Persian Love Cake
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 60 minutes
-
250g/8.8ozs almond meal/very finely ground almonds
-
200g/7ozs cake flour*
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 180g/6ozs butter, softened
- 250g/8.8ozs caster or superfine sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons rosewater (to taste)
- 3 teaspoons ground cardamom
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 eggs, room temperature
For Icing
- 170g/6ozs icing or powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 teaspoons rosewater
- 2-3 teaspoons water
- 3 tablespoons Iranian pistachio slivers
- 5 small dried roses, plus petals from 5 dried roses
Cake flour can be bought at the supermarket. You can also make it at home. To make 1 cup/150g/5.2ozs of cake flour replace 2 tablespoons of plain all purpose flour with cornflour/fine cornstarch and whisk well. I usually mix up a big batch of this and keep it in a container ready for baking cakes as it produces cakes with a softer texture.
Step 1 - Grease and line a 20cm/8inch round tin with parchment (avoid a springform tin if you want the sharp edge). Preheat oven to 160C/320F fan forced. In a large bowl whisk the almond meal, flour, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl. Place the butter, sugar, rosewater, cardamom, zest and vanilla in a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat for 3-4 minutes or until pale and fluffy. Lightly whisk 1 egg and then add into the mixture on medium speed ensuring that it is incorporated before whisking and adding another until all of the eggs are added.
Step 2 -Fold the almond mixture into the butter mixture ensuring that the you get a uniform mixture but do not overmix. Scoop into the prepared tin and smooth over the top with an angled spatula. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in the tin. You can make this cake the night before as it keeps well.
Step 3 -Slide a knife around the edge and gently remove the cake from the tin. Trim the top so that it is flat and then place it upside down on a serving plate or cake stand.
Step 4 -Sift the icing sugar (I put it in the food processor as I hate sifting) into a large bowl and then mix with the rose water. Then add the water one teaspoon at a time until you get a drippable consistency. It's important to not add in the water all at once. You can also replace the water with lemon juice but I like this icing made with water. Spoon the icing over the cake, letting some icing drip down the sides. Add rose petals and pistachios straight away before the icing sets. This cake keeps in an airtight container for up to 4-5 days.