More Violets- Simple Syrup & Cheesecake

Violets are amazing- they turn up in the depths of winter and provide such a wonderful lift through the coldest months with their glorious scent, sweet little flowers and their gentle medicine. Last week I popped in to the valley at Keirunga gardens to visit the wild violets under the oak trees and gathered a little basketful of sweetly scented blooms.

 I tried another recipe for making violet syrup this time round. It was so simple and so much fun.

Put 2 cups of violet flowers in to a bowl or jug & pour over them 2 cups of just boiled water.

Cover & let the violets steep for around half an hour.

After this time the colour will have drained from the flowers & the liquid will have become a gorgeous colour. Violet water is highly ph sensitive so your violet "tea" will alter in shade depending on what water you use and what else you add to the syrup.

 The little jug on the left is just the infused water, the one on the right has had a few drops of lemon juice added to it. 

Strain when you're ready & while the liquid is still warm stir in a tbsp of honey (to taste). This violet "syrup can now be stored in the fridge for a week or so, but I wanted to use the syrup so I made a cheesecake. 

I used my trusty base of 1/3 cup each of broken cashews, walnut pieces and coconut, 

add 4 or 5 soft dates (remove the stones first) 

Add a tbsp of melted coconut oil and briefly combine in a food processor until mixed to a fine crumb. Press in to a greased springform tin. I used two small tins.

The middle layer is so simple and tastes quite a lot like milk bottle lollies.

Gently warm a tin of coconut milk in a small pot until the fats have melted. Cool, pour most of the milk in to a bowl. Add 1 tsp vanilla essence, and a tbsp of honey and stir to dissolve. 

Add 2 tsps of gelatine to the remaining 1/2 cup of coconut milk in the pot. Stand a few minutes and allow to bloom. Then heat gently, stirring to dissolve the gelatine. Mix the two lots together in the bowl and pop in to the fridge. 

Now go through the same process for the violet syrup. Add some more lemon juice to the syrup if you like as it enhances the flavour of the violets. Pour a little of the cooled violet syrup in to a bowl and sprinkle over 2 tsps of gelatine. Allow to bloom. Heat for 30 seconds in the microwave, or in a small pot. Stir to dissolve. Cool- add back in to the main syrup and stir well. 

Now pour the coconut mixture over the base and return to the fridge.

When the mixture is just set, pour over the violet jelly very gently.

Chill for several hours or overnight until well set.

For a firmer jelly add an extra 1/2 tsp of gelatine to each layer.

 It seems like a strange thing to do- head to the river for a picnic in winter, but honestly winter picnics are wonderful! This is one of our favourite spots up Ellis Wallace road alongside the Esk river. In under the hawthorn bushes there can be found a carpet of wild violets.

The spring flowers were gathered at Pandora Pond on our journey here- we mostly picked the ones with broken or bent stems that would otherwise have been wasted.

  I even found a little patch of white violets on this visit- perfect for the top of our little cheesecake.

 I made a decoction of Silver Linden flowers and bracts (simmered for 15 minutes with half a cinnamon stick) and short brewed Sagewood and Elderflower tea. Such a glorious fragrant combination that was perfect for sipping in the outdoors...

while eating such a delicious and delicate treat.

More about using violets just here.

And the recipe for violet honey cough syrup here.

Katie X