You’re going to fall in love with this Persian Love Cake!!! Made with semolina and almond meal with a hint of citrus and subtle spices, this cake is soaked with hot syrup to make it moist and add sweetness.
Straightforward to make, a beautiful cake for afternoon tea or to finish off a Persian or Middle Eastern themed meal – try these slow cooked Persian Lamb Shanks and Crispy Saffron Rice!
Welcome to the 3rd and final instalment of PERSIAN WEEK! A week in which I’m sharing 4 recipes so you can make your very own Persian feast at home!!
Here’s what’s on the menu for your Persian Feast:
-
Persian Lamb Shank recipe – the main event! Braised until fall apart tender in a beautiful aromatic broth. Incredibly easy with every day spices you’ll find at any supermarket!
-
Persian Saffron Rice – that golden, crispy beauty… and it tastes as amazing as it looks!!!
-
Persian Cucumber Tomato Salad (in the Lamb Shanks recipe)- lovely and fresh, with a little sprinkle of Sumac for a touch of Persian exoticness; and
-
Persian L♥ve Cake (today’s recipe)- made with semolina and almond meal, this cake is soaked with a lemon-rosewater syrup, with a hint of citrus and spice flavours. You’re going to LOVE this Persian Looooove cake!
AND SO THE STORY GOES…
A Persian girl madly in love with a Prince made a beautiful cake with magical powers to make him fall in love with her.
As for whether it worked – I never got to the bottom of that. Some say they lived happily ever after, others say he never returned her love – though hopefully she got to eat the whole cake herself.
Now – I can’t promise that this cake has magical powers to woo your secret crush (whether it be George Clooney or a boy band) but I can promise that it tastes as enchanting as that story (despite the unsatisfying ending to the fairytale!!)
ABOUT THIS PERSIAN LOVE CAKE
This is a cake is made with semolina and almond meal instead of the usual flour. It has subtle spicing from cardamom and nutmeg, a hint of citrus from orange and some lovely tang from lemon in the syrup.
Most people say that the best part about making this cake is pouring the syrup over the cake when it’s fresh out of the oven so it soaks right through, adding sweetness as well as moisture.
I’d argue that and say that the most satisfying part is jabbing lots and lots of holes in the cake.
It’s totally not in the spirit of a Persian Love Cake. More Basic Instinct, really.
But I cannot lie. It’s my favourite part! (Other than eating it, of course). – Nagi x
PS Decorated the Persian way with dried edible rose petals from Essential Ingredient, my favourite gourmet food store. I spend hours in there every time I go and always treat myself to something a little special. Last time it was the pictured rose petals. 🌹🌹🌹
A PERSIAN FEAST
Persian Lamb Shanks | Tachin – Saffron Baked Rice | Persian Chopped Salad (in Lamb Shanks recipe) | This Persian L♥ve Cake
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
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Persian Love Cake
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 unsalted butter , at room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) brown sugar , packed
- 3/4 cup (150g) white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup (250g) plain yoghurt
- Zest of one orange
- 50g / 2 oz raw pistachios , chopped or slivered (or almonds)
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.
Recipe Notes:
- General note: cakes made without flour like this can tend to be a bit crumbly and dry. This cake is not - the moisture comes from the syrup poured over the cake while it's hot!
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
Me – in Vietnam.
Dozer – with the golden retriever boarder, running wild with his friends.
How can you make this recipe gluten-free?
Use gf flour instead of the semolina. Works great!
1 1/2 cups of semolina is more than 165gr, more like 225gr ?
That depends on what country you are in Sanja as cup sizes vary. Just use the weight as I have it written and it will turn out right. N x
O Nagi!
Your recipes are so good even when I tinker with them!!
I had a lot of limes so i made a Persian lime cardomon cake using three limes instead of the orange and lemon for the zest and syrup
And ditching the nutmeg. Also I swapped 0.5 cup of semolina for 0.5 cup of coconut
Otherwise I kept everything the same and topped it with toasted coconut.
It was tangy and delicious!
You are such an inspiration! Thank you!!
