Step 1

Preheat oven to 160°C. Grease pans; line base and long sides with baking paper.

Step 2

To make cake, beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until mixture is light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just combined between additions (the mixture will look curdled at this stage). Stir in sifted flours, ground almonds and sour cream, in two batches, until well combined.

Step 3

Divide mixture into four bowls. Tint each mixture a different shade of pink, so each is darker than the last (leave one plain, if you like). Divide cake mixture evenly into pans. Bake 45 minutes or until cooked when tested. Stand 10 minutes; turn top-side up onto wire racks to cool.

Step 4

Beat the butter and rosewater in a small narrow bowl with an electric mixer until the butter is as white as possible.

Step 5

Gradually beat in half the sifted icing sugar, then the milk, then the remaining sifted icing sugar.

Step 6

Beat until the buttercream is smooth and spreadable. Keep scraping down the side of the bowl during beating.

Step 7

Using cutter; cut 6 rounds from each cake. Trim each round to 1cm in height.

Step 8

Secure lightest cake rounds on serving plates with a little of the butter cream; spread a third of the remaining butter cream over the cake rounds; top with a slightly darker shade of cake. Repeat with the butter cream and remaining cakes, finishing with the darkest shade of cakes.

Step 9

On the day of serving, trim flower stems to lie neatly on top of the cakes. Wrap stems in florists’ tape; position cake toppers and the flowers on top of cakes.