ok, but also this one!

Vertical Layer Rose Cake

I have been dreaming about this cake for about a month.

Dreaming of layers that went up and down instead of horizontally.

Dreaming of obscene amounts of delicate frosting roses.

Dreaming of a variety of flavors.

And finally, my dream has come true.

Normally I share recipes and techniques and design aspects and every detail I can think of sharing… and maybe I will do that if anyone cares to know. But for now, I just want to enjoy it.
Why?

Because tomorrow (Feb. 1st) is my birthday. And I wanted to make myself a cake! (thats me getting sassy with myself)
I just want to sit back, relax, and have a piece.
But I do wish I could share it with you.
Cause man oh man…
It. Is. Good.

and the tutorial...

Rose Cake Tutorial

February 3, 2011

SO excited to share with you how easy it is to make the rose cake. (Video tutorial here.  In four minutes I frost an entire three layer Rose Cake!)
Seriously, once you see you are going to run right out, buy a 1M tip, and make one.
That or go back to work. Or bed. Or whatever it was you were doing before I interrupted you.
Ok, here we go!
There were two main components to this cake.
The vertical layer interior and the frosting rose exterior.

I am going to do a vertical layer tutorial at a different time, (updated: you can see it HERE) as I did not get any pictures of it this go around and it is IMPOSSIBLE to explain without pictures. What I can tell you is, I did not make a sponge cake that I simple rolled up. I actually made two separate cakes and assembled them into the vertical layer pattern.
Now for the frosting rose tutorial!
I promise you, this could NOT be easier. Bakers have been putting frosting roses on cupcakes forever by simply using a 1M decorators tip. That is all I did!!
(I need to mention… before I froze my cake I poured a simple syrup over it. This helped to retain moisture as well as assist in binding the layers together… just be careful to not use to much!)
Start with your cake. I put a good crumb coat on… as in, a crumb coat that conceals the cake underneath. It can be sloppy and uneven, but you should not be able to see what color the cake is.

Put your 1M tip (or any large open star tip) into the pastry bag then fill it up with buttercream frosting.

If you have an appropriately sized coupler you can use that, or you can just insert the tip into the bag and cut off the excess.

To make your rose, start in the center, then slowly move your tip in a circle around the center point. I wanted a single rose to span the side of the cake so I looped around my center point twice.
Try to end in the same place each time.

Go all the way around the cake and complete with one last rose!

This is how it looks after completing the circumference of the cake.

Then go back and add the roses to the top using the same method.

When making flowers that big, you are bound to have some ‘dead’ space in there. Can you see that big empty spot up there?
My first instinct was to go back in and add dollops of stars… but I think I found a better way!

Instead go in and make a swoop with your tip. (try and go in the same direction as the rose right next to it)
In the overall design it seems to fit in better then the star dollop!

At least, I hope so anyway.
Now… if you are really adventurous and want to add some color to your cake…

You can pick up some of these.

I did a light dusting of yellow then went back over it with the pink. I have to admit, all white is still my favorite, but I love the flexibility of being able to add some color.
I think a deep red would be stunning on a Valentines Day cake! If you try that, be sure to send pictures! Or just add it to my flickr group!
Here are my tips to finding success:
1. Use a good crusting buttercream recipe. I used my new favorite and loved how it worked. You will want to make sure the frosting is not creamy though… for the tutorial cake I used a creamier version and the roses did not holdtheirshape as well.
2. Make sure you have enough frosting! Those roses use a lot… I would make the whole batch of the above recipe.
3. Put your cake in the fridge after you are done with decorating to help them set up and retain their shape.
4. Have FUN with it! Those roses are so forgiving. But if you find that you really dislike how they are turning out, just scrape them off and start over!