Rose Pound Cakes with Berries and Cream

For Mother’s Day, I wanted to make pound cake flavored with rose water. And I wanted to have the cake with berries and cream. (You have to remember how excited I get about making my own birthday cake each year–Mother’s Day is the same kind of thing.)

I knew Dorie Greenspan had a recipe called “Perfection Pound Cake” in her book Baking: From My Home To Yours, so I decided to try it out. (The TWD group baked it back in January before I joined.)

Let me just say, I have baked many pound cakes in my day–good ones, too. But this recipe, pardon the pun, takes the cake! It really was delicious.

I have a “thing” for NordicWare pans. I was so excited when my dear friend ChyAyn bought me a rose cupcake pan for my birthday. Roses are my favorite flower and have special meaning for our family. I’ve been dying to try out my new pan and I was glad for an excuse to use it.

When I turned the baked cakes out onto the cooling rack, I was so pleased with how lovely they looked. My little girl was also enamored with them and loved that they were flavored with rose water. We smelled the rose water together and she said, “Mommy what does it smell like? It smells like you!” (I wear rose perfume quite often.)

Rose Pound Cakes with Berries and Cream

slightly adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

Ingredients:

For Rose Pound Cakes:

2 cups all-purpose flour (or 2-1/4 cups cake flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (I omitted this)
2 tsp. rose water (my addition)

For Berries and Cream:

1 lb. (16 oz) frozen or fresh berries (blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, or raspberries, or a combination)
1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar (depending on the sweetness of the berries)

1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp. sugar (confectioner’s or granulated)

Instructions:

For Rose Pound Cakes:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9×5-inch loaf pan or an 8-1/2 x 4-1/2-inch loaf pan. Put the pan on an insulated baking sheet or on two regular baking sheets stacked one on top of the other.

The rose pan had six wells that held 1 cup of batter each. It was the perfect size. I made sure to grease each well with shortening and then dust them lightly with flour.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar on high speed until pale and fluffy, a full 5 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and beater and reduce the mixer speed to medium. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 to 2 minutes after each egg goes in. As you’re working, scrape down the bowl and beater often. Mix in the vanilla extract. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, mixing only until it is incorporated – don’t overmix. In fact, you might want to fold in the last of the flour, or even all of it, by hand with a rubber spatula. Scrape the batter into the buttered pan and smooth the top.

I used an ice cream scoop to evenly divide the batter between the wells.

Put the cake into the oven to bake, and check on it after about 45 minutes. If it’s browning too quickly, cover it loosely with a foil tent. If you’re using a 9×5 pan, you’ll need to bake the cake for 70 to 75 minutes; the smaller pan needs about 90 minutes. The cake is properly baked when a thin knife inserted deep into the center comes out clean.

The smaller cakes were ready sooner. I started to check them after about 30 minutes.

Remove the cake from the oven, transfer the pan to a rack and let rest for 30 minutes.

Run a blunt knife between the cake and the sides of the pan and turn the cake out, then turn it right side up on the rack and cool to room temperature.

Wrapped well, the cake will keep for 5 to 7 days at room temperature (stale cake is great toasted) or up to 2 months in the freezer.

There was no way we were going to be able to eat all of those little cakes, so I individually wrapped the cakes and then placed them in a large freezer bag. I’m excited to see how they fare.

For Berries n’ Cream:

Place the berries in a large bowl and sprinkle with the sugar. Toss to coat. Let sit for about an hour, or until the berries start to release their juice.

Whip the heavy cream until medium peaks form. Add the sugar and continue beating or whisking until the cream reaches the desired consistency. (I usually beat until the cream holds its shape, but is not too stiff.)

To Serve:

Place a rose pound cake on a dessert plate and top with the berries and a dollop of whipped cream.

One cake is too much for one person–it’s so nice to share.

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17 Comments

  1. I love your little rose cakes! I have the mini-bundt Nordic Ware pan (with 3 different designs). I love pound cakes, so maybe I’ll try this recipe out using my pan!

  2. those look gorgeous! I just bought Dorie Greenspan’s book yesterday and I saw this recipe in it and it sounded good. I’ll be sure to make it after seeing how lovely yours turned out.

  3. Those are so pretty! My boss has the full size rose pan and it makes lovely crispy edges on things. Yummy, and there are all those craggy edges for glazes and deliciousness to gather in. Well done you!

  4. Oh Lindsey… lovely, lovely dessert… nothing better than a little cake, a little cream and little berries. Rose water adds just an extra touch.

  5. Talk about perfect — the pound cake looks beautiful in those lovely little rose pans and so delicious with the berries and cream. Looks like it was a very happy Mother’s Day!

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