The origin of this cake is unknown, but the story goes, a Persian woman in love with a Persian Prince baked this cake, filled with powerful love magic, to make him fall in love with her.
It’s something I grew up eating for celebrations, such as Nowruz (Persian New Years), and have been made with a beautiful harmony of flavor that encompasses a part of my heritage; Pistachio, Rosewater, Citrus, Cardamom, Almond.
Traditionally made with Almond flour, but I love the flavor of Pistachio so much, I felt like it needed to be a part of the actual cake, and not just a garnish, so I ground up some pistachio into a flour, and added it to this moist, light, crumbly cake.
I hope you enjoy this as much as I do, and did growing up!
Persian Love Cake
Servings: 12 servings
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Olive oil
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1-2 tsp Zest of a lemon
- 1 tsp Cardamom
- 4 Large Eggs
- 1 cup Plain yogurt (not Greek)
- 2 tsp Rosewater
- 130 g Roasted salted pistachio approx. 1cup
- 130 g Almond Flour approx 1 1/4cup
- 180 g Bob's Redmill GF 1:1 Baking flour approx 1 1/2 cup; *
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- 3/4 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 1 tbsp Lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tsp Rosewater
- 1 cup Powdered sugar
- 1-2 tbsp Dried Rose Petals
- 1-2 tbsp Crushed pistachio Preferably raw dried unroasted for the vibrant color
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350F
- Add ingredients below in a bowl or stand mixer and whisk for 2 minutes with a whisk attachment or hand mixer1/2 cup Olive oil, 1 cup Sugar, 1 tsp Cardamom, 1-2 tsp Zest of a lemon
- Add eggs one at a time, and mix for 5 minutes until emulsified and fluffy4 Large Eggs
- Add yogurt and rosewater, and mix until homogenous1 cup Plain yogurt (not Greek), 2 tsp Rosewater
- Using a personal blender or a food processor: add 1/2 cup flour and all the roasted pistachio, and process until you make pistachio flour.130 g Roasted salted pistachio
- Add Mixture above with dry ingredients together in a different bowl and whisk together until homogenous130 g Almond Flour, 180 g Bob's Redmill GF 1:1 Baking flour, 2 tsp Baking Powder, 3/4 tsp Baking Soda, 1 tsp Kosher salt
- Add homogenized dried ingredient into the wet ingredient mixture above, and whisk for a minute or so until everything comes together evenly
- Pour into a 9 inch springform pan with parchment paper on the bottom, sprayed with oil or buttered along the walls
- Bake 50 minutes. Toothpick should come out with no crumbs on it
- Let it cool 10 minutes before removing from springform pain
- Make Lemon Rosewater glaze by mixing ingredients below1 tbsp Lemon juice, 1 cup Powdered sugar, 1 1/2 tsp Rosewater
- Pour over cooled cake. Decorate with crushed pistachio and dried rose petals
Notes
* Can substitute with AP flour if baking gluten free is not of concern.
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