I love violets. I have always loved violets. They are Nature’s minute signature of perfection. I never laid my eyes on a blue or a purple flower when I was young, so I am crazy about them. The possibility of their existence seemed surreal. That’s probably why I grew to love irises, crocuses, purple sweet peas and the princess of them all: violets. They are so petite and delicate, velvety and sparkly. And of course, intensely purple.

I discovered the flavour of a violet at Glups, that little famous candy store tucked into a side mall on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. It was most definitely a “coming home” moment for me. It tasted exactly like I imagined a violet would taste. The elusive perfumed essence was my violet purple flavour. This was the flavour of my colour purple.

I became obsessed. I planted every kind of purple violet that I could find that grew in our Alberta zone 3 climate. I was the woman at Holes each spring, nose deep in the violets, madly sniffing, subtly, and not so subtly, sampling the tiny delicate buds trying to recapture that elusive perfumed essence.

I gave up. Kind of. I still have my ear to the ground, but I have settled on the most precious little beauty called “Bowles Black Violet”.

It is completely flavourless, which is such a pity, as it is delightfully delicious to spot peeking out from under a leaf in the spring garden. I taught myself how to preserve the fragile petals with a dusting of superfine sugar. They last a long time in a cool, dry place and I still get silly with excitement every single time I take one out of my little can with the tweezers and place it on a tart or a truffle. They are so much more special than the ones I bought in Nice at Confiseries Florian though I was tickled pink with those at the time..

I do long for the violet taste, but as the sugared violets are simply so stunning and my tribute to that elusive perfumed essence, I am satisfied. Revel in the spirit of my serious frivolity!

Making Sugared or Candied Violets:

Ingredients and Equipment:

violets, as many as you want to do

2 T   extra fine sugar

1 t    albumen

water

size 0 paint brush

small scissors

tweezers

paper towel

small containers for the water, sugar, and albumen

a tray to dry the violets, covered with paper towel

a tin to store dried violets in, preferably with parchment paper layers

Instructions:

Pick some violets

Put them into water to keep while you do them one at a time

Take 1 t albumen and mix it well with about 2 T water, until it is the consistency of a smooth egg white

Holding the violet by the stem, paint the albumen onto the face of the violet

Place the violet face down on paper towel

Paint the back of the violet

Liberally sprinkle the back of the violet with extra fine sugar

Pick it up, and carefully sprinkle a miniscule amount of extra fine sugar over the face of the violet, covering the surface of each petal

Place it face down on the paper towel again, and carefully snip off the stem

Using tweezers, lift it to turn it over, and place it on a tray to dry for 12 hours or over night

Store in a cool, dry place when dried until ready to use

See the slide show titled " Violet Sugaring" in my  Prairie Summers album.

See the slide show titled Christmas Tarts in my A Prairie Christmas album to see these garnishing my lemon tarts.

Vanja is my husband, and I make a tiramisu for his birthday every year and sometimes more than that. It has been our family's "special occasion" cake for several years now. He loves the luscious thick mascarpone cream oozing between the Grand Marnier and espresso soaked biscuits. I love that it is a new addition to my traditional Prairie Farm recipes, and a beautiful fit within our evolving culinary landscape.

I am all about tradition, but I am also all about change. I am always whipping up what I think is a delectable and delightful little tidbit for him to sample and savour. Yet, he is not eager to be my human guinea pig. How grateful is that? I really do believe that most of the creations I concoct are actually quite titillating, so I am not sympathetic to his resistance. However, I am motivated, or should I say "persuaded", when he starts shuffling from room to room with his hands in his pockets, or snivelling through the house opening and closing the fridge and cupboard doors with reckless abandon and a crazed: "Why isn't there anything good to eat around here?!" look electrifying his face.  Time for Tiramisu!

Tiramisu Recipe

Ingredients and Equipment

2 x 500 ml Mascarpone Cheese

2 pkgs Lady Fingers (4 packets in each)

1 dozen extra large eggs

12 scant Tbsps white sugar

1 ½ cup strong espresso, OR

3T instant Espresso into 1 ½ c hot water

¾  cup Kahlúa or Grand Marnier

1 10” spring form pan

Instructions

Separate Eggs

Put yolks in a small bowl you will not need

Put whites in the largest mixing bowl (assuming you are using a Kitchen Aid, or something similar)

Whites: Largest Mixing Bowl

Make sure the eggs and mascarpone are at room temp

Beat the whites with a pinch of  salt until soft peaks are formed (and a wee bit longer)

Transfer whites to another bowl

Egg Yolks: Largest Mixing Bowl (that the whites were just in)

Place the yolks in the largest mixing bowl

Add the sugar to the yolks, and beat until dissolved, and thick, foamy, and creamy

Add the cheese to the yolk mixture, 500ml at a time

Beat until thick, light, and creamy

Biscuits: Spring Form Pan

While the mixture is beating, prepare the espresso

Pour it into a shallow dish with sides

Add the Kahlúa (or Grand Marnier) to the espresso, and dip each side of each Lady Finger into it, very quickly (These absorb a lot of liquid very quickly, so don’t take your eyes off of them!)

Line the sides, then the bottom of the spring form pan with the biscuits, sugar side in (depending upon the quality of the biscuit – the best side faces out)

Putting it Together:

Fold the whites carefully into the yolk mixture, retaining as much air as possible

Using a large scoop, or measuring cup, gently ladle the cream mixture over the bottom layer of biscuits.  Each layer will take three very

generous (heaping) cupfuls of cream

Dip more biscuits into the espresso liquid, and place them on top of the cream to cover it. Repeat with a lush layer of the cream, and another layer of biscuits dipped in the espresso liquid

Finish the final layer with the remaining cream

Freeze immediately. After 6-8 hours, wrap the torte tightly with plastic wrap

This will keep beautifully for at least three months

(I will be posting a photo here of a Tiramisu that I have decorated for service - but I don't have one on file! So, soon to come!)