So I made this cake a few years ago and have decided to share it now because 1. it’s delicious 2. the photos of it came out awesome 3. it’s Valentine’s Day and roses and pink fit the theme nicely.

Also, it happens to use oranges, a wintry fruit, so it is even seasonally appropriate!

This is a yeasted “cake”, but it’s really more like a collection of sweet rolls that you can slice like a cake or serve roll-by-roll.  It isn’t overwhelmingly sweet, so it’s great for breakfast or tea parties, if you are the type of person who throws those.

The “roses” are filled with a mixture of orange marmalade, hazelnuts, and candied orange peel, and develop a sticky orange glaze on top during baking.  This recipe is a little more involved than many cakes, but I promise it’s worth it!

Torta delle Rose (“Rose” Cake)

585 g flour

1 packet dry yeast or 25 g fresh yeast

85 g sugar

milk

4 egg yolks

120 g butter

100 g hazelnuts

400 g orange marmalade

1 lemon

75 g candied orange peel (optional)

powdered sugar

Dissolve the yeast in 100 ml warm water.  Add the yeast water to 135 g of flour and knead into a rough dough.  Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix the remaining 400 g of flour with the sugar, a pinch of salt, 120 ml of room-temperature milk, 3 egg yolks, 120 g sliced softened butter, and the zest of the lemon.  Knead into a smooth dough, and then add in the yeast dough you prepared 30 minutes earlier.  Knead again until the whole thing is homogeneous.

Put the dough into a bowl and let it rise, covered, for 2 hours.  In the meantime, finely chop the hazelnuts and the candied orange peel, if using.

After the 2 hours, punch down the dough and divide it into 2 loaves.  With a rolling pin, roll out 1 of the loaves into a thin rectangle.  Spread the rectangle with half of the orange marmalade, then sprinkle with half of the hazelnuts and candied orange peels.  Roll up the rectangle lengthwise, then cut the roll to a thickness 2 cm smaller than the height of the pan you are using.

Repeat for the second loaf.  Butter a round spring form cake pan and put in the rolls, leaving a little space in between each one to allow for rising.  Cover the pan and let rise one more time for 30-40 minutes.

While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Brush the rolls with a mixture of the remaining egg yolk, 1 tbsp of powdered sugar, and 1 tbsp of milk.  Bake for about 20 minutes, then cover with aluminum foil and continue baking for 30-35 minutes.  Let it cool, then sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve!

translated from Sale e Pepe