Rose Cake

The Rose Cake is a fragrant sweet leavened pastry of Mantuan origin, very aromatic and uniquely soft. It consists of a leavened dough made from flour, eggs, sugar, and butter, which is then rolled and cut into shapes that resemble rosebuds.

Ingredients

• 500 g of type 00 flour
• 200 ml of milk
• 100 g of sugar
• 80 g of butter at room temperature
• 2 whole eggs
• 25 g of fresh brewer’s yeast
• Grated zest of 1 untreated lemon
• 1 pinch of salt

For the filling:

• 100 g of soft butter
• 100 g of sugar

Preparation

1. Dissolve the brewer’s yeast in lukewarm milk.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour with the sugar, lemon zest, and salt. Add the milk with the dissolved yeast.
3. Add the eggs and start working the dough until you get a uniform and elastic mixture.
4. Gradually add the butter at room temperature and continue kneading until it is fully absorbed by the dough.
5. Let the dough rise in a warm place covered with a cloth until it doubles in size, usually about 2 hours.
6. Roll out the dough into a rectangle on a floured surface.
7. Spread the soft butter over the dough and sprinkle evenly with sugar.
8. Roll up the dough along the long side, then cut into logs about 5 cm high.
9. Place the logs side by side in a buttered and floured pan, leaving some space between each.
10. Let it rise again until it doubles in volume.
11. Bake at 180 °C for about 30 minutes until the cake becomes golden.
12. Remove from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack.

The Rose Cake is excellent to enjoy for breakfast or during a snack, perhaps accompanied by a cup of tea or coffee. You can also enrich it with a dusting of powdered sugar before serving.