Flower Power

Since blogging about osmanthus last year, my mother had taken my not so subtle hint and procured a jar of these fragrant flowers (preserved in syrup) for me.

The jar has been sitting in the fridge like a wall flower since we got back from Sydney. While rummaging through my conserves and preserves at lunch, I made a mental note to come back to the gems inside...

It takes a lot of willpower these days for me venture from my tried and tested yogurt cake recipe. It works beautifully every time; it is relatively low in fat and is versatile as I turn out chocolate marble, Matcha marble, citrus and other versions of this fail-safe blueprint.

2 eggs
1 cup of whole milk plain unsweetened yogurt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tbsp preserved osmanthus

Preheat the oven to 180C, line the bottom of a round ten-inch cake tin/ a large loaf tin with parchment paper and grease the sides.

In a large mixing-bowl, gently combine the yogurt, eggs, sugar, vanilla, oil and rum.

In another bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. Add the flour mixture into the yogurt mixture, and blend together -- don't overwork the dough. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan, and bake for 35 minutes or until the top is golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean. Let stand for ten minutes, and transfer onto a rack to cool.