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A lemon and rose triple layer cake cut open with a slice on a plate in focus at the front of the shot. Two yellow lemon layers and one pink rose layer are sandwiched together with pink icng and decorated with turkish delight and rose petals
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5 from 6 votes

Turkish Delight Cake

Layers of lemon and rose cake, a subtle rose buttercream & chunks of turkish delight and rose petals to garnish. This is a beautiful celebration cake.
Prep Time1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time2 hours
Course: Baking, Dessert
Cuisine: Worldwide
Servings: 14
Calories: 706kcal

Ingredients

For the cakes:

  • 280 g/ 11/4cups Butter – very soft
  • 375 g/ 12/3cups Caster sugar
  • 5 tablespoon Milk
  • 5 large eggs
  • 375 g/ 3 cups Plain (all-purpose) flour
  • 3 teaspoon Baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon Rosewater (see notes)
  • Yellow & pink food colouring gels
  • Zest of 1 lemon plus 1 tablespoon juice

For the icing:

  • 225 g/ 1cup butter – very soft
  • 150 g/ ⅔cup Mascarpone cheese
  • 600 g/ 4 ¾ cups icing (confectioners) sugar
  • 1 - 1 ½ teaspoon Rosewater (add to taste)
  • Pink food colouring gel

To decorate (optional):

  • Edible rose petals
  • Turkish delight

Instructions

For the cakes:

  • Preheat the oven to 170°C/ 325°F/ GM3. Grease and line three 20.5cm (8 inch) sandwich tins with baking paper
  • In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar together with electric beaters until pale and fluffy
  • Add the milk and 1 egg. Beat well. Add the rest of the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition
  • Sift together the flour and baking powder, then fold it into the cake mixture using a large metal spoon
  • Take ⅓ of the mixture out and place it in a separate, smaller bowl. To this add the rosewater and a small dab of the pink colouring gel - you are after a subtle pink, not cerise, so go slow and steady. Gently mix to combine thoroughly, then spoon into one of the baking tins, gently spreading it out to the sides
  • To the remaining ⅔ of the cake batter, add the lemon juice & zest and a bit of yellow colouring gel. Again, fold these ingredients through to incorporate evenly. Divide this mixture between the 2 remaining tins
  • Bake for around 30-35 minutes until the cakes are springy and beginning to come away from the sides of the tins. Allow the cakes to cool for 2 minutes, then carefully take them out of the tins and cool completely on a wire rack

Decorating the cake:

  • If you are using Turkish Delight to top your cake, you will need to chop the large chunks into smaller ones using a sharp knife - those pictured here are approximately ¾cm cubed. Dust the chopped pieces in the powder from the box (or an equal mix of icing sugar and cornflour)
  • Make the icing by beating together all of the ingredients for the icing. Aim for a very delicate pink (this is definitely a time you should be patient and add the colouring gel in small dabs until you attain a colour you are happy with)
  • Starting with a layer of lemon cake, add a large scoop of icing and spread out to create a slim layer across the cake. Top with the rose cake and add a similar about of icing. Finally, add the top layer of lemon cake
  • Use the remaining icing to cover the outside of the cake. I find that coating the cake in a thin layer all over helps to seal in the crumbs. Once you have done this, add an extra layer of icing to create a thicker layer that covers the cake entirely. Once you are satisfied, you can add a pattern if you want to. This time I used the back of a dessert spoon to lift the icing in places to give a rugged appearance
  • If you are eating the cake immediately, you can add the Turkish Delight and rose petals straight away. However, if you will be eating it later, store the iced cake in the fridge. Do not add the decorations at this stage. Take the cake out of the fridge 2-3 hours before eating to come back up to room temperature. Add the decorations just before serving

Notes

1.Rosewater strength does vary. Please do adjust the quantities used in my recipe if you know your brand is particularly week or strong 2. If you have only 2 baking tins, you can get away with leaving the rose layer in the bowl until a tin comes free - just get it in the oven asap once the lemon layers are cooked.

Nutrition

Calories: 706kcal | Carbohydrates: 92g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 22g | Cholesterol: 147mg | Sodium: 291mg | Potassium: 185mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 70g | Vitamin A: 1145IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 91mg | Iron: 2mg