Skip the Bouquet: This Rose Petal Cake Is the Perfect Mother’s Day Dessert

Kim Kushner’s elegant orange chiffon cake is as light as it is striking. Naturally dairy-free and delicately scented with orange blossom, it’s finished with crushed rose petals for a subtle floral note — making it a beautiful choice for Mother’s Day or any spring celebration.

Adapted from The Modern Menu, this cake has long been part of Kushner’s family table — served to mark holidays, celebrations and special occasions. Here, the classic is reimagined as a taller, lighter version that feels both timeless and effortlessly modern.

If you love airy, citrus-forward desserts, you might also like this Orange Angel Food Cake, another light and elegant option for entertaining.

Orange Chiffon Cake With Rose Petals

Kim Kushner

A light, airy orange chiffon cake infused with orange blossom and topped with rose petals—an elegant, dairy-free dessert perfect for Mother’s Day and spring entertaining.

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Ingredients

• ½ cup neutral oil such as avocado oil, vegetable oil or rice bran oil, plus extra for greasing
• 2 cups all-purpose flour sifted, plus extra for dusting
• 7 eggs room temperature
• 1¼ cups sugar
• ½ cup orange juice
• ½ tsp orange blossom water
• 2 tsp baking powder
• pinch salt
• 1 tsp edible dried rose petals (see note) crushed between your fingers

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease a 9-inch angel food pan with oil and dust lightly with flour. Shake out the excess flour.
• In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or using a handheld mixer), beat eggs on medium-high speed for 3 minutes. With the mixer on medium-high speed, slowly add sugar, 1 tbsp at a time. (It will take about 8 minutes.) The mixture should be thick, glossy and nearly fill up the entire bowl.
• Reduce the speed to medium. Add oil, orange juice and orange blossom water and mix for 2 minutes. Replace the whisk attachment with a paddle attachment.
• In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add half of the flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix on medium-low speed for 1 minute. Add the remaining flour mixture and mix for another 1 to 2 minutes, until well combined. (If you do not have a paddle attachment, you can use a spatula to fold in the baking powder, salt and flour.)
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until the cake springs back when tapped or a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Set aside to cool completely before removing from the pan.
• Run a knife along the sides and center of the pan to loosen the cake from the pan. Invert the cake onto a cake plate or platter. Sprinkle the crushed rose petals over the cake.

Keyword chiffon cake, dairy-free dessert, mother's day, orange cake, rose

Excerpted from The Modern Table: Kosher Recipes for Everyday Gatherings by Kim Kushner. Photography by Kate Sears. Copyright © 2022 by Kim Kushner. Excerpted with permission from Figure 1 Publishing. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.