My English Rose Cake

My English Rose Cake 

If you want to Crystalize your own Rose Petals, do it a day before you bake this cake.


Shopping List:

350 gr butter, softened
500 gr soft light brown sugar
6 large eggs, free range
200 gr full-fat natural yoghurt
500 gr plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder (backing)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon rosewater ( i used steenbergs organic, bought at a health shop)

For the rose syrup, icing and cream:

140 gr soft light brown sugar
1 to 2 teaspoons rosewater ( depends on the strenght of the water and your taste)
85 gr raspberries, plus 100 gr to decorate ( You can use defrosted raspberries)
250 gr icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
300 ml double cream

Rose petals and crystalized rose petals. ( see step by step by Conny Bakes) to decorate with.


Preheat your oven to 160C. Grease, spray and line 3 x 20cm loose bottomed springform cake tins. Use the one-in-all method for the cake, by putting all the ingredients in one of your largest bowls. Beat with your electric whisk until well combined. Divide your mixture between your prepared 3 tins. If you only have 2, use a little bowl to put the rest of the 1/3 batter in. When the two cakes are ready use one of the then empty tins to bake the 3rd cake. 
Bake in your preheated oven for about 50 minutes and use your cake tester to see if they are done. Leave to cool in the tin for at least 10 minutes and then let them cool completely on your wire rack.

Make the rose syrup: Put the sugar in a pan with 100 ml water and heat until the sugar has dissolved. Then you turn up the heat and let it bubble for about 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the rose water. Mind that you start with 1 teaspoon and taste it. Be careful as the syrup is hot!
Spoon half of the syrup over the 3 sponges and set it aside.

In a bowl, add 2 tablespoons of syrup and the vanilla extract to the double cream and whisk it until it holds soft peaks. Mind that you use cold cream as that whisks the best, straight from the fridge is best. Chill until needed.
Add 2 tablespoons of the syrup to the raspberries and crush them with a fork. Push the raspberries through a sieve into a bowl and get rid of the seeds. Sift in the icing sugar and mix to a smooth raspberry icing. Not too thin, not too thick.

To put the cake together, place one cake ( i used the one which looked the biggest) flat side up, on a plate or your cake stand. It  will be sticky from the syrup. Top with half of the cream and 1/3 of the remaining raspberries. Sandwich another cake on top, and add the reamaing cream, ( i left somewhat for the top cake) another third of the raspberries and then your last cake.
Pour and smooth the raspberry icing over the top, letting it pour and drizzle down the sides of the 3 cakes. I used fresh, clean rose petals (from English Roses) to decorate and you can also decorate it with home made crystalized rose petals. There are several recipes for this on the net.
If you want to order them on-line, be careful, they cost a fortune and break easily.

This cake yields about 15 slices.

                                                              "Enjoy"