Rosewater & Raspberry Cake

Updated 05/06/2021

I made this cake as a 9 inch round cake and frosted it with whipped cream. An easy dessert cake best for Mothers day or take along summer bbq dessert. Fleshy in season peaches will be great in here. If you don't get raspberries where you live, try any local berries which are sweet and tart.

Orginal Post 04/21/2014

The idea of this rosewater cake came into being about three years back when I first baked a layered cake with raspberries stuffed in between the layers and covered in floral frosting. I was a novice baker, just wanted to use a newly owned oven in the apartment and experiment. If I remember correctly, I baked it for our second or third valentine's day and it was a hit. We instantly loved this combination and it was so fascinating to see how a strong floral extract from east and tart berries from the west, from different parts of the world can compliment each other so well and create pure, delicious magic inside the oven. I did not bake it again for many years for no reasons whatsoever.

A couple of weeks back he asked for a buttery cake, while hunting down the bakery gear, I got hold of a small bottle of rosewater at the back of the pantry and this straightforward cake recipe was born.This is such an easy recipe with simple ingredients. If not berries, peaches work great here as well.

I always find the floral notes in food a bit tricky to work with because it's difficult to decipher how much of it could be just right. And the flavors change equations inside the oven as well so just a plain tasting or sniffing the batter would not help that much. I would recommend to use a tested rose-water brand while baking this cake. Do not pick up a new brand because then you will not be figure out how much is too much or too little.In my first attempt, the rosewater got a little strong so I reduced the quantity in the second.

This cake is neither too dense or too spongy, it has a good structure, its not too sweet and I was surprised at how robust the crumb and the inside of it came out. Floral flavors make one of the most exotic and special gifts and I am pretty sure that my mom would have loved this cake over a bunch of roses only if she lived close by. The cake will travel very well if you want to bake and drive it down to your mom's house on mother's day. It makes a great work or school lunchbox option.

You could fold the raspberries with the batter or add on top, I just think that they look prettier on top unless you plan to frost it. Enjoy as a tea cake or frost with whipped cream or serve with a side of whipped cream, raspberry compote and some extra berries.