Rose Celebration Cake

Directions

1. 1
   Bring 2 1/2 cups of milk to a boil in a saucepan, remove from the heat and add the rose petals, vanilla pod and vanilla seeds. Cover and leave to cool then chill in the fridge overnight.
2. 2
   Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 10 inch diameter springform cake pan with butter and dust with flour. Beat 6 egg whites while gradually adding 3/4 cup of sugar and a pinch of salt until stiff and glossy. Stir in the vanilla extract and 6 egg yolks, one by one.
3. 3
   Mix the cornstarch, flour and baking powder together then fold into the egg mixture. Fold in the ground almonds. Transfer the mixture to the cake pan. Bake for 35-40 mins, until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan for at least 3 hours.
4. 4
   Meanwhile, remove the vanilla pod from the chilled milk and blend the liquid and petals using a blender.
5. 5
   Mix the remaining sugar and the custard powder into 1/2 cup of rose milk until smooth. Bring the remaining rose milk to a boil in a saucepan. Remove from the heat and stir in the pudding mixture. Place back on the heat and simmer for 1-2 mins, stirring. Mix 3 egg yolks with 2-3 tbsp milk then stir into the saucepan. Chill the 3 remaining egg whites. Whisk the gelatin into the hot pudding mix until completely dissolved. Transfer the pudding to a bowl and leave to cool for 2 hours 30 mins, stirring occasionally.
6. 6
   Beat the egg whites until stiff. Beat 1 cup of cream until very stiff then mix both into the rose cream. Chill for 10-15 mins.
7. 7
   Remove the cake from the cake ring and slice into quarters horizontally. Place a cake ring around the lowest tier. Gently heat 6 tbsp liqueur and jam together then spread over the three layers. Spread a quarter of the rose cream over each of the layers then stack them into the cake ring. Chill for 5-6 mins.
8. 8
   Beat 2 cups of cream and the powdered sugar until very stiff. Stir in 2 tbsp liqueur. Remove the cake from the cake ring. Spread the cream all over. Transfer the remaining cream to a piping bag and pipe rosettes on top. Chill until ready to use and decorate with rose petals. Serve.