Vanilla Bundt Cake with Rosewater Buttercream Frosting & Flowers

A vanilla Bundt cake recipe that is moist, dense and perfectly sweet topped with rosewater buttercream frosting. Decorating it with roses, sliced fruits and rose petals is so easy even a beginner can do it. Cake pairs perfectly with a glass of rosé wine.

Mother’s Day is almost here and your mama deserves the world. Why not spoil her with a cake that could grace the table even the fanciest of weddings? (Spoiler alert – it’s actually super easy to make.)

Even if you’re not a culinary whiz, this gorgeous cake is still totally achievable. I’ve also added halfway homemade substitutions based on your cake decorating skill level and time commitment you are looking for.

Read on for the vanilla bundt cake recipe, rosewater buttercream and a suggested wine pairing!

Adorada Wine

Let’s get the most important thing out-of-the-way first – what to drink with your fabulous cake creation. This bundt cake recipe pairs beautifully with a glass of rosé wine. My current favorite is by Adorada Wines which are made right here in California. I recently wrote about Mendocino and the Anderson Valley wine region which is a hidden gem that is just starting to get notice. This area is where Adorada is based as well.

The Adorada rosé has floral notes of rose and red fruit which are perfect for a cake topped with both of these things! In addition to the subtle fruitiness, you may also notice a bit of pepper which keeps things interesting without overwhelming your palate. The result is a beautifully aromatic wine with a taste that is more memorable than so many rosés out there.

I can also confidently say Adorada makes the most beautiful wine bottles I’ve ever seen. They are inspired by perfume bottles and even say “Eau de California” on the labels. The minimalist label combined with the asymmetric hand sealed wax tops is perfection.

The glass is completely clear – almost like crystal. There isn’t that cloudy blue hue that you see with many wine bottles. This is a wine that looks as good as it tastes. A bottle of Adorada makes a stunning gift wine for any occasion, and is perfect for the upcoming Mother’s Day weekend. It is also the perfect memorable hostess gift.

In addition to their rosé, Adorada also makes a pinot gris. This wine is also very aromatic and has notes of pear and citrus. It’s perfect for enjoying on a warm summer night by itself or paired with seafood or pasta.

Classic Vanilla Bundt Cake Recipe

This vanilla bundt cake is dense, but moist, and perfectly sweet. It’s absolutely a dream in all sense of the word. It takes just minutes to whip up the batter and doesn’t have any fancy or fussy ingredients. I bet once you’ve made it once or twice you could make it in about the same amount of time as a boxed cake mix.

The Best Bundt Cake Pan

Bundt cakes are making a total comeback thanks to their ease of use, foolproof nature and the many options for different shapes. Although I dream of having an entire collection of Bundt pans someday, our current city apartment just won’t allow it. Instead, I rely on one gorgeous pan to satisfy all of my culinary cravings. It’s sturdy, turns out cakes easily and the shape is sooo beautiful! It almost looks like a crown. Even though it’s quite large, you can use smaller recipes in it and they will still turn out just fine.

Apparently it also works as a jello mold, although the thought of serving a mound of jello at a party makes my stomach turn a bit. If this is something you’ve done and had success with I’m open to having my mind changed. Given culinary trends come and come and come ’round again, maybe #partyjello will be trending in the near feature.

Decorating Cakes with Edible Flowers

Now that I’ve decorated a cake with berries and roses, it’s hard to imagine doing anything else! This cake almost frosts itself it’s so easy. There are no fancy tools needed. No piping bags, no frosting tips, no lazy susan to ensure even lines as you pipe. Just slather on a layer of frosting and arrange the toppings to your heart’s content.

A few notes about working with edible flowers. You can often find a small assortment of edible flowers at the grocery store at certain times of year. Even out of season, rose petals are edible and easy to find. I only use organic roses when I’m decorating cakes with them. Slipping a bunch of pesticides into your guests’ dessert would be a cruel trick indeed.

I used spray roses which tend to be a little smaller and worked nicely for the look I was going for. If you use whole roses like this you should remove them before serving or mention to your guests that the stems are not edible.

