Persian Love Cake
Recipe: Persian Love Cake
This Persian Love Cake is delicious with subtle fragrances of rose and lemon. It is irresistibly buttery and moist. Perfect for any celebration. Baked with all purpose and almond flours, it has a mixture of aromatics, from rose water, lemon and cardamom. Remains moist because of yogurt. Light and airy due to the eggs.
Origins Of Persian Love Cake
The mythical story is that a Persian woman fell deeply in love with the Prince. She would bake a cake with intoxicating spices and saffron to make him fall in love with her. However, many Iranians are unfamiliar with the Love Cake. It probably originated in the early 2000s when perhaps an Australian chef baked a love cake with exotic spices and rosewater. Some believe that it is the distant relative of the Portuguese Sri Lankan cake Bolo Di Amor ( cake of love). What the story, legend or origins, this cake is pretty popular with my family.
Memories
The first time I baked this Persian Love Cake was to celebrate the 5th Blogiversary on 01/01/2017. Yes a milestone achieved especially considering that my hubby thought I would give up after a few posts. During this journey not only have I learnt a lot about technology but also about food from so many different cuisines. It gives me the incentive to try out new recipes. Some fail, some are failure with my family and many are keepers.
Blogging has also opened up a whole new friendship. Remember years back when people had pen pals. You wrote letters and got to know that person without physically meeting them. Food blogging is a bit like that but through technology and food. Some Bloggers I got an opportunity to meet but many I haven’t.
Participating in different groups has been an extremely important learning curve for me. FoodieMonday/ Bloghop, Shhh Cooking Secretly, We Knead To Bake, Bread Bakers, Home Bakers’ Challenge, etc have all taught me so much about food culture, presentation, photography and how to write better posts.
My Family, My Support
I truly wouldn’t have come so far if it were not for the support I got from my kids and hubby. My daughter Namrata encouraging me to participate in different groups, introducing me to the social media. When I began, I wasn’t even on Facebook and had no idea what it was. She set up my Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram accounts. Learnt from her how to make pins.
My son Neel for helping me to understand what Google documents are, how to create them, how to add links to posts, etc.
My eldest son, Nikhil for advising me how to present food, what utensils, plates to use, etc. And also for giving that nudge to try out new recipes.
And final a big thank you to my hubby. He patiently waits for the food, while I take umpteen of photos. Also he is my main critic. If the recipe is not too good he will tell me not to blog it. During our travels, he too now looks out for props for the food photos. Though we can’t buy all of them, he generally will say “okay we have space in the bag for this one”.
Over Time
There has an improvement in the photos I take. Just as well, there is so much info you can get on the internet. And I know there is room for improvement. Writing skills have become better. I conquered one of my fears and that is how to make videos for YouTube. My support for that came from Shobha whose YTC is Shobha’s Food Mazaa. Azlin who blogs at Linsfood. com for giving me that push to try out a video. Again the rest of the learning was done by reading articles and posts on the internet. As I am rewriting this post, it has been 14 years since I started the blog. Next big step that I would like to take is have a cookery book.
Present Time
Though I have baked this Persian Love Cake often over the years, I didn’t take better photos. I baked it again to celebrate my son and daughter’s 40th birthday, Unfortunately, the twins couldn’t celebrate the milestone together as the Canadian Government refused her application for tourist visa twice! It was really frustrating for us. The reasons given were all silly! Then the Tweenies planned to celebrate it in Dubai, where my daughter is. That too didn’t work as the war began between Iran and the surrounding Middle Eastern Countries, all because of a brainless President!
Sharing Persian Love Cake Recipe With The Group Sunday Funday
For this Sunday, the host is Camilla who blogs at Cam’s Culinary. She suggested the following, “July 20th is International Cake Day. Let’s share a favorite recipe for a cake from anywhere in the world. If you don’t have a favorite, I’ll take a cake from America”. When she had announced this theme, I knew I had to redo the Persian Love Cake.
Check Out The Cakes Members Of Sunday Funday Have Baked
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- Kirsebærkage – Danish Cherry Cake by Food Lust People Love
- Kyiv Cake by A Messy Kitchen
- Madeira Cake by Sneha’s Recipe
- Persian Love Cake by Mayuri’s Jikoni
- Taiwanese Castella Cake by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
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Ingredients Required For Persian Love Cake
All Purpose Flour
Also known as plain flour. About 150g which is approximately 1¼ cup.
Almond Flour
We need about 200g which is approximately 1¾ cups.
Leavening Agents
We are going to use both baking powder and baking soda (soda bicarbonate).
Salt
A little salt brings out all the flavours. If you use salt less butter, add ½ tsp. I have added only ¼ tsp as I have used salted butter.
Butter
I have used salted butter. We need about 115g which is about ½ cup. Allow the butter to come to a room temperature. Should be soft but not melted.
Eggs
This cake is quite eggy as we will use 4 large eggs. I usually leave the eggs out at room temperature overnight.
Sugar
Caster sugar, 200g which is about 1 cup.
Fresh Lemon
We need both the zest and the juice. Add the zest to the batter, and sprinkle very little on the glaze. Lemon juice will be required for the lemon glaze.
Greek Yogurt
Plain Greek yogurt. Allow it to sit out at room temperature so that it is not very cold.