I wonder if you could bake this the day before ( including pouring the syrup over ) and it would still be good?
I want to make it as a gift so would need to keep it overnight. Thanks.
If you keep it in an airtight container it will be fine the next day – the syrup keeps it moist! N x
Love the this cake but both times I’ve cooked it has sunk in the middle. I followed the recipe exactly as written. It’s cooked through and had sunk when I checked it at 50mins
Made this for the second time, reduced oven temperature by 10 degrees, and cooked for longer, and still it sank in the middle. So disappointing especially as I can’t work out why. Any thoughts?
I’m not willing to pay almost $17.00 for RoseWater, when the recipe only calls for 1 tsp. Any thoughts?
Try an indian grocer. I got mine for $5
Just wondering if i should use almond meal or almond flour as they are different. Thanks !!BTW Love your recipes !!
Thank you Nagi for this wonderful recipe, enjoyed by all who tasted it. As with all your recipes, clear, concise and accompanied by useful suggestions. I chose a loaf pan, as my first (round) effort sank a little in the middle.
Un merveilleux gâteau aux saveurs aromatiques.
😎🏖
Semolina is not gluten free.
Hi Nagi, I was wondering how long this cake keeps? I used to be hopeless at baking, but I’ve made your vanilla cupcakes, carrot cupcakes, and strawberry crumble. People think I can cook now! Haha
Two questions : almond meal or almond flour? They are not the same apparently…
And is coarse semolina ok, or does it have to be fine?
Thanks!
Hi Navi,
I baked your cake this week, it was to die for.
Only thing which went wrong was that it sunk from the middle.
But surely I will do some temperature adjustments next time.
Hi Nagi, thank you for yet another delicious recipe 😋 I love the crumb and the citrus taste is amazing!
Thanks so much Sylvia, I’m so happy you enjoyed it! N x
Made this yesterday & it turned out perfect, I was concerned it might sink in the middle as others have said theirs had but it didnt thankfully. Very moist & not too sweet. Will be making again & again.
This looks interesting. I was just wondering if skipping the syrup was an option?
Or is it vital to the end product?
I can see adding if I make this for visitors but if just for myself I wondered…
Just saw the not about moisture coming from the syrup… but still curious if it could be optional?
Can these be made into muffins??
Hi Jenn, it’s important in this recipe – it’s what keeps the cake deliciously moist. N x
Hi.. please tell me the amount of orange zest as every place have different sizes of oranges available.. please mention spoon size or metric.. Thanks
Hi Shachi, it will be about 1-2 tbsp here, it’s not a dealbreaker in the recipe though. If you want a more pronounced flavour, just add more 🙂 N x
I’m not sure about the amount of
Cardamom?
Please help
Hi Carmel, 1.5 tsp ground cardamom as per the recipe ingredients list 🙂 N x
Okay I cannot possibly put into words how much I loved every single thing about this cake. It was lifechangingly good lol I had so much fun making it since it had ingredients I had never tried and I think I’m gonna be making this again and again until I die. It’s such a beautiful, pretty cake too so I’m really excited to make this for special occasions and share with others who maybe haven’t tried anything like this before.
Everything you said. Yes! Yes! Yes! You and I could seriously enjoy this cake together. I’m making it again this weekend for a gathering. The world needs to try this cake.
Woo hoo!! I am so glad you enjoyed it Allyson! N x
Yes! I agree. Why is this cake not more well known? It’s beyond me because it is just so damn good. I have made it several times again since then and enjoyed it just as much everytime. I also tried using lemon instead of orange this week as a colleague is allergic to orange and it turned out well but very tangy. Tried it again today with less lemon in the syrup and a bit more cardamom and nutmeg as I felt the extra lemon cut through the spice flavours too much. Will see how this one goes, it’s cooling on the bench now.
Hi Nagi
Love all your recipes and my husband is so glad I found your site! I’m wondering if I could sub polenta for semolina to make it gluten-free?
It’s a different texture so won’t work the same way unfortunately Vanessa – N x
Try rice semolina from Indian grocery store.