I didn’t make this cake for my Valentine. I made it for ME. I love white chocolate and rose, so I made myself a miniature cake.
It’s not that my Valentine didn’t help me eat this mini cake for two…he just prefers the Chocolate Sour Cream Cake for two that I made a few years ago. Or, the fudge-bottom mini cake. He’s kind of a chocolate guy.
And me? I’m very into vanilla, and I love my mini cake recipe, especially.
I’m also very into roses right now. Rose essential oil, rose petals in my tea, rose water in my smoothies, and edible rose buds from the Persian market.
This cake is packed with rose water. I bought a bottle of the stuff a while ago for my mini strawberry tarts. (<–If you haven’t made that recipe yet, you should–we make it in my cooking classes all the time and people go crazy for the puff-pastry-like crust!) The flavor of rose really makes berries POP. But, rose is pretty lovely on its own, too.
This mini layer cake is fortified with 2 whole tablespoons of rose water. Then, I made a buttercream frosting that I stirred in 1 1/2 tablespoons of rose water. After a little drizzle of white chocolate in the buttercream, it was perfect. My two favorite flavors married. Speaking of married, could this be a mini wedding cake to celebrate your anniversary? Gosh, I hope so. I have a mini wedding cake recipe in the Dessert for Two cookbook, and I think it’s so fun (and not just ‘cuz of the copious amount of whiskey in it, I swear).
If you think it would be fun to make a mini layer cake for Valentine’s Day, I have a few options:
Red Hot Cinnamon Apple Mini Cake (I’m more than a little obsessed with red hots. There, I said it).
Mini Lemon Cake (with lemon curd filling and whipped cream easy frosting)
Mini Chocolate Layer Cakes (made in a brownie pan and cut out with biscuit cutters!)
Mini Lemon Layer Cakes (<–please don’t click that link and see how pregnant I used to be)
Mini Chai Ice Box Cake (with chai whipped cream and salty caramel sauce. Swoon.)
White Chocolate Rose Mini Cake
Mini cake made with white chocolatea and rose petals.
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons rose water
- 1 large egg
- 3/4cup flour
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
For the buttercream:
- 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons rose water
- 2 ounces white chocolate, chopped
- rose buds, for garnish
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350° and grease a 6-inch x 2-inch round cake pan. Line the bottom with a round of parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, beat together with an electric mixer the butter, sugar, and rose water. Beat very well, about 1-2 minutes.
Add the egg and beat until well combined, about 15 seconds.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda. Add half of this to the batter and beat lightly.
Stir in half of the buttermilk and continue beating. Add the remaining dry ingredients and beat, then stir in the remaining buttermilk.
Scrap the batter into the pan, smoothing the top and bake on a small sheet pan for 37-39 minutes, until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Let cool on a wire rack in the pan. Carefully remove the cake from the pan once it has cooled and set aside.
To make the buttercream: in a medium bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and rose water and beat until combined.
Meanwhile, melt the white chocolate in a bowl in the microwave at 50% power for 30 second intervals. Stir between each interval.
Stream the white chocolate into the buttercream, and beat to combine.
Slice the cake in half evenly to make 2 layers.
To frost the cake, layer slightly more than half of the buttercream on top of 1 half of the cake. Gently place the second layer on top.
To make the design as pictured, use a piping bag to make dollops of frosting all around the edges. Then, use a spatula to press the dollop down and towards the middle of the cake.
Decorate the cake with rose buds and serve.
Notes
I use a 6" cake pan with 2" sides to make this mini cake.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 620Total Fat: 31gSaturated Fat: 19gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 104mgSodium: 146mgCarbohydrates: 74gFiber: 0gSugar: 60gProtein: 4g
Hi!
I just made your cake and it was amazing! Thank you!!
However, I followed your recipe exactly but got a very small cake ( I feel like it was equivalent to one layer of your cake) and a whole lot of frosting ( maybe enough for a 9″ cake…?).
I think maybe the cake recipe was supposed to be doubled and the buttercream divided? Not sure.
I will adjust accordingly the next time. Thank you anyway!!
Do u have to use rose water
If you want it to taste like roses, yes. You could sub vanilla, though.
I’ve already made this recipe two times and they have been great both times! I never have buttermilk, so I when I first made it, I substituted milk and lemon juice for buttermilk.
The second time, I also didn’t have buttermilk, but I also didn’t have milk! So what I did was I substituted greek yogurt and water: 1 teaspoon greek yogurt to 2 teaspoons water, (I made half of the recipe for cupcakes) and I think this was a great substitute! It really made the cake fluffier!! I really recommend using greek yogurt and water. I baked the cupcakes for 17 minutes by the way.
All in all, this recipe is one of my favorite recipes, so thank you for sharing your recipe!!
Hi Christina, I tried this cake and love the texture. Although there’s a hint of bitterness to it. Sort of like an aftertaste. Do you think it’s the rose water? I followed your recipe exactly.
Hi Naomi!
This is so strange! I’m wondering…was your butter exposed to any lingering odors in the fridge? And does your rose water smell fresh & lovely? This has happened to be before with old spices and/or stale butter…
Thanks for writing :)
what can u use instead of buttermilk?
milk with a splash of lemon juice or vinegar. Google ‘how to make your own buttermilk’
thank you for the rosewater recipe.. could you clarify, are you supposed to use 4 fresh organic roses or dried? thanks!
dried :)
Hi
Are any of your icing recipes for 6 inch cakes able to be turned into a peanut butter icing?
Try this recipe :) I like your style! And double it, because this is for 4 cupcakes only.
https://www.dessertfortwo.com/chocolate-cupcakes-with-peanut-butter-frosting/