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.
H G says
Sorry but semolina is not a gluten free flour!
Kelly | Foodtasia says
This looks lovely! I definitely see why it’s called a “Love” cake! It’s very similar to a Middle Eastern basbousa cake, but yours is much more beautiful!
Jayne Knight says
He’s having a ball with the other borders.
Missing mum? Ha!! Having too much fun.
Marisa Franca says
Such a beautiful cake — it reminds me of the Italian semolina cake. The touch of rose petals is beautiful!! We really enjoy trying different cuisines but the more I learn about those cuisines the more I realize we are quite similar. I’ve already pinned the cake.
Robin says
This looks as lovely as the beach Dozer is playing on! When I tagged it on Pinterest, it came up with a big GF label, but upon checking, semolina is not GF – so you may want to make some adjustment on how it gets translated to Pinterest; you certainly don’t mention that in your post. Will try this beautiful cake. Enjoy your travels!
Gail says
Hi Nagi
OMG! I am a “water baby” so when I see the sea, boats etc …I get excited! It’s beautiful and thanks to you I am getting to know more of the Vietnamese culture. 😊
The cake recipe looks delish! One or two things will have to search for. No worries.
Awww …look at Dozer and company …fun, fun, fun 😂
Enjoy the weekend! Hugs ..😊
Phoebe says
I’m so excited to try this! I’ve wanted to make Persian Love Cake forever and it feels like you read my mind 🙂 I was wondering, do you think it’s possible to make this recipe into muffins (in muffin tray), with a shorter bake time?
Brad says
Great, thanks for this recipe. In your notes you comment that it is gluten free cake but it is not as it contains semolina, a wheat product, so it is not GF and not suitable for coeliacs. Just thought I needed to clarify this. Thanks – love following your recipes!
Hilary Amor says
You won’t get a spelling error message if you type in a genuine word in place of your intended one.
I’m not going to add organs zest to my love cake, Nagi !!!
Shan says
OMG – Wow, this looks absolutely divine! I’m going to make next week for a family gathering… this cake could also be considered Christmas fair if you take the spice measure into consideration… I’m going to add it to my menu list for this year’s festivities.
Thank you for posting!
X
Dahn says
I have never tried a Persian cake. I’m not even sure I have seen it in a restaurant. Is there another name for it? I am guessing it would be a pretty heavy and dense cake but the syrup would keep it moist.
Kathy says
I’m gluten free. Any suggested substitutions for the semolina, please?
Subhasmita says
This is love at first sight Nagi. What a lovely cake. Yummy.