In celebration of Afternoon tea week, 11th - 18th August, we asked Lola Rubio, founder of Two&One olive oil, to create two recipes using Summerdown's essential oils.
Two&One is a family business born in the heart of Hampshire, which brings Lola's family olive oil to the UK and promotes the understanding of olive oil, its healthy properties and its inclusion in our lifestyle.
These recipes are making the Summerdown team hungry just writing this blog, so put a date in the diary, invite some friends, get baking and enjoy a wonderful afternoon with friends, sharing in delicious food, our herbal teas and great conversation.
LEMON AND LAVENDER OLIVE OIL CAKE
This is my grandma’s recipe, probably passed down to her from her grandma’s grandma, which was originally flavoured with grated lemon or with a dash of brandy. I have been inspired by the Summerdown fields of lavender to add an English touch to this old recipe. The result is subtle and wonderful.
This is a very tasty sponge cake, it can be decorated or eaten plain.
Ingredients
3 large eggs
190g self raising flour
1tsp baking powder
175g sugar
110ml Negra Harvest Two&One olive oil
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon and its juice
10 drops Summerdown Lavender Oil
Lemon and lavender Chantilly cream
200ml double cream
8-10 drops Summerdown Lavender Oil
Finely grated lemon zest
30g caster sugar
Takes 50 to 60 mins – serves 8
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C/fan 160C. Lightly oil and line a 18cm deep round cake tin.
Put all the cake ingredients (except for the lemon juice) in a large mixing bowl and beat until roughly smooth, do not overbeat. Fold in the lemon juice. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, smooth, then bake for 40-45 minutes until the cake springs back when pressed.
Decorate it with a light lemon and lavender Chantilly cream. Whip the cream, sugar, lemon zest and Summerdown Lavender Oil together in a bowl until the mixture forms soft peaks. Spread it over the top and decorate it with a sprinkle of fresh lavender flowers.
PEPPERMINT CHOCOLATE AND OLIVE OIL BROWNIES
The first time I tasted mint chocolate was when I came to England, as a young teenager, to learn English in the summer. Of course, I went back to Spain loaded with mint chocolate boxes as gifts, and I longed for mint chocolate chip ice-cream until my next visit to UK. Summerdown English Peppermint Oil and Chocolate brings back the freshness and the excitement of those summers, and, offers the perfect ingredients to blend our two cultures into one lifestyle through this recipe.
These brownies are the perfect afternoon tea treat or after dinner pudding served with vanilla ice-cream or clotted cream.
Ingredients
3 large eggs
150g dark chocolate
120ml Negra Harvest Two&One olive oil
10-12 drops of Summerdown English Peppermint Oil
200g sugar
110g plain flour
30g cocoa
1 pinch of salt
100g Summerdown Peppermint Dark Chocolate
Takes 30 to 40 mins – it makes about 12
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C/fan 160C. Lightly oil and line a shallow tin.
Melt the dark chocolate, either in the microwave or in a bowl over a pan of simmering water until smooth, then add the Negra Harvest olive oil and stir until combined. This will cool the chocolate and make it ready to continue the recipe. In a larger bowl, beat the eggs, the sugar and the Summerdown peppermint oil until the mixture has doubled in volume and is a lot paler. Add the chocolate and olive oil mixture to the eggs, beating it gently, then add the flour, cocoa and salt already mixed in a different bowl. Beat to combine smoothly and pour it into the lined baking tin.
Bake for about 25 minutes, check them at 20 minutes if you like them very gooey. When it is ready, the top should be dried to a paler brown colour, whilst the middle will still be dark and dense.
Let them cool down. Then melt the Summerdown peppermint dark chocolate and drizzle it over the top to create a beautiful, crunchy and delicious finishing touch.
Find more recipes on www.twoandoneoliveoil.co.uk or follow on Instagram @twoandoneoliveoil