Something else I love to do is make candied rose petals. The sugared petals are beautiful and taste absolutely delicious. There are so many options when decorating a cake with flowers and most are incredibly easy.

Halfway homemade version: this technique also works beautifully for a halfway homemade cake approach. Buy an angel food cake at the grocery store and decorate it this way giving it an instant gourmet upgrade! Your mom will never know.

Rosewater Buttercream Frosting

A splash of rosewater in my favorite buttercream frosting recipe takes this cake to the next level. Restraint is key here though, as the line between floral notes and feeling like you’re eating soap is a fine one to walk. If you’re having trouble finding rosewater, I usually get mine from Amazon. I never use more than a few teaspoons at a time, so a small bottle should last nearly a lifetime. I store it at room temperature in the original bottle.

Halfway homemade version: making homemade buttercream is probably the most complicated thing about this cake. If you want to substitute store-bought frosting to make things a little easier, no judgement here.

I hope I’ve convinced you to give Bundt cakes a try for your next special occasion dessert. Let me know if you have any questions about the recipe or wine pairing in the comments below!

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Vanilla Bundt Cake with Rosewater Buttercream Frosting & Flowers

★★★★★

5 from 4 reviews

A vanilla bundt cake recipe that is moist, dense and perfectly sweet topped with rosewater buttercream frosting. Decorating it with roses, sliced fruits and rose petals is so easy even a beginner can do it!

• Author: Kelly Egan - A Side of Sweet
• Prep Time: 60 minutes
• Cook Time: 60 minutes
• Total Time: 2 hours
• Yield: 10 servings
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Oven
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Vanilla Bundt Cake Ingredients:

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 4 eggs, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Rosewater Buttercream Frosting Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup egg whites (about 3 large eggs)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 ½ teaspoons rosewater
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Floral Cake Toppings:

• Sliced strawberries
• Raspberries
• Roses, rose buds and rose petals

Special Equipment:

• Bundt Cake Pan (10-15 cup capacity)
• Cooking Thermometer

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit.
2. Grease Bundt pan with butter and flour, tapping out any excess.
3. Combine sugar, butter and eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium speed until smooth. Decrease speed to low and add milk and vanilla. Increase speed to medium and mix until smooth.
4. Add flour, baking powder and salt and mix on low speed until smooth.
5. Pour batter into prepared Bundt pan. Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
6. Loosen cake from pan by shaking gently and turn out onto wire rack. Cool completely before frosting.

Make Rosewater Buttercream Frosting:

1. Fill a medium saucepan with one inch of water and bring to a boil.
2. Place the egg whites and sugar in a stainless-steel bowl (like a stand mixer bowl) and place on top of saucepan. Use a whisk to beat the mixture until very hot (about 160°F).
3. Remove from heat and mix with the whisk attachment on high until it is cool, thick and glossy and has tripled in volume, about 5 minutes.
4. Reduce speed to medium and add butter a few pieces at a time. Add the rose water and vanilla and continue to beat until smooth and fluffy.*

Assemble the Bundt Cake:

1. Spread the buttercream in an even layer on top of the Bundt cake. Arrange sliced strawberries, raspberries, roses and rose petals on top of cake as desired. Slice and serve. Rose petals are edible but remove any roses or rose buds before eating.

Note: Frosted cake will keep overnight in a sealed contained in the fridge. Just remove from fridge 10-20 minutes before you plan to eat it.

Notes

*Notes on Making & Troubleshooting Buttercream Frosting: If the frosting is too soft and doesn’t seem to be coming together, it’s possible that it’s too warm. You could try popping it into the fridge for 10-15 minutes and then re-mixing with the paddle attachment in your electric mixer until it comes together and is smooth and satiny. In general it’s hard to over-whip buttercream, so I would err on the side of mixing it longer to see if you can salvage it, even as long as 15 minutes!

This recipe pairing is a collaboration with Adorada wines. Thanks for supporting the sponsors that allow me to bring you beautiful content!

Inspired to make your own vanilla bundt cake? Pin this recipe for later!