Do you want to know how I seduced Mr NQN into liking me? Well it was with an animation of Santa with a turkey down his pants. I’m pretty smooth that way don’t you think? 
I should explain that Mr NQN had made a Christmas card animation for his work and sent it around to all of his friends, me included. It was an Australian themed Christmas card of Santa’s North Pole house so among the usual Santa paraphernalia there was a beer, sausages and a turkey on the table. We were supposed to position the objects in his room accordingly and write a Christmassy message. So with nothing to lose except my dignity, I stuffed the turkey down his pants and put a beer in one hand and a sausage in the other. I typed out my message to read “Want some turkey?” and pressed send.
The minutes that passed felt like slow moving honey. It was a few minutes later that I got a message back from Mr NQN.
“LOL you’re funny” he said allowing me to take a breath.
Cake making is also all about seduction. It’s about making people like you, after all if you just wanted to feed someone, you could make them a sandwich. But cakes are like wearing a push up bra and high heels and doing your hair and make up. They signify that much more trouble that you’ve gone to. This month’s Daring Bakers challenge of an Armenian Nutmeg cake was seductive indeed. Surprisingly, it was an easy cake to make and can be done without any special equipment and if I could urge you to bake a cake this month, please make it this (and it can stand substitutions if you prefer cinnamon to nutmeg or other nuts to pistachios).
The cake itself is aromatic with spices but with three layers. The bottom layer is dense and crumbly, like a buttery pastry biscuit, the middle layer so soft and light and the top with the scattering of pistachios is nutty and crunchy. Honey is then drizzled on top and tiny edible rose petals scattered to give the cake a pink and green hue with a glistening finish and you might just have seduction personified. The closest relation I could think of this cake was probably baklava with the buttery honey and nutty flavours and if that aint sexy I don’t know what is.
So tell me Dear Reader, have you ever used food to seduce someone? And if so, what did you cook? And what food do you think is sexy?
Blog-checking lines: The Daring Bakers’ April 2012 challenge, hosted by Jason at Daily Candor, were two Armenian standards: nazook and nutmeg cake. Nazook is a layered yeasted dough pastry with a sweet filling, and nutmeg cake is a fragrant, nutty coffee-style cake.
Armenian Nutmeg Cake With Rose, Honey & Pistachios
Adapted from DailyCandor
Ingredients
- 1 cup (240 ml) milk
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) (5 gm) baking soda (bi carb of soda)
- 2 cups (480 ml) (280 gm/10 oz) all-purpose (plain) flour
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) (10 gm) (⅓ oz) baking powder
- 1.5 cups (300 gm/10.5 oz) brown sugar, firmly packed
- 3/4 cup (1½ sticks/170 gm/6 oz) butter, cubed, chilled
- 1 to 1-1/2 teaspoons (5 to 7 ½ ml) (5 to 8 gm) freshly ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup pistachios, chopped
- Edible dried rose petals
- 1/4 cup runny honey
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 170C/340F. Line a 21cm springform tin with baking paper on the base and sides and wrap some foil around the outside of the tin as the butter tends to leak from the springform tin when baking. In a cup mix the baking soda and milk and set aside. In a large food processor add the flour, baking powder, brown sugar and butter and process until it resembles fine breadcrumbs (you can also do this with a pastry cutter or by rubbing the butter between your fingers). Place half of the above mixture in the base of the springform patting it down with fingers to make a base and set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg and nutmeg for 2 minutes until fluffy and pale (you can do this by hand, just whisk for a few minutes longer until you get it to the right consistency). Add the vanilla and the milk and soda mixture and whisk until combined. Then add the remaining half of the flour and butter mixture and mix until smooth (you can still use the whisk for this as it is quite liquidy still). Pour on top of the base crumbs and then sprinkle the pistachio on top. Bake for 50-60 minutes until a skewer inserted comes out clean – many have found that while the top looks cooked, the batter is runny underneath so try the skewer in several places.
