Blueberry Birthday cake with Rosewater Butter cream

Something about this cooler weather just makes me want to stay in bed. The season is changing from summer, and the leaves are starting to fall. Often at this time of year I take a step back from my life, take a few days off and have a good think about things.......or just stay in bed. This is really fine, as long as you have no where you need to be, or nothing to get done.

This monday however neither of these were the case. I set my alarm at 6.30 a.m. to give myself enough time to get some baking done before work. One of my best friends was having her 21st birthday dinner that night and I promised a truly amazing cake. I had baked two thirds of it the day before to save the time, but still had one layer to bake, butter cream to make and the assembly.

I decided waking up at 6.30 would give me plenty of time considering I didn't have to be at work till eleven. It was a wonderful plan.......until I woke up at 8.30, having slept through my alarm. Panicked, and tired I threw on my dressing gown and ran to the kitchen. Would I have enough time? The cake would have to cook, then cool, before I could even start to think about butter creams. Blurry eyed and confused, I weighed out ingredients and started mixing and sifting. It was a miracle the quantities were right. The cake went into the oven, and I started brewing a big pot of coffee (I have no idea how I got any of this done pre coffee.)

While crunching on peanut butter toast I started whipping up the buttercream. "It wont work!" I told myself. It had to work! I had no time to get new ingredients for a new batch. I hate making new recipes when I'm stressed. You just cant trust them. This butter cream recipe was especially strange. It used some techniques I had only ever seen used in a white sauce...........not an icing. Strange. Very strange!

I was stressed. The cake wasn't going to work. I was running out of time. It would be an awful waste of some very expensive ingredients. I assembled the cake ten minutes before I ran out the door to work. It looked pretty and would do the job. Eleven hours later when we sat down to desert I looked at my huge cake. I was so disappointed. How could I have slept in. The cake would be awful. I knew it.

I refused a piece, not wanting to have to eat a bad cake along with everyone else. Curiosity got the better of me though. I took a tiny nibble. IT WAS AMAZING. So so so yummy.

There is no moral to this story at all. Its just about me being melodramatic and needing to buy an alarm clock.

This cake is amazing though. I really really recommend you make it.

Blueberry Birthday Cake with Rose water Butter cream!

This recipe makes a four layered cake, I made an extra half batch to get mine to six layers of wonderful blueberry glory.


You will need: 

• 226g butter
• 1 3/4 cups of sugar (I just used white)
• 4 eggs (free range please!)
• 1 cup of milk
• 2 tsp vanilla essence
• 2 and 2/3 cups of plain flour
• 1 and 1/2 tsp of baking powder
• half a tsp salt
• Blue berries (as many as you like.)

What to do:

1. Cream together butter and sugar with electric mixer, add vanilla. Mix until pale.
2. Add eggs one at a time, beating well in between each addition.
3. Sift together flour, salt and baking powder
4. Grease and line two cake pans with baking paper. 
5. Mix in flour and milk, in three batches, starting with flour and ending with flour (flour, milk then flour....get it!)
6. Pour evenly into the two tins,and poke blue berries into the cakes. 
7. Bake at 180 for 30 to 40 minutes. 

Rosewater Butter cream.

I love this recipe. It makes me so so so very happy!

What you will need:

• One cup of unsalted butter (softened)
• One cup of sugar (I used half brown sugar, and half white)
• 1/4 cup of plain flour
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 and 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
• 1 tsp of rosewater (I think I may have used more than this..... just taste it as you go.)

What to do:

• Cream together your butter and sugar with electric beaters. This will take about seven minutes. Remember to scrape down the sides if any flicks up.
• In a pot add the flour and 1/4 of the milk. On a low heat whisk together so no lumps form. 
• Gradually add the rest of the milk. Turn to medium heat and continue to whisk until the mixture comes to a low boil
• Turn down heat and continue to whisk until the mixture thickens slightly.
• Take off the heat and add rose water
• Place the mix in the freezer to bring it down to room temperature. If any lumps form just put your muscles into it and 'whisk em out'
• Once the mix has come down to room temperature slowly add to the butter and sugar mix, while the beaters are on. 
• Whisk until light and fluffy (for about 2 to 4 minutes)

To assemble:

You can do whatever you like really. I have seen pictures of this cake completely covered in buttercream. I however like to stack it up and leave the sides open so you can see all the berries and what not. 

I simply cut the cake in four, spread each layer with the icing, added some berries, and then continued on with the next layer. Its nothing too fancy or hard but it tastes great! 

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