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–+ servings
front shot of vanilla rose cake on marble board with roses and white flowers on top, a plate with a rose petal beside, stack of plates, and red roses in a glass behind.

Vanilla Rose Layer Cake

Sweet, floral, and oh-so pretty! This effortlessly gorgeous Vanilla Rose Layer Cake is the perfect cake to bake this Valentine's Day.
Course: Desserts
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings: 10 servings
Calories: 736kcal

Ingredients

Cake

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 large eggs room temperature
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon rose water

Frosting

  • 1½ cups salted butter room temperature
  • 4 cups powdered sugar sifted
  • 2 Tablespoons heavy cream
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ⅛ teaspoon rose water

Instructions

Cake

  • Heat oven to 350℉/177℃.
  • Spray three 6-inch round pans with baking spray. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
  • Add milk, eggs, vegetable oil, vanilla, and rose water.
  • Whisk until smooth.
  • Divide evenly into prepared pans.
  • Bake for 20 minutes, or until cake tests done.
  • Let cool in pan 10-15 minutes.
  • Turn out onto cooling rack to finish cooling.

Frosting

  • With an electric mixer, beat butter until creamy.
  • Add powdered sugar.
  • Beat until smooth.
  • Beat in cream, vanilla, and rose water.

Assembly

  • Level cake layers, if needed.
  • Place one cake layer on cake plate and spread with a layer of frosting.
  • Repeat with second layer.
  • Add third layer.
  • Frost entire cake.
  • Decorate as desired.

Notes

Expert Tips:
  • If you'd like a little less rose-forward flavoring in this cake, use ⅛ teaspoon of rose water instead of 1/4.
  • Be careful to not over-mix the cake batter.
  • When dividing the cake batter, it's best to use a ladle and a scale to help ensure each cake layer is even!
  • If you're unsure if the cake is baked, you can use a cake tester or a toothpick to test the cakes. If it comes out clean, the cake is fully baked!
  • Let the cake layers cool COMPLETELY before assembling the cake.
  • Depending on how the cakes bake, you may or may not need to level the cake layers.
  • If you'd like, when frosting this cake, you can do a crumb coat.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 736kcal | Carbohydrates: 88g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 42g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 117mg | Sodium: 504mg | Potassium: 90mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 68g | Vitamin A: 989IU | Vitamin C: 0.02mg | Calcium: 97mg | Iron: 1mg