Easy Red Rose Cake {With Rose Water}

Beautiful easy red rose cake recipe, homemade with simple ingredients. Paired with rose buttercream frosting. Flavored with rose water and vanilla extract and decorated with fresh rose petals.

I woke up one day with this idea in my head about covering a cake in fresh petals. I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to pull this off. All I knew was that there was a vision in my head that had to come alive somehow. Initially, it was going to be a round cake but as I kept toying with the idea in my head and I sketched my design on paper, the heart shape just looked better.

I think this is now the ultimate romantic cake design and perfect for Valentine's Day, weddings, anniversaries, and birthday parties. If you want more ideas for rose inspired desserts, check out my Rosette Cake, Red Rose Cupcakes, and Easy Rose Cookies. You can also learn how to make Easy Fondant Roses (Ribbon Roses) for your next cake decoration. Have fun baking!

Jump to:

• Key ingredients
• Variations
• How to make easy red rose cake recipe from scratch?
• Tips and techniques
• Storage
• Recipe FAQs
• More flower desserts
• Recipe

Key ingredients

• Butter- Use unsalted at room temperature.
• Granulated sugar- The key to almost every sweet baked good.
• Eggs- Be sure they are large and at room temperature.
• Milk- I like to use at least 2% or whole.
• Rose water- Adds that unique touch of rosy taste.
• Vanilla extract- Balances everything out with a warm flavor.
• Cake flour- Can be homemade or store bought.
• All-purpose flour- Don't replace cake flour with this, because you need both for this recipe.
• Baking powder- This will help the cake raise sufficiently.
• Shortening- Helps to stabalize the icing.
• Powdered sugar- Essential in making a great icing.
• Pink gel food coloring- This is optional but a fun addition.
• Roses- So that you can use the petals to decorate the top of the cake.

Variations

• Instead of using fresh rose petals- You can pipe roses on the entire cake using a large star tip like 1M.
• Add some cardamom powder and orange zest- Which really works well with the rose flavor profile. It gives it somewhat of a Persian flavor.
• Sprinkle some chopped pistachios on top- For a pop of green color or use white chocolate shavings for a pop of white color.
• Turn this into a layer cake- I only used one cake for this, but the recipe makes 2, so it can easily be turned into a layered cake. You can use a filling in the center, such as  Whipped Cream, Chocolate Whipped Cream, Strawberry Jam, Chocolate Ganache, Caramel Sauce, or even Homemade Vanilla Custard. You could even do a tiered cake using different sizes of heart shaped pans. You would need to double or even triple the recipe to accomplish this.
• Use other colors of roses- Such as pink, white, or yellow roses. This includes piped roses as well.
• Try adding other combination of extracts and flavors- I used vanilla and rose together because they taste so good together. But you can also use maple, almond, or lemon to name a few.
• Make an ombre cake design- Using red, pink and white flower petals to make a gradient look over the top of the cake.

How to make easy red rose cake recipe from scratch?

Tips and techniques

• Use room temperature ingredients- This includes the milk, eggs, and butter. Let them sit out of the fridge a short while before adding together. This ensures proper mixing.
• Rose powder and rose water cannot be used interchangeably- Because the quantities will need to be adjusted.
• Cake flour is very important- Because it makes your cake more soft and tender because the gluten in it is weaker than regular flour.
• Homemade cake flour is super easy to make- With just mixing 2 tablespoon cornstarch and 1 cup all-purpose flour.
• Adjust the quantity of rose water- In cake batter and icing according to your preference.
• Remove the petals when you finally start eating the cake- Because even though it looks beautiful, it tastes very bitter. 
• Make sure the roses are safe- And not sprayed with any chemicals. Talk to your florist first. 
• Once the rose petals are washed- Be sure to pat them dry on paper towels very well so they are not wet when you start applying them to the cake. 
• Don't over-mix the batter- Because then your cake will be tough and the overall texture won't be great.
• Keep cakes from over-baking- By checking on them at the 30 minute mark.
• I only used one cake here- For decorating and froze the other one to enjoy later. You can use both to make a layer cake, if you like.
• When placing the rose petals- Be sure to start from the outer edges and work your way inwards until you have multiple rows of petals and the entire top is covered.

Storage

• Make ahead- This cake can be made and decorated 2 days in advance and kept in the fridge. You can also make the cake and frosting, then placed in separate sealed containers for up to 2 days before assembling altogether. Even the roses will last in the fridge a few days.
• Room Temperature- I wouldn't leave this cake out long, because the roses will wilt and the frosting can melt if in hot conditions.
• Refrigerate- Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days but the petals will loose their shape. 
• Freeze- An undecorated cake can be placed in a sealed container and placed in the freezer for up to 1 month. Thaw and decorate per instructions below.

Recipe FAQs

More flower desserts

• Tulip Cookies
• Easy Flower Cookies
• Flower Basket Cake (Basketweave)
• Fondant Flower Cake
• Easy Flower Cupcakes (Fondant Pansy)

Recipe