Not only does this Persian Love Cake look beautiful, it tastes like a dream too. It is a moist, densely textured cake with both almond flour and regular flour. The cake is flavoured with lemon, rose and cardamom and adorned with a floral rose glaze, with chopped pistachios and rose petals.
Now for a bit of background about this cake: The term ‘Persian Love Cake’ was coined by Yasmin Khan, a writer, broadcaster and cook. Khan grew up in Birmingham, England, with a Pakistani father and Iranian mother. One of her cookbooks, ‘The Saffron Tales’ includes her recipe for the Persian Love Cake. I was intrigued when I saw this cake, as it is so unlike any cakes that I’ve grown up with. I also love rose flavoured things, so I was inspired to make Yasmin’s recipe.
After some experimenting, I created my own version of the Persian Love Cake. It has the perfect balance of citrus, warming cardamom and fragrant rose. The natural oils from the almond flour ensure the cake stays moist, which is great if you happen to have leftovers. The cake will keep well for a couple of days at room temperature covered with foil.
Baking with Rose water:
There are two types of rose water available: culinary rose water specifically for use in food, and medicinal/cosmetic rose water. When shopping for your rose water, be sure to buy the culinary one! Rose water can be overpowering if too much is used, so be sure to measure it carefully. Your baked goods should never taste like you’re consuming perfume; if they do, you’ll know you’ve used too much.
Fresh or ground cardamom:
For this recipe, you can either use cardamom pods and crush the seeds into a powder using a mortar and pestle, or you can use ground cardamom. You will get the most flavor from using the pods, however it’s not totally necessary. If using the pods, you will need 6 to make up one teaspoon of ground cardamom.
Persian Love Cake
Ingredients
- ½ cup (115g) salted butter room temperature
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ¾ cup castor sugar
- zest of one medium lemon
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons rose water
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
For the glaze:
- 1½ cups confectioners sugar
- 1 tablespoon rose water
- 3 tablespoons milk
Topping:
- ¼ cup chopped pistachios
- rose petals or rose buds
Instructions
Make the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 9 inch pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together almond flour, all-purpose flour, cardamom, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, using a stand mixer or hand-held mixer, cream butter, oil and castor sugar until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Beat in the eggs one at a time. Mix in lemon zest, lemon juice and rose water.
- Add flour mixture in two additions on low speed, mixing until just incorporated. Be careful not to overmix.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in oven for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Place cake on a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the glaze:
- Into a medium bowl, sift the confectioners sugar. Add the rose water and milk and stir to combine. Glaze should be thick, but not like a paste. It should be pourable. If it's too thick, add more milk half a tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached. Pour glaze over cooled cake. Decorate with chopped pistachios and rose petals or rose buds.
This cake looks amazing and deliciious
Hi, can you replace the almond flour with normal flour? Thanks. Looks delish!
Hi Reba, I’m sorry for not seeing this earlier! I have not tried the cake with regular flour but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work with either. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy the cake.
If this cake tastes as good as it looks, I’m in so much trouble. The receipe was so easy. Can’t wait to try it.