Rose Cake with Raspberry Filling and White Chocolate Buttercream

I'm finally getting around to posting about Valentines day and sharing this amazing recipe with you guys. I was told to keep my baking to a minimum after my hand surgery, but i'm the most stubborn human being on this planet and can't sit still! What normally takes me an hour to make takes me three hours now. It's almost impossible to bake with one hand, but that doesn't stop me.

I was getting very lonely being at home while Bryan's been at work, so he planned a nice dinner out for me. We went to Vina Enoteca in Palo Alto, which I HIGHLY recommend if you live in the Bay Area. All the homemade pastas are to die for and the grilled octopus was so tender and perfectly cooked. It brought me back to my trip to Italy last year

A couple days before Valentines Day, Foodlyn sent me rose sugar, which I thought would be perfect for a cake. I use rose water in a lot of my baking because it's one of the main ingredients in any Persian dessert, so I was excited to use both!

INGREDIENTS

CAKE

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup shortening 
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup rose sugar
• 3 whole eggs
• 4 egg whites
• 2 tablespoon rose water
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 3 tsp vanilla extract

FILLING

• 3 cups frozen raspberries 
• 2 tablespoon cornstarch
• 3 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 cup sugar

FROSTING

• 3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 12 ounces white chocolate, melted and cooled
• 2 1/2-3 cups confectioners sugar
• 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grease (4) 8 inch round cake pans and set aside
2. Using your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, shortening, granulated sugar, and rose sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl a time or two
3. Add the whole eggs and egg whites one at a time while beating on medium speed 
4. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt
5. In another bowl, stir together the milk, buttermilk, vanilla, and rose water
6. Beating on low speed, add the dry ingredients, alternating with the liquid in 4 additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Beat on low to medium speed until everything comes together
7. Spread the batter evenly into the pans then bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick tester comes out clean
8. While your cake is baking, make the filling by combining all the ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Keep stirring until it thickens. Let cool completely.
9. Once the cake is out of the oven, cool for 10 minutes before removing the cakes from the pans. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. 
10. While the cake and filling are cooling, prepare your buttercream
11. In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy. Beat in the melted white chocolate and add the confectioners sugar and vanilla. Beat at low speed, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl, until light and fluffy.
12. To assemble the cake, level the cakes with a serrated knife and a cake leveler. Spoon the raspberry filling and spread evenly in-between each layer. Use a icing spatula to cover the entire cake with icing. 
13. Optional: Use some of the reserved icing and mix it with a drop or red food coloring. With your cake spatula, incorporate the colored icing into the already iced cake, making sure you're not putting too much red icing on at once.