3. When cake is ready, remove from oven and allow to cool. While doing this, heat honey gently and then using pastry brush, spread honey over the top of the cake. Sprinkle edible rose petals which will stick to the honey. Serve warm.
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89 Comments | Add your own
I love the look of this and I bet it tastes great too with the aromatic spices and honey. The rose petals and pistachios on top give it real appeal too!
Well you really had me laughing with this post. First the card and then with the cake. I have never thought of a cake as a pushup bra and heels before. I’ll never look at a cake again without thinking of your comparison. Pasta…my husband loves pasta.
That cake looks mighty good! A divine treat.
Cheers,
Rosa
What a beautiful cake. The Armenians know how to cook!
I love the way you seduced your hubby. Humor is the second best way to do that, the first of course is food
Magda
What a beautiful, romantic cake. Sexy foods? Oysters of course, and chocolate dipped strawberries.
This looks absolutely beautiful, bet it tastes even better! Definitely will be trying
My husband claims the first meal I ever made him was the best (which I interpret as it’s all been downhill ever since).
I’d love a slice of this, I like sticky nutty cakes.
Lol, brilliant! Rose petals make this cake very romantic (for me, not for my husband or son). Although to seduce my man I would have to make something savory and with a “sexy” piece of meat!
Nice looking loaf of bread would make it too when accompanied by the piece of “sexy” meat! 
I don’t have time to read all the post, as I am 7 minutes late for ‘shower time’…but
The cake is so beautiful! Nice work Lorraine!:) It looks too beautiful to touch. It should be kept in a glass case.
This looks so yummy, I really like that combination of flavors. and what a funny story about your seduction, obviously he just got you from the start
I have made this cake for many years but I love the topping you use, will have to dress it up next time. I published mine a few ears ago as my favourite picnic cake as it travels well.
Yum, Lorraine this looks incredibly delish!
It is very similar in ingredients and looks to the Persian Love cake I make. Only difference is this one uses 1 cup milk, the Love cake uses 1 cup Greek yoghurt. I will make this and compare tastes.
I love the touch of rose petals on the top, beautiful! A great cake for Mothers Day.
You did what…!!! Ok, why I was surprised? It was you, no doubt.
I never think making a cake may be a kind of seduction, but if I think better it could, I mean, it takes time to make it, it takes time to garnish, it takes time to be ready, it’s like when you want to be ready to seduce somebody…!!!
I’m a big fan of pistachios, so there’s that. But I love the caramel color and almost caramelized edges of this cake – those have to be the tastiest parts!
I did use food for seduction, but it wasn’t anything glamorous. I baked a spinach lasagna I knew I could make with my eyes shut for my bf when we first started dating & like you, I held my breath until his whole face lit up & he told me how much he liked it. Whew!
Great cake Lorraine, however I’ve now gone off turkey a bit.
What woman wouldn’t want a man with a turkey in his pants? LOL
With a name like mine, I’m often getting the point across with food.
This cake is gorgeous and the photographs of it are smashing! Can’t wait to give this a try.
I have always wanted to make one of these and yours looks gorgeous! I agree, cakes are for impressing someone and this is sure to impress!
Gorgeous. Of course, I was sold at the word “rose,” an ingredient I love, love, love.
Love your story. And you are funny–Mr. NQN is absolutely right!
That is a very funny story and clearly it has a very happy ending. The cake is gorgeous and visually stunning. I love the top with the sticky honey and rose petals. I can imagine the crunch makes it quite like biting into baklava. I’m struggling to think if I’ve ever used food to be seductive. xx
I think I seduced my husband with food. We’d already been going out, but I think I sealed the deal when I cooked him a three course dinner with a passionfruit soufflé for dessert. I think he was gobsmacked that anybody could cook like that. I think he imagined living with me and getting meals like that every night!
Anyway, even if I haven’t lived up to that meal, it’s been pretty good for him food-wise marrying me!
Yum! Yum! traditional cakes are the best aren’t they? how can one go past this delicacy? I like making my choc Toblerone mousse when ‘the appropriate’ time is needed if you know wha tI mean!!
thanks for sharing.
