Rose cake

Last Friday was my birthday, I turned 27. Despite some stomach problems I decided to make my birthday cake although it wasn't a red velvet cake, as I initially had been thinking, but a basic vanilla cake with rose decoration.

I don't really feel like telling what supposes for me to have turned 27, nor think about what I'll do or won't do, what I want or don't want... I don't want to, but I don’t lye if I say that during the last few weeks, even months, these questions have been occupying my whole time and energy. What I want here, now, is just to be positive and keep going on, trusting in myself and in people around me and to celebrate these 27 years, accepting them as best as possible. And this cake really helps me... of course it does!

Today's cake is a vanilla rose cake filled with cream cheese and strawberry jam. I used an old recipe for the basic cake which I don't know from it came from. The truth is that after making some different recipes for these kinds of cakes, I have decided I'll always use my "genoise" recipe, which is butter free. I haven't found any other better than that.

For the rose decoration you can find lots of tutorials on the net, but I have to say it's a really easy technique. I recommend you to practice with some roses before starting with the cake.

Rose cake

For the cake:

- 2 cup (250g) flour

- 1 cup (225g) sugar

- 2/3 cup butter at room temperature. 

- 4 eggs

- 2/4 cup milk

- 1tsp baking powder

- 1 tsp salt

- 2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 180º. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, the salt and the baking powder. In another bowl, separate the egg yolks and the whites and whip these egg whites on high speed until peaks form. Reserve. 

In a large bowl, beat the butter for two minutes, add sugar and keep beating until the mixture becomes creamy and pale yellow. Add the egg yolks, one by one, until it is perfectly combined. It is the time to add vanilla extract. 

Add about 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until combined; alternate the flour with the milk until all ingredients are added. 

Finally, add the whipped egg whites and fold carefully until the mixture is smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 180º for about 45 minutes. Let it cool for 10 minutes before unmolding. 

For the filling: 

- 1 cup (250g) cream cheese.

- 1 tbsp strawberry puree

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

Beat the cream cheese with the strawberry puree until smooth.

For the buttercream frosting:

- 1 cup (250g) butter. 

- 1 cup and 1/3 caster sugar.

- 1 tbsp strawberry puree

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

Beat the butter until creamy and yellow pale; add the caster sugar, slowly, while beating. Add the vanilla extract and strawberry puree.