Muffins à la rose de Provins

Enactment of Thibaud IV bringing back
the rose of Damas

Whenever I travel to any place I try to buy some locally produced products. These products always taste better than their commercial counterpart. Recently during our day trip to Provins I bought rose flavoured sugar, rose flavoured honey, rosey diffuser & two different types of rosey soaps. Ever since the Duke of Champagne, Thibaud IV brought back a rose from Damascus to Provins during the Crusades in 1240, the rose became one of the symbols of the town and is now part of its historical heritage.

Today was again a day of sudden appetite for innovative cooking and I thought of baking rose flavoured muffins by utilizing the rose flavoured sugar of Provins. Initially i was a bit skeptical & nervous about how it would turn up but then i thought it was worth giving a try. 

Procedure

The Rose flavoured sugar in the batter

• I started with whisking two medium sized eggs with a pinch of salt.
• Then I added 30g of sugar (15g of rose flavoured sugar & 15g of normal sugar).
• Creaming the sugar with egg mixture is very important in baking. As I am trying to loose some weight I added 15ml of sunflower oil and 15g of melted butter.
• Next I shifted 50g of flour and half teaspoon of baking powder to the batter. After adding flour its very important to fold it into the mixture.
• I greased the ramekins with butter and flour. Then I poured the mixture into the ramekins and put it inside a preheated oven for 45 mins at 180°C. Voila the muffin was ready to be served.

Just out of the oven

Bottom side of the muffin

When I took the first bite, my palate was filled with the sweetness of rose and I was thrilled with my experiment with the rose flavoured sugar. There is always an advantage when you are open to trying new things. This rosey muffin is as pleasing as the chocolate version. The season of rose may not have started yet this year, but my taste buds were already repleted by the Rose of Provins.