Orange and lemon flavoured sugars can be used in place of ordinary sugar to give a zesty fruit flavour to dishes. Grate the rind of 1 orange or lemon on the finest possible grater and mix with castor sugar, allowing 4 oz (100g) sugar per 1 orange or lemon. Using a wooden spoon, work the sugar and rind together. The sugar will take on the colour of the fruit and absorb flavouring oils. Spread the sugar out on a square of greaseproof paper or kitchen foil and set in a warm place to dry. Crush any lumps and store in a covered jar.
- Use flavoured sugar instead of ordinary castor sugar when making sandwich cakes.
- Use lemon sugar in apple pie and orange sugar to sweeten any dessert recipe using rhubarb.
- Either is nice sprinkled over pancakes.
- Make sugared rims on individual serving glasses to add a lovely touch to serving ice creams or I sorbets, especially lemon or orange sorbets.
Sugared fruits make a pretty buffet table centrepiece especially when they are combined with citrus fruits and walnuts in their shells. Small bunches of sugared grapes look pretty as a garnish on cold ham and tiny clusters of redcurrants are lovely on desserts.
All you will need is an egg white and castor sugar for coating plus fruits that have been washed, dried and polished with a cloth. The egg white should only he broken up with a fork until runny not beaten which would add volume to it. Sprinkle a bed of castor sugar over a sheet of greaseproof paper. Brush the fruit with the egg white I use a small paint brush. It’s best not to paint the entire surface of apples and pears: a streaked effect running from stalk downwards is more attractive. Roll the fruit in the bed of sugar to give a pretty frosted look. The sugary coating will quickly dry.
Sugared grapes: Have grapes in small clusters of 2 or 3. Dab the top of each grape with egg white, then roll the fruit in the bed of sugar.