A rhubarb and rose cake for a flower class
Last weekend, Chelsea Fuss stopped by the studio to teach a floral design workshop. It was the last in-person class that Chelsea will be teaching for a while before she embarks on an European adventure. It was also the perfect opportunity to bake with the rose extract and petals that I had been saving for some time.
Flowers and cake.
The class was…. how can I say… Amazing. It is almost as if Chelsea was brought up in an English garden surrounded by roses and wispy wild flowers. She works with flowers and arrangements with ease – with no real rules, which I love. I find that Chelsea and I have a similar sensibility towards style, letting things flow and always thinking of simplicity and movement. I could listen to her speak for hours. We walked to Pike Place market with the student which got to experience first hand the madness that the market is on the weekends. So much color everywhere with tulips, peonies, roses, lilacs, and all sorts of greens which latin names I cannot recall. Back in the studio, students worked on their arrangements.
This cake recipe is an adaptation of the pistachio financier recipe in my book.
Essentially a cake that can be made with five ingredients and any additional flavorings and fruit, if desired. In this case, rhubarb and rose.
Students loved it. It didn’t take long to devour it so I thought you would enjoy it as well.
I hope you do.
Rhubarb and rose cake
Makes a 9-inch fluted bundt cake or an 8-inch cake or 12 individual muffins
10 tablespoons (140 g) unsalted butter, plus more for mold
4 egg whites
1/2 cup (100 g) natural cane sugar
1 to 2 teaspoons rose extract (depending on your taste)
1 cup (100 g) almond flour
1/4 cup (35 g) millet flour (you could also use oat or brown rice)
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
6 ounces (170 g) rhubarb, sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon dried rose petals
Preheat oven to 350F (180C).
Melt the butter in a small saucepan and cook over medium high heat until it starts to turn brown and aromatic. Remove from heat and let it cool at room temperature.
Whisk together the egg whites, sugar and rose extract in a bowl. Add the almond flour, millet flour and salt and whisk to combine. Add the cooled butter and whisk until it is well mixed.
Brush a bundt pan (or any mold you will use) with a bit of melted butter. Pour the batter in the mold and top with sliced rhubarb and rose petals. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until set and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes before turning into a plate. You can sprinkle with some fresh rose petals as well. The cake can be stored in the refrigerator tightly wrapped for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 1 month.
This cake sounds so wonderful Aran – I love that pretty pink running through it and the combination of rhubarb and rose is absolutely delightful.
Thank you and I hope you will make it.
Rhubarb and rose is one of my favourite parings and these photos… far out they’re beyond stunning Aran! Wow.
So kind. Thank you.
Exquisite, I’m sure! This is a delightful combination.
Cheers,
Rosa
Thank you rosa
I think I will make this for the weekend- and I found just the bottle of port to go with it!
perfect!
Aran, I don’t know which are more beautiful – your photos of the cake or your photos of the flowers? It’s such a genuine inspiration to come to your page and see what you have created. Thank you.
And I love the flavour combinations – rhubarb and rose – delicate, exotic and full of spring.
Thank you Skye. It’s hard not to have beautiful photos when the subject is so lovely :)
Hi, I live in Singapore where rhubarb is not readily available. Is there any fruit I can substitute with? A cake with rose petals sounds absolutely beautiful!
Any fruit really but raspberries would be so lovely with rhubarb.
Thank you so much! I shall try this with raspberries then.
What a lovely cake! I imagine it smelled lovely while you were baking it too. :)
Indeed!
This looks so beautiful! My husband I cannot have dairy, do you think this is worth a try using melted coconut oil?
Yes, yes, yes! Absolutely. Rose and coconut are amazing together. Please try and let me know. Also, I wild reduce the coconut oil a bit and maybe use 120g instead.
[…] prettiest rhubarb and rose cake from Cannelle et […]
Simply beautiful.
Amazing indeed. It look and sounds even smells like a marvelous workshop. I wish I could have been there.
Will make the cake.
And watch for more delightful posts from canelle et vanille.
D
Thanks dena
Thank you Celine!
So beautiful. I want this!
I’ll make it for you!
Sounds like walking in a delightful Morocan garden…
I am a long time admirer of your work, too shy to comment…
I have been cooking through your book for my family’s delight! Thank you for the inspiration traveling to French Mediteranen Coast.
So beautiful Aran! I absolutely love when flowers are incorporated into food. Always looking for new rhubarb recipes too. Will have to give this combination a try for sure. Mmmm, rhubarb and rose. xo
Try and let me know what you think!
Oh my, this sounds so heavenly. Our second wedding anniversary is on Monday, and this might be the perfect treat to make to celebrate…
Well, happy anniversary.
I will definitely make this gorgeous cake soon. Oh how I wished I was able to participate in one of your workshops one day!
Thank you Sini and I hope you do as well.
That floral study beneath the jar of rose petals is sublime. I keep scrolling back to it. It is almost like a painting.
