A White Wedding Cake with Roses

This elegant two-layer white wedding cake is infused with delicate rosewater and baked with edible rose petals for a light, floral flavor. Finished with a soft, creamy frosting and more rose petals on top, this stunning cake perfect for a small wedding, spring gathering, or any special occasion.

I have often shared with you how I could live forever in a garden filled with flowers. Despite my allergies towards these often breath-taking beauties, I absolutely adore flowers. My wedding bouquet was simple: an elegant bunch of purple calle lilies, my favorite bud.

Since then, I have added hydrangeas, camelias and my latest, peonies to my list of favorites. Of course, I also cherish orchids, dahlias, hyacinths, tulips and  the ranunculus. Quite honestly, I can’t choose which one is my favorite anymore.

But being half Persian, there’s nothing more majestic than the rose. And to celebrate spring, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day or just because, there’s no other majestic dessert than this white rose cake.

Are roses edible? Really??!!

Americans seem surprised when I tell them that roses are edible. Many are afraid to try a dish covered in roses. But, yes roses ARE edible. Just make sure that they are pesticide free and organic.

I usually use dried rose petals in my dishes. They are still very aromatic and they retain their color once baked. Fresh roses, especially when chopped or cut, start to oxidize and wither. So remember to treat them delicately.

Although this cake uses fresh roses for both inside and outside of the cake, you can substitute and use dried rose petals for the inside of the cake. You can also garnish the cake on the outside with dried rose petals. I like to crush them and scatter dried rose petals onto anything that needs a pop of color or a touch of floral.

What flowers are edible?

You’ll be happy to know that roses aren’t the only edible flowers you can nibble on from the garden. All of those fresh herbs you grow in the garden? They have blooms and yes, their edible. So are popular flowers like marigolds, hibiscus, impatiens, pansies and violets.

Before you eat a flower, do double check and make sure it is edible. Here’s a great list of edible flowers to use as a reference, if you’re interested.

Is this a Persian Love Cake?

If you are a reader of my blog, you know that I am half Persian. I have been raised with Persian food and I cook even more Persian food for my family regularly. In all of the family dinners I’ve eaten, family weddings I have attended, family parties I have enjoyed, I have never ever been served or eaten or heard of a Persian Love Cake.

From what I’ve read online, the Persian Love Cake is from Australia and is an ode to Persian flavors. It is made with both all purpose flour and almond meal. It is also made with aromatic cardamom, rose water and saffron.

Online I have seen mostly non-Persian bloggers post about the Persian Love Cake in one way, shape or form. They range from white cakes made with just flour, some do not contain any saffron at all, but all have some form of roses, rosewater and of course, cardamom.

So, could this White Rose Cake be the illusive Persian Love Cake? Well, it is studded with the symbolic flower of love, the rose. It is baked with rose petals, rosewater and cardamom. When you look at this white rose cake, it certainly screams love to me. And I’m half Persian, so why not call this a Persian Love Cake?!

What does this cake taste like?

Remember taste is a sensation not just from your taste buds but also from the smell. This white rose cake has a wonderful floral flavor in the cake itself, in the cream cheese frosting and from the rose petals you use to garnish your cake.

I have recently reworked this recipe and this white cake texture is fluffy like a white wedding cake. I have made it with frosting and with just a simple icing drizzle and it is fantastic!

I have reworked this recipe to make a 2-layer 8-inch cake. It can also be baked into a standard sized bundt pan. As written, it can feed 10-14 people depending on how large you cut the slices.

Feel free to double or triple the recipe if you are feeding a crowd!

Remember, you can choose to eat, or not eat, the rose petals on the cake. I am happy to report, that everyone who had consumed the cake with the petals are still smiling and standing tall!

Have you ever added flowers to your meal? What did you think?

White Wedding Cake with Roses

Laura Bashar | Family Spice

This elegant two-layer white wedding cake is infused with delicate rosewater and baked with edible rose petals for a light, floral flavor. Finished with a soft, creamy frosting and more rose petals on top, this stunning cake perfect for a small wedding, spring gathering, or any special occasion.

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Prep Time 45 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 25 minutes mins

Course Cakes

Cuisine Persian

Servings 12

Calories 657 kcal

Ingredients

  

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Cake Ingredients

• 2 ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 6 egg whites
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 2 TBS rosewater
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ cup fresh rose petals finely chopped

Frosting Ingredients

• 12 oz cream cheese softened
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon rosewater
• 1 ½ cup heavy cream

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Instructions

 

Bake the cake.

• Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat 2 8-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray and line the bottom of each pan with parchment paper.
• In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cardamom and salt. If using crushed dried roses, you can mix them in here. If using fresh roses, you will add them later.
• Beat oil and sugar at medium speed with a hand-held mixer light and fluffy.
• Mix in milk, rosewater and vanilla.
• In two batches, add flour mixture and whisk until just combined. Do not over mix.
• If using fresh roses, gently mix in ¼ cup rose petals. You do not want to damage them from aggressive mixing. If using dried rose petals, you should have added them in step 2. If not, add them now and mix until incorporated.
• Clean your beaters then whip the egg whites at medium speed until stiff peaks form. Gently fold egg whites into the cake batter.
• Divide batter evenly into the 2 prepared cake pans and bake until golden, about 35-40 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
• Let the cakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Gently remove them from the pans and place the cakes on a cooling rack and let it cool completely before frosting.

Make the frosting

• In a medium-sized bowl whisk cream cheese, sugar and rosewater until smooth.
• In a separate bowl, using a clean mixer, whisk heavy cream until stiff peaks are formed, about 5 minutes.
• Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in ¼ of the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture until incorporated. Fold in the remaining whipped cream.
• Add a schmear of frosting in the center of your cake stand and place one cake layer over it. Level the top with a serrated knife.
• Place a large scoop of frosting and evenly spread over the top of the cake.
• Using a serrated knife, level off your second cake layer. Invert cake and place cut side down over the bottom frosted cake. Frost the top of the cake as well as the sides of the cake until evenly coated.
• Decorate the cake with 1 cup rose petals.
• Chill cake in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving.

Notes

This recipe creates an 8-inch 2-layer cake, that can serve 10-14 people, depending on how large you cut the slices. Nutritional information is set for 12 servings.

Serving Suggestions: Rose petals are edible. Please make sure that the roses you choose are organic and pesticide-free. You can also add slices of fresh strawberries between the layers of cake.

You can also use dried roses, too. These culinary roses are easier to find than fresh roses. For the cake you can use 2 teaspoons of crushed dried rose petals. For the frosting you can use as much or as little crushed dried rose petals as you like. I suggest decorating the outside of the cake with fresh roses and bake the interior with dried.

Another option is to bake this in a bundt pan. If you do this, you can drizzle the cooled cake with a simple icing. Mix 1-cup of powdered sugar with ½-teaspoon of rosewater. Then stir in tiny amounts of water until you reach a pouring consistency. Drizzle this over your bundt cake and decorate with crushed dried roses or fresh.

Nutrition

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 657kcalCarbohydrates: 65gProtein: 8gFat: 42gSaturated Fat: 16gPolyunsaturated Fat: 13gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 65mgSodium: 298mgPotassium: 151mgFiber: 1gSugar: 45gVitamin A: 851IUVitamin C: 0.2mgCalcium: 117mgIron: 1mg

Keyword persian love cake, rose cake, white rose cake

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Nutrition Disclaimer

Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.

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