Rose Water Pistachio Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and Rose Petal Garnish Recipe
This Rose Water Pistachio Cake is a delicate and elegant dessert featuring a moist pistachio-infused sponge lightly scented with rose water and topped with a creamy rose-flavored cream cheese frosting. Perfect for special occasions or teatime, it combines the nutty richness of pistachio butter with floral notes, finished with beautiful rose petal decoration.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
Scale
Cake Batter
- 200g unsalted butter, softened
- 200g caster sugar
- 1 tsp rose water
- 120g pistachio butter
- 60g white chocolate, melted
- 3 eggs
- 120ml buttermilk or 120g plain Greek style yoghurt
- 200g self-raising flour
Rose Cream Cheese Icing
- 200g icing sugar (confectioners)
- 125g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 120g cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2 tsp rose powder
- 1 tsp rose water
Decoration
- Fresh, dried, or freeze-dried rose petals for decoration
Instructions
- Preheat oven and prepare tin: Preheat your oven to 170°C (338°F) and line a 20cm round cake tin with baking parchment or grease it to prevent sticking.
- Beat butter, sugar, and rose water: In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the softened butter, caster sugar, and rose water together until the mixture becomes pale and creamy to incorporate air for a light texture.
- Combine pistachio butter and white chocolate: In a separate bowl, mix the pistachio butter and melted white chocolate until smooth. Add this mixture to the butter and sugar blend and mix well until fully combined.
- Add eggs and dairy: Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Then pour in the buttermilk or Greek yoghurt and mix until everything is fully combined.
- Add flour: Sift in the self-raising flour and gently mix on low speed until smooth and homogeneous, taking care not to overmix to avoid a tough cake.
- Bake the cake: Transfer the batter into the prepared tin, smooth the top, and bake for 50 minutes. Then loosely cover with foil and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool the cake: Let the cake cool in the tin for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire rack, positioning the cake with the bottom side facing up to provide a flat surface for icing.
- Prepare the rose cream cheese icing: Beat the icing sugar, unsalted butter, cream cheese, rose powder, and rose water together until smooth and creamy.
- Ice and decorate: Spread the rose-flavored cream cheese icing evenly over the top and sides of the cooled cake. Decorate with fresh, dried, or freeze-dried rose petals.
- Serve and store: The cake serves about 8 people. Store in the refrigerator due to the cream cheese icing and bring to room temperature before serving for best flavor.
Notes
- Use softened butter and room temperature cream cheese for the smoothest icing texture.
- If you cannot find pistachio butter, finely ground pistachios blended with a little oil can be used as a substitute.
- Rose water and rose powder can vary in strength; adjust to taste if desired.
- This cake is best stored refrigerated due to the cream cheese icing; allow it to warm slightly before serving for optimal flavor.
- You can substitute buttermilk with plain Greek yogurt to maintain moisture and texture.
Keywords: Rose Water Cake, Pistachio Cake, Cream Cheese Icing, Floral Cake, Elegant Dessert