I am always on the lookout for a reason to make a fancy cake. I keep bookmarking cool looking cakes and the list of things I want to try with frosting keeps getting longer and longer. Unfortunately, now that I live in San Diego and most of my family/friends are 2,000 miles away, it's not often that I have a good reason. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to whip up a random batch of brownies, cookies, or simple cupcakes for no reason at all. But the fancy-stuff really needs an occasion (hence the over the top cake I made for my own birthday). So when I realized that there was a birthday for a special 12 year-old the first weekend I was back from China, I was overwhelmed with cake ideas.
This is where the rosy ruffle cake comes in. Ruffle cakes have been popping up all over the blogosphere for a while now and I am jealous of each and every one. Then a few months ago I saw a gorgeous rose covered cake and I wanted to make that too. Since cake making opportunities are few and far between I decided to combine the two. The birthday girl requested teal blue and purple. I still want to try a baby pink ruffle cake but this combo was pretty cute too.
Now on to the frosting. This recipe is weird, flour in frosting? I was skeptical, but, it's been something I've thought about trying for a while. The texture was smooth so it was ideal for the ruffling but maybe too soft for the rose swirls. It also had a light fluffy feel when eating and the taste was sweet but not too sweet. It is officially going into my frosting recipe rotation and I know I will use it time and time again.
Fluffy Vanilla Frosting
(Adapted from Tasty Kitchen)
Ingredients
5 Tbsp Flour
1 cup Milk
1 tsp Vanilla
1 cup Butter, softened
1 cup Granulated Sugar
*I doubled the recipe for this particular cake.
Directions
In a saucepan, whisk together the flour and milk and cook over medium heat until the mixture thickens (I would compare it to mashed potatoes). It is very important to whisk continuously so clumps don't form. This took me about 4-5 minutes, but it's best to go by texture.
Set milk mixture aside in an ice bath and allow to cool completely.
In a medium bowl, (or bowl of a standing mixture fitted with a whisk) beat together the butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and beat for 1 minute. Add the cooled milk mixture and beat on high for 3-5 minutes. If it looks separated, keep beating.
At this point you can color as desired with food coloring.
Sorry no tutorial on the ruffles, I have only done it this one time and I am no expert! I did however watch this video to get the general idea. As for the roses, I started a little off center and made a big rose swirl (with Wilton tip 1M) and continued making roses around the cake until it was mostly covered. Then I went back and added stars to fill in gaps.