persian love cake
Yoghurt, spices, rosewater, nuts, decadent fudgey interior with a crispy almost burnt top/sides and biscuity base. The Persian Love Cake is a glorious homage to Iran and its cuisine. My first experience eating it was at Brickfields ten or so years ago and since then have sought it out on menus, in cookbooks and through word of mouth. This recipe came from a chef friend of mine when I still worked in restaurants and has been tweaked to suit my oven.
Things to watch out for: don’t skip the lining of the cake tin sides as the cake caramelises alot when cooking and it will stick if you do not line it. Ovens vary so as always er on the side of caution and check your cake whilst baking and plus or minus 10% of timing if needed. Let it cool!!!!
Serve on its own or maybe a little cream, vanilla ice-cream or pistachio gelato if you are feeling fancy.
Persian Love Cake
3 cups almond meal
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup raw sugar
1/2 tsp salt
120g butter, softened
250g plain greek yoghurt
2 eggs, lightly whisked
1 tsp heaped nutmeg
1 tsp rosewater
80g shelled pistachios, roughly chopped
Icing sugar to dust
Preheat oven to 180 degrees and line a 26inch cake tin with baking paper, the bottom and the sides.
In a big mixing bowl mix together almond meal, sugar and salt till combined. Using your hands mix in the butter and rub together till the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Once well mixed split into two equal bowls.
In one bowl add rosewater and mix roughly with a wooden spoon. Press this mixture into the cake tin gently to form a solid, even base.
Add egg, yoghurt and nutmeg to remaining crumble mixture and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth and creamy. Pour over prepared base, smooth top, scatter pistachios around edge and bake until golden. In my oven this was between 50mins and an hour.
Cool completely in the pan as the cake is very delicate and needs to harden once out of the oven. The sides should be almost a burnt caramel colour and the centre fudgey when you insert a skewer.
Like a lot of cakes this one will sink a little so don’t be alarmed.
When ready to serve dust the outside ring of the cake with icing sugar through a fine sieve.
Notes
If you don’t have rosewater you could use orange blossom water instead or just omit entirely, it is only a splash to give the base a bit of a floral taste and is still delicious without.
Pistachios are best fresh from the shell and retain a vibrant green when cooking. You can use almonds if you can’t get your hands on pistachios or if you want to keep the cost down, I would recommend slivered for the right crunch.
