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.
Pat says
I love all your recipes and I am about to make the Persian Love cake my mouth is watering at the thought, may I ask the tablespoon of baking powder seems a lot,
Nagi says
Hi Pat – you need it here as almond flour is quite dense and needs more lift than regular flour. N x
Katrina says
This cake turned out perfectly. I thought it would be crumbly but it wasn’t. Very moist and fragrant flavours. I used orange juice instead of lemon in the syrup but everything else exactly as recipe.
Nagi says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Katrina!! N x
Denver Heather says
Hi Nagi, Love your recipes and website (and Dozer! I have a couple 4-pawed sous chefs too! 😀); you are my go-to resource for all of my cooking! Couple questions for the Persian Love Cake…I see in the comments that semolina is key, but my stores are out of it here in Denver, due to the virus. I’m going to try it with bread flour and see how it goes. Do you think that will work? Do you have a good US or online (not Amazon) source for rose water and edible rose petals? Can’t find either here, even at Whole Foods. I made my own with what I believe to be organic roses but am a little hesitant to use it. Any ideas are super appreciated, as are your wonderful recipes, as always!
Louise Elsom says
Hi, if I have a nut allergy, what can I replace the almond flour with?
Jenny Cutler says
Can you tell me if Persion love cake can be frozen?
Can you make if Persion Tachin can be made ahead of time. Thanks Jenny
Nagi says
Hi Jenny, the cake can be frozen – however I would hold off from pouring the syrup onto it until after you defrost it. Once thawed, heat in the microwave then top with the warm syrup. The tachin is best serves fresh when you get that crunchy layer of rice straight out of the oven 🙂 N x
Nina says
Hi Nagi do you think could sub the butter with a flavourless oil instead to lower the saturated fat content, thanks
Natalie Dalati says
Thank you for this recipe. The cake was easy to make, super moist and oh so tasty. 2 things I changed about the recipe. I put 50 gm of pistachios through the food processor to get “pistachio meal” and added that to the cake with a little less almond meal and semolina. The other thing I did is use orange juice instead of lemon when making the syrup. So good
Nagi says
Sounds great Natalie! N x
Sarah says
Hi Nagi,
If I’m to make this cake gluten free, can I replace the semolina with any other alternative? Would adding more almond meal work?
Nagi says
I haven’t tried Sarah – semolina is a significant ingredient here unfortunately. N x
Nidhi says
Hi Nagi,
I don’t have a stand mixer or hand mixer at the moment – do I need one for this recipe? Is it an issue if I beat the butter eggs sugar by hand, or will it not be fluffy enough?
Thanks,
Nidhi
Nagi says
Hi Nidhi, a little elbow grease and you’ll be fine! Love to know how it turns out! N x
Nidhi says
Hi Nagi!
Just wanted to let you know that I made this for a dinner party over the weekend and it was a HUGE hit – dish of the evening (as all your dishes are).
I’ve been cooking your dishes almost exclusively for the last year and every single one is so unbelievably amazing and tasty! I’m a huge fan of yours Nagi – keep up the great work.
Arefeh says
Hi,
What Is the alternative option for Samolina?
Thanks
Nagi says
Hi Arefah – sorry you need the semolina for this cake 🙂 N x
Zee says
Hi Nagi,
The recipe looks delicious but I was wondering if there is a way to make an egg-free version. What would be the best substitute?
Thanks for your advice!
Mae Lim says
I was fretting the cake would be crumbly but it turned out great! So moist and delicious. Make sure to follow the instructions and it’ll be fine.
Nagi says
I’m so glad you gave it a go Mae! N x
Kathryn Grime says
Hi Nagi, I just love all your recipes, not that I’ve made them all yet, give me time! I made the Persian Love cake for my daughter-in-laws 30th birthday, and it was just lovely. Keep up the good work!
Nagi says
I’m so glad you loved it Kathryn!
Michelle Trgovac says
I had my first slice of Persian Love cake in a restaurant and fell in love and had to make it myself. I found this recipe and followed it exactly. Taste is beautiful but was hoping it to be more moist. Was quiet crumbly. Perhaps more syrup next time. Would juice if an orange work better than lemon juice? Lovely but didn’t WOW me!
Nagi says
Hi Michelle, sorry it didn’t wow you, did you follow the recipe exactly or make any changes? – N x
Peter Formosa says
Hi Nagi, many thanks for the wonderful recipes which have become family favourites, regarding the Persian love cake is it ok to replace the semolina with polenta and if so how much? ta
Nagi says
Hi Peter, I find polenta too grainy unfortunately!- N x
Samantha says
I love this page Nagi, you have a way with words that I love and such a great sense of humour. keep up the good work. 🙂
Nagi says
Aww thanks so much Samantha ❤️
Roger Longfellow says
Hi Nagi! Made this tonight and it was fantastic. So flavourful! It sagged a little in the middle but I chalked that up to old baking powder. I didn’t have dried rose petals but I did have dried lavender flowers (also from the Essential Ingredient 😉). They complimented the rose water in the drizzle sauce just fine. Will be making again, often.
Nagi says
Sounds amazing Roger!
Roger Longfellow says
Nagi, there is fine and coarse semolina available from the shops. Which type do you use for the Persian Love Cake?
Mayanka Khetarpal says
Hi Nagi,
How can you make almond flour at home ?
Nagi says
Hi Mayanka, you can use a food processor to blitz almonds, I usually just buy it already done for me though – N x
Zainab says
So sweet, and dominant lemon, orange flavor
Nagi says
Hi Zainab, yes the sugar syrup is quite sweet, you could always reduce the citrus if you preferred – N x
Chathu says
We made this cake last night for dessert and it was delicious! Only thing I would change is to make more syrup next time as mine didn’t soak all the way to the bottom.
Ben Shaw says
The cake tasted delicious but the lemon in the syrup was a but too dominant for me and masked the spices (it still tasted great though). and although the cake wasn’t dry, it was a bit crumbly. I only added 1/2 tbsp of baking powder because 1 tbsp seemed like a lot.
Nagi says
Hi Ben, yes it definitely needs the full tablespoon to help it rise and you could always reduce the lemon if you prefer – N x
shokufeh says
hi nagi, thank you for share this recipe..The story of this cake was very beautiful.. i am Enjoying this legend as an PERSIAN girl
shokufe from iran (:
Nagi says
Thanks so much!
Jeena says
Hi Nagi! I’ve got a rather stupid doubt….are almond meal and almond flour the same? Could I use almond flour for this? TIA