Rosewater Cake + Cupcakes

Hello, friends. Let’s have summery rose-flavored cake and iced tea together out in the sun!

Here are some things I love:
1) Six-inch cake pans.
2) Birthdays.
3) Rosewater.

Why do I love these things? First. Six-inch cake pans give you the excuse to make not just cake, but also cupcakes. There are very few cake recipes that make just enough batter for a six-inch cake. Most of the time you’ll have enough left over for cupcakes. Like these guys!

This cake is moist and light and fluffy. For a little cupcake, all you need is a dollop of fresh whipped cream, lightly flavored with vanilla.

Two. BIRTHDAYS! I love it when friends have birthdays because I have an excuse to make a cake. And I really love it when friends with adventurous tastes have birthdays. Because then I can get quirky with my cake flavors.

I knew my friend, Shannon, who is an artist, educator, gardener, and lover of food, would appreciate a cake with an unusual flavor. It was time to go for the rose. (By the way, are you wondering why the inside layer is green!? It’s because that’s Shannon’s favorite color! I had to have some kind of surprise in there since it was a birthday cake!)

Rosewater is a tricky ingredient. Too much and it’s soapy, too little and it’s a bit odd. But just enough is magic. Unable to find a summery rose-flavored cake (most of the ones I found used cardamom, which felt too heavy to me), I adapted a plain cake recipe, went sparingly on the rosewater, and hoped for the best.

Which brings me to… Three. Rosewater! Oh goodness. The cake is soft, subtle, and tricks you into thinking it’s just a normal, albeit awesome, vanilla cake. Until you get the hint of rose. Floral, sweet. Not overpowering. Just there in the background, being lovely. And the frosting is super-sweet, giving you a break from the flowery flavor, just for a little bit.

I am completely in love with this cake. (And by the way, it’s all thanks to Sweetapolita–whose recipes are divine and have worked beautifully every time I’ve tried them.) I highly recommend this recipe for a celebration–or just for summer fun!

Rosewater Cake + Cupcakes
Makes 1 six-inch, two-layer cake and about 8 cupcakes

I followed Sweetapolita’s amazing Funfetti Layer Cake with Whipped Vanilla Frosting recipe nearly to a T, and I can’t do justice to her fabulously detailed instructions. So read my adjustments below (very minor), then visit her site. And TRUST ME: Follow those directions! They give you the details down to the minutes to beat and whip. Worth taking your time! Anyway, my tweaks:

To make the Layer Cake into Rosewater Cake:

• Omit almond extract from batter.
• Add a scant 1 tsp of rosewater to the batter.
• Use only about 1 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract.
• Fill cake pans 1/2 full. You WILL have leftover batter.
• These cakes took me about 40 minutes. However, as Sweetapolita instructs, check around 20 minutes.
• Cupcakes take about 15 minutes in the oven at the same temperature as the cake. I topped them with a simple, barely-sweetened whipped cream.

I followed the Whipped Vanilla Frosting recipe and it was incredible. For real, the best frosting I’ve ever made. However, a word of warning: DO NOT REFRIGERATE THE FROSTING, EVER! Refrigerate the cake itself after the crumb coat, but I would actually also recommend not refrigerating the cake after you finish frosting it. Put a big bowl over the cake then saran wrap to keep airtight.

Keeps for about a week.

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