Rose & Apple Tea cake with ' I love Bourbon ' Sauce

As i took this tea cake out of the oven , the smell of rose and butter wafted up , reminding me of why i bake rather than buy . There are three elements here which do the trick - the beautiful red apple , the aromatic rose syrup and the soft butter . Before your start let me tell you that this is not a recipe to hurry . Make time to do this on a Friday evening or over a weekend , when u have no one nudging u to get to another task . If you want to feel even better about this bake and its after effects , maybe a good drink & some good old country music can make you out perform your self .

The finished cake will keep fresh in a cake tin for up to a week . We ate it both for tea time with our masala chai and as a dessert post dinner . For the dessert bit , i over indulged and made a bourbon sauce to go with this and topped it with the last serving of jim beam . All in all , this is a de-stress bake . Try it and let me know how you feel :)

Things you will need ( all in room temperature )

• 01 and 1/2 cups of flour

• 01 tbsp baking powder

• 100 gm of butter

• 01 cup of granulated sugar

• 1/3 cup of buttermilk

• 03 large eggs

• 02 tsp of rose essence or 03 tsp of rose water

• Dried Rose Petals - optional

• 01 large apple

Steps :

1. In a large mixing bowl , whisk together the butter and the granulated sugar till smooth and airy ( it should be changing color to white as you beat along ) . If you have an electronic whisk - use the same as it will give you a fluffy sponge and good consistency .

2. In the mixture , add eggs , one at a time and incorporate it well

3. In a plate , sieve the flour and baking powder and keep aside

4. Now mix the buttermilk mix into the egg batter and immediately incorporate the flour mixture . Add the Rose essence and the rose petals at this point and keep aside .

5. Assemble your baking tin ( ensure you grease the same with butter or oil and line it with butter paper before you start .

6. Pour the cake batter into the cake tin

7. Thinly cut the apple into slices and sit it in the batter in portions or however you wish to arrange the same .

8. Bake the cake for 40 mins at 180- 200 degrees till fully done and browned on the top .

9. Soak in the aroma and enjoy your glass of wine - you are weekend ready !

I love Bourbon Sauce ( Optional )

Things you will need

• 1 cup powdered sugar

• 1/2 cup butter softened

• 1 Tablespoon VERY hot water

• 2 Tablespoon Bourbon ( I used Jim Beam , you can use any bourbon liquor )

Steps

• Blend sugar and butter till creamy and light…just a couple of minutes. 

• Add water and Bourbon and blend another minute. 

• Taste and adjust Bourbon to your liking.