Orange & Rose Tea Cakes

Hey there, Jadamarie! You can usually find rose water in the baking aisle of larger supermarkets, at Middle Eastern or Indian grocery stores, or online if it’s not available locally.

Heyy Meenakshi! Thanks for letting us know, and sorry this one didn’t turn out as expected.

This batter should be on the thicker side, but not dry or crumbly. A few things that can cause it to feel too dry are: measuring the flour a bit too generously (we recommend weighing it to 305 g if possible), using a smaller or less juicy orange than expected (ours yielded 5 Tbsp or 75mL when juiced), or accidentally leaving out one of the liquid ingredients like the oil or soy milk. If the batter ever feels too stiff, adding a small splash of extra soy milk or orange juice should bring it back to the right consistency.

We appreciate you flagging this and are happy to help troubleshoot further if you give the recipe another try :)

Thank you for replying during holidays, that's very kind of you. I used both weighing scale & measuring cups, so I am confident dry ingredient's wt & volume were accurate. I even added a little more orange juice, made sure to add all liquid ingredients, still it turned very chewy. The surface was hard. Maybe it has something to do with my flour. Not sure. Anyways, thank you. I will try to make this again in future, since citrus/ lemon/ vitamin C flavor are my favorite.

Oh of course, our pleasure to help troubleshoot where we can :) And thanks for sharing these updates. You’re absolutely right that flour could be a factor here. Flour can vary quite a bit by country, especially in protein content and how finely it’s milled. In some regions, all-purpose flour behaves more like bread flour, which can lead to a chewier texture and a firmer surface in cakes. Using a softer all-purpose flour, or replacing a small portion with cake flour (if that’s available to you) can help create a more tender cake. A few other things that can also contribute to chewiness or a harder surface are overmixing once the flour is added, or baking slightly longer than needed. With smaller cakes, even small differences in oven temperature can make a noticeable difference.
Thank you again for your thoughtful feedback and for being willing to try the recipe again. I really hope your next batch turns out closer to what you’re hoping for <3

Heyy S! Thanks so much for the rating, and for the feedback. We'll be sure to consider this idea to help us improve and grow 🌻