Skip to content
Spoon Dishes

Iginio Massari’s Torta di Rose (Italian Rose Cake)

Iginio Massari's Torta di Rose is a soft, fragrant yeast cake filled with butter, sugar and vanilla. Follow the classic recipe and impress everyone.
Recipe Iginio Massari’s Torta di Rose (Italian Rose Cake)
  • Difficulty Medium
  • Preparation 2 hours and30 minutes
  • Cooking 17 minutes
  • Servings for 2 cake pans (24 cm)

If you are looking for a dessert that holds history, irresistible aromas and an incredibly soft texture, let yourself be won over by Iginio Massari’s torta di rose: a masterpiece of sweetness that will fill your kitchen with warm aromas from the very first stages of preparation. The secret of this leavened rose cake lies entirely in the sweet yeast dough, which comes to life from a delicate biga, a starter of flour, milk, sugar and yeast: this method gives it a unique fragrance and a soft heart, ready to hold a generous butter cream flavored with vanilla and sugar. Each petal is formed by rolling the dough up on itself, and in the oven it releases those typical buttery notes that give this soft rose cake a rich, satisfying flavor.

This traditional baked dessert, with its timeless charm, is meant to be shared on special occasions, but it is also perfect for an unforgettable breakfast or a wholesome afternoon snack with friends and family. In a few simple steps, following this butter rose cake recipe inspired by master pastry chef Massari, you will discover how easy it can be to make a truly professional dessert, thanks to detailed instructions for an easy step-by-step rose cake, suitable even for those trying yeast doughs for the first time.

Don’t forget to explore other variations and tempting ideas too: you might be tempted by Torta di Rose, the Original Traditional Recipe or the fragrant Cinnamon Rose Cake. If you love the versatile pairing of cake and fruit, we recommend the elegant Iginio Massari’s Apple Cake or the pretty Apple Cake with Little Roses. Finally, Mimosa Cake is an elegant alternative for those who want to vary their repertoire of soft, showstopping desserts.

Making torta di rose for breakfast will be a real pleasure: all you need is flour, yeast, sugar and butter to create a dessert with butter cream that will win everyone over. Follow along step by step to get a cake that is perfect in both looks and flavor.

Ingredients for 2 cake pans (24 cm)

Copy Ingredients List
Open in App

Method

  1. To make Iginio Massari’s Torta di Rose, start with the biga: knead 100 g of 00 flour with 50 g of milk at 30 °C (86 °F), 20 g of sugar and 20 g of fresh yeast. Let it rise until it has tripled in volume.
  2. Add the biga to the other ingredients: 400 g of 00 flour, 100 g of egg yolks, 100 g of butter, 80 g of sugar, the grated zest of one lemon, 20 g of fresh yeast, one vanilla bean, 10 g of salt and 290 g of milk. Knead in a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook on second speed until the dough is smooth and even.
  3. Transfer the dough to a container and let it rise at 24-26 °C (75-79 °F) until it triples in volume.
  4. Press down on the dough to deflate it, then chill it in the freezer for a few minutes.
  5. Meanwhile, for the butter layer, work 100 g of softened butter with 50 g of sugar and the seeds of one vanilla bean until you get a spreadable but pliable mixture.
  6. Roll out the dough into a rectangle about 1 cm (1/2 inch) thick. Spread the butter and sugar cream over the entire surface.
  7. Give the dough a four-fold, cover it and let it rest in the fridge for 1 hour.
  8. After that time, take the dough and roll it out into a rectangle about 1 cm (1/2 inch) thick. Roll it up on itself from the long side.
  9. With a sharp knife, cut it into small rolls about 4-5 cm (1 1/2-2 inches) long.
  10. Arrange the rolls upright in the pan (a ring 24 cm in diameter and 7 cm high), well spaced apart.
  11. Cover and let them rise until they have reached two and a half times their original volume.
  12. Bake in a conventional oven at 170 °C (340 °F) for about 17 minutes.
  13. Take the cake out of the oven, let it cool slightly, then brush the surface with warm apricot jelly to make it shine, and glaze it as you like. Finally, remember to download our App with exclusive content and fewer ads!

Variations and Alternatives

Try a version filled with chocolate or pastry cream for an even richer treat, or top the surface with pearl sugar or sliced almonds before baking.

Tips

For perfect results, use high-quality ingredients and do not skip the chilling and resting times for the dough. You can also flavor the butter cream with orange zest or a dash of liqueur.

Storage

Iginio Massari’s Torta di Rose keeps at room temperature for 2 days under a glass cake dome or well covered. To keep it soft for longer, you can freeze it once baked and cooled, already cut into portions.

Comments