Persian Love Cake - Recipes - Lip-Smacking Food (2024)

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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.