Please tell me I’m not the only one who likes to bake their own birthday cake. I don’t get many chances to make a big cake, so when the opportunity arises, I consider it a birthday gift to myself. This year it was extra fun because I went over to my sister’s house and she helped me make the cake.
This month, Tuesdays with Dorie presented me with the perfect cake for our family birthday party. Rose Fraisier is a grand cake with exotic ingredients. The secret ingredients are rose extract and rose syrup.
Rose Fraisier is not the easiest cake to make. I don’t believe the average home baker could end up with the picture-perfect result shown in the book without special equipment. My sister had a cake ring, which helped with lining up the strawberries and piping in the filling, but we still had imperfect results and a near disaster.
After assembling the cake, we debated whether to remove the cake ring or leave it on while the cake chilled. We were concerned the cake ring would be too difficult to remove if we chilled the cake first. So, we took off the ring. The filling and strawberries immediately began oozing out the sides of the cake! While I held in the filling with my hands and an offset spatula, my sister got the brilliant idea to wrap the cake in waxed paper to hold everything in. The cake chilled with it’s waxed paper collar, and when it was time to serve we removed it. Crisis averted!
I partly blame myself for the oozing filling. I had some problems with the gelatin (my own fault!) and not very much made it into the pastry cream mixture. But I mostly blame the challenging recipe.
All that effort and angst was worth it! The cake was super delicious and it was a big hit at the party. The rose flavoring added just a hint of unexpected flavor, and I absolutely loved the pastry cream filling. Would I make it again? Probably not, but I would consider a simplified version because the flavors were so good.
My dad and niece photobombed my cake:
If you are interested in trying your hand at making Rose Fraisier, Dorie Greenspan has posted the recipe on her blog: Rose Fraisier Recipe. You can also find it in her book, Baking Chez Moi.
From Scratch 
Your fraisier is absolutely beautiful, perfect for a birthday celebration (and you’re not alone in baking your own birthday cakes).
Karen, I think your cake looks gorgeous!!! (And I love the photobomb!!!). Your idea of the plastic wrap was brilliant. Had I not read your post, I would never have guessed. Well done you!!
What a beautiful cake! And I adore the photo that your niece photobombed. Happy birthday Karen!
Ha! Your experience sounds almost exactly like mine. I had no issues with the gelatin and I still had issues. Still though, look at home lovely yours turned out! You would never know there was an issue!
The smiles on the face of your dad and niece say it all about this birthday cake, made collaboratively by you and your sister. The cake is not only lovely; it speaks family love. Happy birthday!
It turned out beautifully and it’s the perfect birthday cake! I think of making my own cake as one of my birthday treats. Love the photobombs!
Karen I make my own birthday cakes too:) I am glad it all worked out in the end. Extended chilling was key to this recipe. We ate the other half of our cake the next day and it stayed together better with the added chill time.