La Vie en Rose

Sunday is always about being in a happy mind space - a place which is decluttered and well un-winded to set right the tone for the week ahead . For me - it is about spending a part of the afternoon baking my favorite bakes while listening to my favorite tunes and rebooting into life with an onset of a myriad happy moods and content hues . Did I tell you that apart from Lemon , Rose happens to be my second most favorite flavor and I absolutely & totally adore anything rose like , be it the flower or in tea or as wine or perfume . The beauty of this essence is in its subtle & delicate notes which are very intense & statement, both at the same it . Beautifully still , rose elevates everything paired along with it into a rhythm which is characteristically floral, fruity, perfume like and off course , needless to mention , sweet smelling ....

Most think of rose as a feminine flavor and hence any rose flavored confection would be ideal for a bridal or a baby shower dessert but for fan's like me it holds quite a common place in the kitchen and more often than not , gets liberally used to replace Vanilla essence . When I am not doing tea cakes , I am thinking of decadent middle eastern baklava mildly flavored with rose pastry-cream filling and an overdose of nuts or simply , a chilled milk based Indian Payesh subtly flavored with rose essence and nuts ....

A general douse of rose essence paired along with a pinch of cardamom imparts a perfect balance to this light and moist tea cake that I made today . Topped with a light and dreamy mascarpone cream icing , it is definitely worth your quick try ...Do take a look !

Things you will need to bake the cake

• 02 cups of well sifted plain self rising flour

• 02 tsp baking powder

• 01 cup of finely granulated sugar

• 200 gms of butter ( at room temperature)

• 03 medium sized eggs

• 03 tbsp of water mixed with 03 tbsp. of yogurt

• 01 tbsp of rose essence

• 01 tsp cardamom powder

Things you will need for the Icing :

• 100 gms of unsalted butter

• 150 gms of mascarpone cheese

• 4oo gms of icing sugar

• 01 drop of red food coloring

• Icing bag

Steps to follow :

• Preheat the over to 180 degrees for 10 minutes.

• Line a Bundt pan with butter or any cake tin of your choice with baking paper and keep aside .

• In a bowl , sift the flour , baking powder and cardamom powder and keep aside

• Using a hand blender beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy in another bowl .

• Incorporate in the eggs , one at a time into the butter sugar mixture .

• Add in the yogurt water mix , alternating with the flour mix , until entire batter is well incorporated . Lastly , add in the rose essence and pour into the prepared tins .

• Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 20-30 minutes , until golden brown .

• Remove from the Bundt pan / cake tin and cool completely .

To Assemble the cake :

• Using a hand blender , whip up all the ingredients ( as mentioned for the icing ) until stiff ( i. e the icing should hold shape on your spoon and not fall over when spooned back over into the bowl ) . Add extra powdered sugar , if needed , to get the right consistency .

• Fill the icing bag with the icing and use any nozzle to decorate the cake top to your own liking and imagination . Chill for 10 minutes before you serve .

• Enjoy !