Thank you Lesley. Glad you noticed it as I love that photo myself (is it ok for me to say that?:)
I made a very similar apple-almond version of this today that the family are currently enjoying! I adore the idea of rose as a flavoring, I must give it a try
the elegance & simplicity of both cake & flowers are just stunning – love how they both come in pink and yellow-ish shades! really beautiful!
Thanks!
I love your blog and your book. The photos, the recipes, everything appeals to me!
I love to bake with flowers, too. And your rhubarb-rose cake looks fantastic! I’d like to have this nice fluted ring mold. Where could I buy it?
The mold was a gift from a friend and it’s vintage. Thank you!
This looks so pretty! I will definitely pick some roses from my garden to dry this season! I was a quiet reader so far, but Aran, seriously your work is inspiring me more than you can imagine! Thank you for sharing all this lovely pictures and yummy recipes!
Thank you Tina. It means a lot to me. Seattle inspires simplicity and certain austere mood. A subtler beauty.
Cake and flowers just makes sense! And this flavour combo is amazing, Love!
Just breathtaking photographs, thank you so much for sharing x
Thank you for having me to the studio. The cake was delicious!
Thank YOU for everything, Chelsea. It was such a beautiful day. x
Gorgeous! I love the simplicity of the recipe, and can’t wait to try it with different fruit/flower combos.
I love the recipe, love the flowers, especially the peonies and think this is such a beautiful event and post. Everything is simply dreamy and perfect! x
Aran, I am absolutely fascinated by your gorgeous blog. I can sit here for hours looking through the pictures.
Beautiful as always xx
I love your blog, your foods and especially your photos!. can you share how you edit your photos on instagram so nice and clean? using what kind of filter? thank you ^^
This looks/sounds absolutely lovely. I also am coveting your fluted bundt pan. Where did you get i? :-)
It was a gift from a friend and it’s vintage. thank you.
This is so exquisite, Aran. I never thought to put rose petals directly into a cake, but this combination – rose, almond, and rhubarb – sounds delightful. Thank you for sharing your lovely photographs and recipes.
This was such a beautiful post Aran. The colours and the dried roses are stunning. What kind of millet flour do you use? I have on hand finely ground malted finger millet and I am wondering how that would do in the cake. Is rose extract different from rose water? Also, have you tried making rose preserve? I have a lovely recipe from Emiko Davies and it is a winner alright. I imagine this cake smelled divine with all that brown butter-rose goodness.
Ohhh rose preserves… Can you please share recipe? That sounds amazing. Thank you!
Aran, here you go. I used the same recipe except I added a little 20 minute massage to macerate and bruise the petals and left them so overnight, clingwrapped and in the fridge. I figured I’d give it time to release all its perfume.
I also didn’t add any pectin, and kept it true-to-the-recipe. Turned out divine! Would love to know how your’s does as well (PS – Do use Damascus roses, they have the best scent and the petals aren’t so thick or as better as the other varieties. I also read that pinching the pale, thick base off the petals helps; a step you can skip with Damascus roses)
http://www.emikodavies.com/blog/rose-petal-jam/
Thank you very much. Cannot wait to make it.
Absolutely stunning! I never would have thought to use rose petals in a cake, but they are gorgeous and I’m sure add a lovely floral flavor to the cake. Pairing it with rhubarb is even more genius. I have been falling more and more in love with rhubarb this year, and will have to try it in a cake like this!
[…] están de decoración, sino que son uno de los ingredientes principales). Os recomiendo ir al link de esta foto y hacer la receta para probar a ver qué tal. El pastel tiene una […]
Hi Aran!
Thanks for another inspired recipe. I made the cake and also muffins with the leftover dough. I added some raspberries because I had some left and they work so well with rhubarb. I found one spoon of rose water was just enough, two would have been overpowering.
The egg yolks will go into a cherry tomato and thyme flan I have in mind for a quick lunch.
Just sharing…
So wonderful! Thanks for sharing.
What a beautiful combination of colors and flavors. Just stunning!
This was so good! I made two–one with raspberry and one with rhubarb and it disappeared ridiculously fast. I am just obsessed with rosewater. I made a rosewater-rhubarb syrup for cocktails, and this cake would go beautifully with that when I have some friends over.
Question: If I wanted to make a version of this for someone who is Paleo, could I sub the millet flour for almond flour or something else? Thanks!
Glad to hear you liked it. Yes you could use all almond flour. But if they are paleo they don’t eat sugar right? Not sure how you could sub the sugar. Stevia extract alone might change texture.
Well, some Paleo people make exceptions for a little sugar :)
Dear Aran,
thanks! Yours photos inspire me every day.
I work in a charcuterie factory, in Italy, and I learned from you how light can be expressive and change simply food compositions!
I hope to meet you one day!
Thank you very much Elena!
Wow, those flowers are gorgeous! Would have loved to have taken that class. And that cake is to die for. Beautiful, Aran!
The pictures of this cake are phenomenal! I love the composition, and I particularly love the photo of the glass jar that contains the rosebuds. So beautiful! Thank you for sharing these!
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wow what a beautiful post. love the recipe & flavour combination. will definitely be trying this recipe out, thanks for the inspiration.
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