Persian Love Cake
User Reviews
4.9
Persian Love Cake
Description
The Persian Love Cake blends ground almonds and semolina with aromatic ground cardamom and nutmeg, yielding a cake with a textured crumb and complex flavor profile. The wet ingredients—unsalted butter, brown and white sugars, eggs, yogurt, and orange zest—create a rich, moist base. Baking for up to an hour ensures a cooked-through cake that remains tender.
After baking, the cake is pierced multiple times and soaked with a warm syrup made from lemon juice, sugar, and rosewater. This syrup absorbs into the cake, keeping it moist and imparting a fragrant sweetness characteristic of Persian desserts. Scattered chopped pistachios on top add visual appeal and a contrasting texture.
The cake is allowed to cool and soak for at least an hour before serving. It can be served plain, garnished with pistachios, dried rose petals, or dusted with icing sugar or a lemon glaze, highlighting its versatile presentation and delightful flavor balance.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (200g) almond meal (almond flour)
- 1 1/2 cups (165g) semolina
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1.5 tsp ground cardamom
- 120g / 8 tbsp butter at room temperature, unsalted
- 3/4 cup (150g) brown sugar , packed
- 3/4 cup (150g) white sugar
- 2 egg
- 1 cup (250g) PLAIN yogurt
- orange zest
- 50g / 2 oz pistachios chopped or slivered (or almonds, raw
Syrup:
- 1/3 cup (85 ml) lemon juice
- 1/3 cup (70g) white sugar
- 1 tsp+ rosewater (adjust to taste, start with less)
Instructions
- Preheat oven 180C/350F (standard) or 160C/320F (fan). Grease and line a 22cm/9" cake pan.
- Mix almond meal, semolina, baking powder, nutmeg and cardamon in bowl.
- Beat butter and both sugars with an electric beater until incorporated. Add eggs, beat until smooth. Then add yoghurt and orange zest, beat until smooth.
- Add dry ingredients. Stir until mixed through.
- Pour into pan, smooth surface. Scatter over pistachios.
- Bake 50 minutes to 1 hour, until skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Poke 30 - 40 holes all over the cake using a skewer (poke all the way through). Pour warm syrup over while cake still hot. Leave to soak for 1 hour+ before removing from pan. Cool then slice to serve.
- Pictured decorated with dried rose petals. Alternative: no decorations (pistachios alone look great!), dust with icing / confectionary sugar, of a Lemon Glaze (use this one)
Syrup:
- Place ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to simmer and stir to dissolve sugar. Simmer for 2 minutes. Keep warm (or reheat) for pouring.
Notes
- This cake remains moist despite lacking traditional flour due to the syrup soaked into the hot cake after baking.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 12Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 423 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 423cal | 21% |
| Carbohydrates | 53g | 18% |
| Protein | 9g | 18% |
| Fat | 20g | 31% |
| Saturated Fat | 6g | 30% |
| Cholesterol | 51mg | 17% |
| Sodium | 26mg | 1% |
| Potassium | 250mg | 5% |
| Fiber | 3g | 12% |
| Sugar | 33g | 66% |
| Vitamin A | 325IU | 7% |
| Vitamin C | 3mg | 3% |
| Calcium | 134mg | 13% |
| Iron | 2.1mg | 12% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.9
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