CHOCOLATE! Chocolate is sex!
Is there anything better than an individual choc pot with its warm and oozy centre? Or freshly baked cake with lashing of icing?
I cannot wait to try this cake, im book marking it now!
Thanks Lorraine
This cake is so yummy. I am Armenian myself so had this many times
I agree with you about cooking for loved ones. I did not get a huge ammount of opportunity to cook for my current husband until we moved in together this year. I know he loves that I cook well and it makes me thrilled he enjoys my cooking…
Ha! One of the best recipes and stories I’ve read so far! Really enjoyed that one.
However, the humble sandwich is a bit of an unsung hero in my case. Before my partner and I were together, he used to visit me at my work (deli) where I’d make him a weekly sandwich with a very excited (but shaky) hand! If it weren’t for sandwiches, who knows if we’d gotten together!
I’m forever in their debt.
Wow o wow Lorraine! Very seductive indeed! The flavours sound so lovely together, Yumm.
It takes a brave girl indeed to use a trouser Turkey as a dating tool, what man could possibly resist?
I am not a cake person, Lorraine, but if there is a cake that I could love, it would be this one. My favourite quote has to be: But cakes are like wearing a push up bra and high heels and doing your hair and make up. PRICELESS!
I loved the description, particularly the baklava layer…incredible. I would have loved to see a photo of the cut cake so I know what mine should look like. I am definitely making this for a dinner party in early June (yes, we are booking that far in advance, silly isn’t it?).
The answer to your question, while JT and I were dating, many moons ago, I wanted to make something very special for his birthday dinner (not withstanding the Black Forest Cake I made)so I asked my Mom and she suggested Steak Tartar. JT had never had raw meat before and to his credit he ate the entire thing and didn’t mention it until years after we were married. How was I to know British Canadians didn’t eat Steak Tartar?!?!?!?
Hi
I have been making the Armenian Nutmeg Cake for years-the recipe is in a Commonsense Cookery Book from the 1980s. This is a great recipe to double or triple to feed the hoards, if needed. The recipe never fails.
L
Nice work, looks yummy! My mother in law makes both the cake and Nazook all the time, which is in the Eastern Armenian tradition. We make the Western Armenian equivalent of Nazook which is Choreg! Mostly for Easter
I was thinking baklava when I saw this beautiful cake. Plus, I love honey and pistachios in anything. I think your story of seduction is pretty hard to beat. My husband wooed me with his sense of humor, too. Just shows that laughter is a powerful aphrodisiac. LOL
I love rose petals on desserts.
Dear Lorraine,
Mr NQN is very lucky. It is every man’s dream to be seduced by a beautiful, cake baking, food blogging woman.
I wished I could cook during my seduction days but thankfully, the piano has always been my seduction special.
wow that is a very seductive looking cake indeed! I love your story about how you seduced Mr NQN!
cake making is totally about seduction
This looks completely heavenly, just the thing I’d fall for. My favourite seduction food is pasta with sage butter sauce. mmmmmmmm. bliss. so sexy.
Heidi xo
My husband seduced me with Chicken Kiev, very avant-garde 25 years ago. When I want to spoil him I cook Osso Bucco or Creme Brulee. When looking to spoil my 14 yo son it’s a Dutch Ginger Cake, and for my 12 yo daughter it’s lasagne. No one’s being spoilt at the moment as my stove is having a hissyfit, but when I do get it fixed this cake will be on the menu!
I love your analogy between cakes & seduction. This cake sounds especially delicious with the honey and pistachios, and I love the edible rose petals.
Now that you mention it, baklava is a seductive dessert, as is a flourless chocolate cake.
What a beautiful cake, TRUE!
YET another recipe (and am not a baker) you have inspired me to do!
I always beleive food seduces and IS the way to a man’s heart,
Is not about the finale, crescendo, but the interaction of how and in what way EACH sense plays a part
Looks so tasty – I love spiced cakes. Mmmmm
I just loved this challenge. What a great way to catch a glimpse of armenian food culture. The nutmeg cake is so aromatic and simply deli.
