FAIRY BUTTER (1 cup)
“This simple dessert sauce makes a tasty accompaniment to gingerbread – either dotted onto the surface before serving or passed around the table.”
4 large hardboiled egg yolks
5 teaspoons orange flower water
4 to 6 tablespoons sugar (preferably superfine)
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
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1. Mash the egg yolks with the orange flower water. Add the sugar and mix to a smooth paste.
2. Work in the butter until the mixture is smooth and set aside in a cool place for 2 to 3 hours.
3. Press the butter through a strainer into a small serving bowl. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
this recipe, from the website of Mount Vernon, Washington’s Virginia estate, is a modern adaptation of an 18th century original created by culinary historian Nancy Carter Crump for the book Dining with the Washingtons.