Cardamom Powder
This cake requires cardamom powder.
Nutmeg
Add a pinch or ⅛ tsp.
Rosewater
Use good quality rosewater. I prefer to buy mine from a Middle Eastern Store. Can also get it online. We will add some to the batter and the lemon glaze.
Powdered Sugar
Also known as icing sugar or confectioners sugar. We need 1 cup for the glaze.
Pistachios
Try and get those dark green pistachios. I usually get mine from Dubai or India. We will need some for the topping. Either crush the pistachios into a coarse powder or slice them. You can add pistachio coarse powder in the batter. If you use about ¼ cup, remove ¼ cup almond flour from the measured amount. Mix the pistachio with the remaining almond flour.
Edible Rose Petals
I get aromatic dried roses from Dubai. They are known as Damask roses. Remove the green stalk gently. Using your finger slowly push it in the small hollow. This will help to separate the petals.
PERSIAN LOVE CAKE
Ingredients
FOR THE CAKE BATTER
- 1¼ cup all purpose flour 150g
- 1¾ cup almond flour 150g
- 1 cup caster sugar 200g
- 4 large eggs
- ½ cup soft butter 115g
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp cardamom powder
- ⅛ tsp nutmeg powder
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 1 tbsp rosewater
FOR THE LEMON DRIZZLE
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 drops rosewater
- 1 tbsp water
FOR THE LEMON GLAZE
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp rosewater
- 1-2 tbsp lemon juice
FOR GARNISHING
- Some edible rose petals
- 2-3 tbsp pistachios slivers or coarse powder
- ½ tsp lemon zest
Instructions
PREPARE THE LEMON DRIZZLE
- Mix sugar and water in a small pan.
- Heat the mixture until the sugar melts.
- Cool the mixture.
- Add the lemon juice and rosewater.
BAKE THE CAKE
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
- Line the bottom of a 9 inch round cake tin with some parchment paper.
- Sift all purpose, almonds flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a mixing bowl.
- Add the lemon zest, cardamom and nutmeg powders. Mix well.
- In another bowl whisk butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
- Add the yogurt and rosewater. Whisk to mix.
- Add one egg at a time and whisk. Allow the egg to incorporate completely before adding the next one.
- Add the flour mixture.
- Using a spatula fold the flour into the butter egg mixture. Don't over mix.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared tin.
- Bake for 35- 40 minutes or until it is done. The cake should be light golden in colour.
- Insert a toothpick in the middle. If it comes out clean the cake is baked.
- Take the cake out of the oven.
- Leave the cake in the tin.
- Using a skewer poke holes all over the top of the cake while it is still hot.
- Sprinkle the lemon drizzle over it.
- Allow the cake to cool in the tin before removing it.
PREPARE THE LEMON GLAZE
- Add the powdered sugar in a mixing bowl.
- Add the lemon juice and rosewater.
- Mix well till it is smooth.
FINAL PREPARATION
- Allow the cake to cool down completely before adding the lemon glaze.
- Pour the lemon glaze over the top of the cake.
- Sprinkle the pistachios, lemon zest and the rose petals.
- Cut slices and enjoy.
Notes
- If you want to add some coarsely powdered pistachio in the cake batter, replace about ¼ cup of almond flour with it.
- Adding lemon glaze is optional, but trust it tastes really good.
- Use less of rosewater if the floral aroma is too intense.
- This cake should not be tall, so use the right size tin. It will not bake well if the tin is smaller. A 8 inch tin is fine if you don't have a nine inch one.
Pin For Later
A Small Request
If you do try this recipe then please either
- add a comment below,
- send a picture to my email mayuri.ajay.patel62@gmail.com
- tag me as #mayuri_jikoni on Instagram
- or comment on Pinterest @mayuri62
8 Comments
Gloria Fernandes
January 2, 2017 at 5:35 am
Congrats on your blog anniversary ..This cake looks stunning loved the texture ..
Rafeeda AR
January 2, 2017 at 10:32 am
This cake must have smelled and tasted lovely… Congratulations on holding on for 5 years… surviving in the big world of food blogging is not easy, takes a lot of passion and determination… wishing you many many more years to go on… 🙂
Herbs Spices and Tradition
January 2, 2017 at 12:50 pm
Congratulations on your blog's 5th Anniversary, wishing you many more. Nice post and awesome cake.
Cooking at Mayflower
January 3, 2017 at 8:11 am
Congrats and happy new year dear. Lovely cake
Mina Joshi
January 14, 2017 at 8:23 am
First of all congratulations on your blog's 5th anniversary. your article reminds me a lot about myself. Like you I had to learn quite a few things to make my blog look good and my son encouraged and helped me. Here's wishing you many more blog anniversaries. The cake looks delicious. I love the topping with pistachios.
Shobha
January 16, 2017 at 8:00 am
Congratulations on your Blogs anniversary.. A perfect way to celebrate with a lovely and flavourful cake 🙂
Nayna Kanabar
January 18, 2017 at 10:06 pm
Many congratulations on your blog anniversary. Wishing you lots more wonderful blogging years ahead. The cake looks and sounds delicious and I would most certainly enjoy a slice.
Preethi Prasad
January 21, 2017 at 12:07 pm
Happy Anniversary!!!Lovely Cake.