Love your version with rose and honey on top.
How can you be fed a delicious meal and not feel a little seduced by its creator? With all the love it takes to create a beautiful dinner (or breakfast, lunch or cake) it can’t help but spill out onto the plate and into the diner…
LOL. Love the tale. Lovely cake. I especially love the close up image, where you can see the rose petals and pistachios! And congrats again.
Haha Lorraine, you are really funny! I bet it totally caught his attention. =D The cake looks beautiful with the honey and pistachios. The rose on top of the cake is definitely unique and tempting me to try!
Oh my God!!! I love this cake, visually it is amazing and looking at the recipe just makes my mouth water! Gorgeous.
I love the way you likened cake to a push up bra, I think the same way!! Dessert well that is just one step on again
… Obviously I live through my stomach too! 
Everything is a go except the rose petals. The nutmeg got me because it’s my secret ingredient in so many things. I’ll bet that Mr. ST has a ball with you, Miss Turkey down the pants.
This cake is so easy to make. The base is from a crumb style base and the nutmeg filling is so light and fluffy. I didn’t have rose petals or pistacchio’s (my son ate them previously) but I used walnuts instead and turned out better than I could have hoped for a first attempt. My son wants me to make it again as cupcakes. My husband said beautiful and my father gives it 11/10.
P.S. The smell in the house when this is cooking is amazing.
How gorgeous your cake looks! I noticed you reduced the sugar. I will do that next time because I found it too sweet.
Goodness. And here I was, thinking you were all sweet and innocent like me.. ;P
LOL Lorraine you’ve done it again! Soooo funny and soooo seductive all at once! this looks perfect for my two female friends who are turning 50 next month…they will definitely appreciate the rose petals and exotic spices. That image of rose petals and pistachios has to be a wallpaper Wednesday shot for sure! As for other foods of seduction….sweet summer peaches straight off the tree, the juice running down your chin…divine
Oh my! This just has to be good for you with all that fruit and nuts.
It looks so dainty – I love it. My former boss was Armenian and she brought in a similar cake. It was wonderful and nothing I expected.
You always tell the funniest stories! And that Armenian cake looks so so pretty and colourful. Indeed, it does sound like a baklava in cake form, minus the rosewater
By the way, where can I get pistachios that are already shelled? Or do you shell them yourself?
Wow this is very unique I ve never heard of this type of cake hehe
very middle eastern Flavours hehe
I definitely used food to seduce Mr Bao too even though I m not much of a cook hehe I made him pineapple fried rice and actually bought a pineapple and hollowed it myself and put the rice in lol it was the first and also last time I did that hahaha
Oh Lorraine, this would seduce me! Honey and rose and pistachio and spices – so many of my favourite things.
I must say, my cooking has definitely come in handy this past year or so. However, I keep ending up wanting to make an anti-seduction meal
Food is definitely the way to my boyfriend’s heart, and one of the best seduction techniques I can think of
This cake looks lovely – I just posted something with pistachios too as am slightly obsessed at the moment, will have to make this next!
this cake would be awesome with fairy floss and whipped cream… me thinks.. lol
What a pretty cake!
I’ve tried to use food to seduce before but my hubby has some interesting (read boring) tastes so my efforts are wasted!
Looks fantastic. I’ve been secretively seducing my husband for the past nearly 18 years with food – quite successfully based on his now considerable (and somewhat worrying) size. Must stop feeding him as a substitute for …..
“Cake making is also all about seduction. It’s about making people like you, after all if you just wanted to feed someone, you could make them a sandwich. But cakes are like wearing a push up bra and high heels and doing your hair and make up.” This is one of the most brilliant things I’ve ever read on a blog. Perfect. As is this gorgeous gorgeous cake!
Yum! Fantastic looking cake, the rose petals look amazing on top… will have to think of how I can use them in future baking!
funny story, lovely description of cake and pretty photo – wow this post has it all! All I need now is a slice of that amazing cake
Oh my! These cake looks so delicious & lovely! An awesome story too. I love anything with a romantic touch & this post clearly have it all. A very lovely blog . Looking forward for your next post. Have a nice day!
