Rose Cake with Sourdough Starter

To prepare the rose cake, first, 34 hours in advance, prepare the buttercream for the filling and the butter emulsion for the dough. For the buttercream: pour the softened butter, salt 1, and powdered sugar 2 into a bowl. Mix with a spatula until you get a smooth cream 3.

Add the egg yolks 4 and mix again. Then also add the seeds extracted from the vanilla pod 5 and mix everything well 6.

Prepare the butter emulsion as well. In another bowl, pour the softened butter, add the orange zest paste 7, the honey 8, and the seeds from the vanilla pod 9. Mix until you get a cream, as done previously.

Slowly add the yolks 10, mixing until they are well incorporated 11. You should obtain an emulsion that is not too whipped. Transfer it onto a tray lined with plastic wrap 12 and refrigerate for about 12 hours until use: it should have a temperature of 50°F to be used in the recipe.

To make the dough, ensure you use a sourdough starter that has been refreshed at least 2 times throughout the day, strong and mature. Pour the flour and part of the granulated sugar 13 into the mixer fitted with a hook. Add the eggs 14 and the yeast 15.

Also add the mature sourdough starter 16 and the malt 17. Work the mixture until you get a smooth, homogeneous, and elastic dough 18.

Now add the remaining sugar 19 and the egg yolk 20. Work again until smooth 21.

Lastly, add the milk 22 and continue kneading until well absorbed 23. Meanwhile, take the butter emulsion and cut it into cubes 34.

Insert it into the dough in two batches 25, continuing to work 26 until it is completely absorbed 27.

Transfer the dough onto a surface 28 and perform slap and fold folds 29. Transfer to a bowl 30. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes, then transfer to the fridge for 8-10 hours at a temperature of 39°F.

When the dough has doubled in volume 31, transfer it to a lightly floured surface and roll it out with a rolling pin 32, you should get a rectangle of 14x11 inches 33.

Place the buttercream in the center 34 and spread it over the entire surface with a spatula 35. Start rolling the dough from the longer side 36.

Continue to roll the dough 37 to form a roll 38. Then cut it into 6 equal slices 39.

This way, you will get 6 roses 40. Round them a bit with your hands and place them in a 8-inch paper mold, placing 1 in the center and the others around 41. Cover with a cloth and let rise for 6 hours at room temperature, or in a turned-off oven with just the light on for 3-4 hours.

Transfer to a rack 43 and bake in a preheated static oven at 302°F for 55 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. Remove the parchment paper 44 and serve your rose cake with sourdough starter 45.