Rose Cake and Buttercream Frosting

I needed to make a cake for my cute little one's birthday and my sister Natalie had made a rose cake that was darling, so I decided to give it a try. The original idea came from the "I Am Baker" blog, but I adapted it a little to my taste. You need a good thick frosting so that the roses will hold their shape. This is what I used and I thought that it worked great and tasted amazing!

1/2 cup butter- softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 tsp. vanilla
1 scant tsp. lemon extract
8 cups (2 lbs.) powdered sugar
1/3-1/2 cup milk

Soften butter and shortening at room temperature for a couple hours and then mix together well with vanilla and lemon extract. Slowly add powdered sugar and blend until well combined. Add milk just until you reach the right consistency. Remember that this frosting should be a little stiffer than normal. Add coloring if desired.

You can use any cake mix or recipe that you like and bake it in 2- 9 inch round pans. Allow the cakes to cool and then flatten off the top of one of the cakes. Place the flattened cake on your serving stand, spread with an even layer of frosting, and then place the other cake on top. Spread on a good crumb coat before putting on the roses.

You will need a Wilton 1M tip and a good frosting bag. Start with the sides and create roses by starting in the middle and swirling the frosting outward in a circle. Continue all the way around the edge and then do the roses on top. You can fill in the dead spaces with a little extra swipe from the frosting bag. Super easy for a beautiful result!