Recipe: Persian Love Cake

Recipe: Persian Love Cake

35m prep | 50m cook

Last updated

An icon of Iranian folklore, this cake was said to hold such appeal it could make a prince fall in love with the person who baked it.

One bite of this impossibly moist almond-based cake, scented with cardamom and nutmeg, drizzled with rose water syrup, coated in citrussy icing and topped with pistachio slivers and rose petals, and you too will believe in its powers of attraction.

Ingredients (Serves 8-10)

  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 120g unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup Greek or natural yoghurt
  • Zest of one orange
  • 200g almond meal
  • 170g semolina
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp ground cardamom
  • 1 tsp ground nutmeg
  • Slivered pistachios and edible rose petals to decorate

For the syrup:

  • 1/2 cup caster sugar
  • 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 2 tsp rose water

For the icing:

  • 150g icing sugar, sifted
  • 2 tsp cold water
  • 15mL freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/4 tsp rose water

 

Preheat oven to 180C, and grease and line a 9" cake tin.

Beat the butter, brown sugar and white sugar together in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment at a medium-high speed until pale (around 2 minutes), scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula mid-way through.

Add the eggs one a time, beating slowly for 20 seconds between each, then add the yoghurt and orange zest and stir to combine.

Fold the almond meal, semolina, baking powder, cardamom and nutmeg through the wet mix, then pour the batter carefully into the prepared cake tin. Flatten the surface of the cake batter a little with a rubber spatula, then bake for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean after being inserted into the centre of the cake.

10 minutes before the end of the cake's baking time, combine the sugar and lemon juice for the syrup in a small saucepan until just simmering, then remove from heat. Add the rose water and stir. Set aside.

Pour the syrup evenly over the hot cake as it comes from the oven, and leave to stand in the tin for at least 10 minutes. Transfer to a cake rack and leave to cool.

Combine the icing ingredients in a small bowl and spoon over the cooled cake, then top with pistachio and rose petals.

Slice and serve.

Products Used in This Recipe

Related Recipes

Latest Articles & Recipes