wee’d on, sprayed with chemicals, or otherwise polluted.
Be sure to check the safe uses of the flowers before you go foraging for them.
DRYING FLOWERS
Once you have collected your flowers, check inside them for little insects, and shake these out. Leaving the flowers lying for a short while, can help entice the bugs out too.
When your flowers are nice and clean, lay them out onto a sheet of greaseproof paper or a clean cardboard tray, or leave them loosely packed in a large paper bag, and set them to dry in a warm place.
Check them periodically and shake them a bit so they don’t stick. Drying may take up to a few days, depending on the type, size and shape of the flowers.
If you have an Aga, just sit them nearby, or balanced on the tops for a few hours.
When your flowers are completely dry, you can move them into a dry clean jar.
Place the lid loosely and leave in a warm place to thoroughly dry again, before tightening the cap.
The flowers must be completely dried before you can safely seal them up, or otherwise they will go mouldy and be no good to use.
Alternatively just leave your flowers in a paper bag for storage.
Flavours and aromas will be best maintained in a jar or plastic bag, but actually don’t deplete too much if stored in paper, in a cool dark place, depending on how long you plan to keep them.
Alternatively, you can freeze the fresh flowers in a plastic bag, if you have freezer space available.
LEARN FORAGING
If you want to learn about foraging, why not book onto one or more of the Dalton Moor Farm Foraging Walks? These take place every month from March through October. You can find them all right here, on the Regular Events page.
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