That is really one of the prettiest cakes I have seen lately and it sounds delightful.
This cake is definitely seductive, but you’ve made it even more so with the roses. It’s gorgeous!
I’m not sure I’ve actually ever used food to seduce someone, but my boyfriend has gained about 20 lbs. since we started dating…
He blames it all on me, but I just like to think he’s more comfortable with me around?
xxoo,
RMW
Ok is there some where I can get edible rose petals so that I can give this a go.
Until I read your post I was thinking that nutmeg cake was kind of homely and rustic – delicious, but not exactly sexy. But YOURS – oh my goodness! The flavour combination sounds brilliant and the pink and green from the rose petals and pistachios on top is gorgeous. Definitely seductive!
Such a hilarious story Lorraine and a very beautiful cake. The combination of honey, rose and pistachio is very evocative. Turns my mind to holiday romances in foreign places!
As a pistachio and flavour filled cake addict, I am definitely going to give this a go this weekend, it looks absolutely beautiful. No idea where to get the rose petals though and have had to pass on using them for similar cake recipes before due to not being able to find them. Your turkey card story is very very cute Lorraine. It’s impossible not to love people who don’t take themselves too seriously I think.
I love your description of a cake being a seductive dessert! My husband’s seducer is cinnamon rolls.
Nice job on the challenge!
always good to come and visit you and this cake looks really scrumptious !!Rain here in Paris !
pierre
Food is definitely seductive. My poor hubby put on 30 pounds in the first year together.
This cake looks amazing and since it’s my birthday tomorrow, I plan to make it, but as I can’t get food safe rose petals here I’ll use lavender which I have on hand.
You made me laugh, never thought of a cake as a push up bra and heels but it does make sense.
I love the rose petals on top, they go so well with the green hues of pistachios
I am so going to make this gorgeous cake! I am half Armenian which makes it even more appealing:) Have a great weekend!
WOW!! Rose petals?? That’s great! I cannot imagine a better take on this armenian nutmeg cake! I love the pistachios here too.. The green and pinkish red makes the cake so pretty plus it adds a delicious crunch! Awesome job!
Amazing (as usual) spin on it. The colours make it just brilliant to look at. Loving!
My mother inlaw makes this cake and it is DIVINE.. you reminded me to ask her to make it for me when I’m in hospital having this next bub.. gestational diabetes does NOT go well with cake unfortunately!
of course i’d prefer cinnamon! even before i read that suggestion, i was planning on telling you all about it.
I adapted this to make a vegan version on the weekend. Was a massive hit with the hubby.
I made him decide on his favourite between this and my vegan adaptation of your rasberry jam and cocount layer cake.
His verdict……… Both unreal but for different reasons! ha!
Hi Anna-that’s wonderful! I’m so glad that they were both a hit
Thanks for letting me know!
I love the roses! I have a tin of them at home just waiting to be used!
Absolutely seductive Lorraine. Quite a masterpiece and ever so pretty. I got just as far as the nazook, and then got tempted to make cake this morning. Silly moi used smaller tins and had major lava flowing issues. The cake is yum though, and yours is a beauty! Wow!!
Oh wow this cake looks amazing. I love the cake plate too. Nice story about how you met, seems you set the tone for the times to come
What a beautiful cake! I do need to try it!
Haha… very entertaining story. Unfortunately I think my wife would run from me if I gave her this cake… she’s just not into sweets.
Brilliant! Baked this cake today for my 3 girlfriends. The freshly grated nutmeg is so fragrant and warm.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I wanted to make a decadent cake for Mother’s day, but not chocolate. The flavour of this cake was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone. It’s also prompted me to look at more uses for nutmeg…
Tanja’s and my seduction food is pretty straightforward. She makes cloaca chicken (roasty chook stuffed with a bulb of garlic & served in-tray with bread for dunking) and I make Granny Pudding.
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