Persian Love Cake is a beautifully scented, rich and delicious cake. Filled with exotic the flavours of cardamon, saffron and rose water this cake is truly a slice of luxury. Loaded with ground almonds and creamy yogurt then drizzled with a sticky citrus syrup, this cake will keep perfectly for a few days while still retaining the moist texture.
Isn't the name of this cake just beautiful, Persian Love Cake. I feel like a fairytale princess whenever I make it. Legend has it that a Persian woman concocted this cake and filled it with love magic in order to make a handsome Prince fall in love with her. Nobody can agree on whether the tale has a happy ending or not, but I like to think the Prince fell head over heels for the woman and they lived happily ever after. I mean, who could deny the loving powers of this cake.
Traditionally a Persian Love Cake is decorated with dried rose petals and chopped pistachios. Unfortunately I was unable to find dried rose petals... okay okay, I couldn't be bothered to look for them, you got me, so chopped pistachios and live roses will have to do. I still think it looks rather enchanting.
Persian Love Cake
Ingredients:
- 6 cardamom pods
- 100ml full fat milk
- pinch of saffron strands
- 6 large free range eggs
- 250g caster sugar
- 250ml full fat greek yogurt
- 200g ground almonds
- 100g plain flour
- 1tsp baking powder
- 2tsp rose water
- 75g pistachios, chopped
- 1 orange, zested (reserve juice for syrup)
- 1 lemon, zested (reserve juice for syrup)
- For the syrup:
- lemon juice from zested lemon
- orange juice from zested orange
- 50ml water
- 125g caster sugar
- 2tsp rosewater
Cooking Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 175C and grease and line a 22cm cake tin.
- Remove the cardamom seeds from their pods and lightly crush with a pestle and mortar.
- Heat the milk in a small saucepan until warm (do not allow to boil) and add in the saffron strands, set aside while you make the cake.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer mix the eggs and sugar together till thick and creamy. Fold in the almonds, flour, baking powder and yogurt. Add the orange and lemon zest and the chopped pistachios and cardamon and gently fold through until just combined. Stir in the milk and rosewater.
- Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 45-50 minutes, until golden and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out with just a few crumbs clinging to it.
- While the cake is baking, make the syrup. In a medium, heavy bottomed saucepan combine the orange and lemon juice, water, sugar and rosewater and simmer over a medium low heat until the liquid has reduced by half. Around 10 minutes. Brush onto the warm cake and allow to cool in the tin.
- Decorate with rose petals and more chopped pistachios and dust with icing sugar.
