This light and fragrant Persian Love Cake flavoured with lemon, almond, cardamom and rose water then topped with a sweet rose glaze, is a show stopping cake and takes only 10 minutes to prepare!
This stunning Persian love cake, with its moist almond cake flavoured with lemon, cardamom, and rose water, is topped with a rose water glaze and decorated with pistachios and rose petals.
Whether you are looking for a simple cake for dainty afternoon tea, birthdays, baby showers, Valentine's Day, special occasion, or for a delicious and easy cake when friends pop around, this pretty pistachio rose cake is the perfect recipe!
I LOVE using almond meal in cakes, it gives them a beautiful texture and flavour and helps create a delicious and moist cake like my popular almond and coconut cake, chocolate torte, orange almond cake and gluten free lemon cake. Almond meal also creates the most AMAZING gluten-free desserts too!
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Why You're Going To Love This Recipe
- Quick and easy recipe - Persian love cake takes just 10 minutes to prepare and is made in one bowl.
- Texture - tender and light, this cake is moist and doesn't dry out for days due to the small amount of vegetable oil added.
- Cake or dessert - this beautiful cake is both delicious served for afternoon tea or makes a show stopping dessert!
- Conventional and Thermomix - both methods are written in the recipe card at the end of the post.
What You Need
Whilst it may sound exotic, this Persian love cake recipe uses ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen, along with some rose water and edible rose petals!
Note: Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for the ingredients quantities and full detailed method.
For The Cake
- Butter - I recommend using unsalted butter to make this cake. If you use salted butter, omit the pinch of salt.
- Vegetable oil - or another neutral oil like canola oil. Using oil as well as butter creates a beautifully moist cake.
- Caster sugar - also known as superfine sugar. This fine sugar dissolves easily when combined with the other ingredients, helping to create a light textured cake.
- Eggs - I use size large eggs, which weigh approximately 55g / 2 oz. Use room-temperature eggs.
- Lemon - juice and finely grated zest.
- Rose water - can be purchased from most major supermarkets. This is an essential ingredient of a Persian love cake.
- Vanilla extract - or vanilla essence or vanilla bean paste.
- Plain flour - also known as all-purpose flour.
- Almond meal - also known as almond flour or ground almonds.
- Ground cardamom - is a popular spice made from cardamom pods. It is used to flavour Middle Eastern desserts and cakes. It has a sweet, pungent flavour that is so delicious paired with lemon, almonds and vanilla.
- Baking powder - the raising agent in this cake.
- Salt - just a pinch to enhance the flavours of your Persian love cake.
For The Glaze
- Icing sugar - (powdered sugar) you can use either pure icing sugar or icing sugar mixture for the glaze. Pure icing sugar will set firmer than icing sugar mixture.
- Rose water - as with the cake, rose water is an essential ingredient in the glaze.
- Milk - I recommend using full cream milk for the best glaze.
- Pistachios - these beautiful green pistachio nuts look so pretty with the pink of the rose petals! I recommend buying pistachio kernels and make sure you use unsalted pistachios.
- Edible rose petals - to decorate. These are optional, but a very pretty addition to the cake! You can buy these from speciality food stores or you can use edible florals designed for cocktails instead.
Equipment Required
There is absolutely NO fancy equipment needed to make this beautiful almond and rose cake.
- 20cm (8 inch) round cake tin - greased and lined with baking paper (parchment paper).
- Hand-held beaters and large mixing bowl, stand mixer with a paddle attachment or Thermomix.
- Microwave-safe bowl and microwave - for making the rose-flavoured glaze.
- Oven - I specify fan-forced temperatures in my recipes. If you use a conventional oven, increase the temperature by 10-20 degrees Celsius.
Step By Step Instructions
With just 10 minutes prep time, this easy rose cake is a one bowl recipe that looks like you have spent hours in the kitchen!
Note: Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for the ingredients quantities and full detailed method.
Step 1 - Cream The Butter, Oil And Sugar
Preheat the oven. Line a round cake tin and set aside.
Place the butter, vegetable oil and caster sugar in a large bowl.
Using hand-held beaters or a stand mixer, beat the ingredients together until pale and fluffy.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
Step 2 - Add The Eggs, Lemon, Vanilla And Rose Water
Add the eggs one at a time, beating between each addition. Once the eggs have been mixed in, add the lemon juice, lemon zest, rose water and vanilla extract. Beat until combined.
Step 3 - Add The Dry Ingredients
Add the plain flour, almond meal, ground cardamom, baking powder and a pinch of salt.
Beat until just combined.
Step 4 - Bake
Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven until the cake is cooked. To tell if it is ready, insert a skewer into the center of the cake, if it comes out clean then it is cooked.
Allow the cake to cool in the tin before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Step 5 - Prepare The Glaze
Place the icing sugar, rose water and milk into a bowl and whisk until smooth.
Microwave for 30 seconds and then mix again.
Step 6 - Decorate The Cake
Pour the warm syrup over the top of the cake, then sprinkle over chopped pistachios and edible rose petals (optional).
Serve your Persian love cake straight away!
Expert Tips
- Creaming the butter and sugar - this will take around 2-3 minutes. Don't be tempted to rush this otherwise your cake can come out on the dense side.
- How to check if the cake is cooked - start checking if it’s ready approximately 10 minutes before the recipe states. Persian love cake is ready when a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs on it.
- If you find that your cake is browning too much in the oven - simply place a sheet of foil loosely over the top and continue cooking.
- Pistachios - raw pistachios are a more vivid green than roasted pistachios. Use unsalted pistachios.
- Rose water - don't be tempted to add more than the recipe calls for! Rose water is very strong and can easily become overpowering.
- Make sure the cake is completely cold before pouring over the glaze.
- Storing Persian love cake - the cake can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Freeze - you can freeze leftover cake for up to 2 months.
FAQs
No. I do not recommend storing this cake in the fridge as it can dry out. The cake is best stored at room temperature.
Absolutely! Wrap well and freeze for up to 2 months.
The ancient story goes that a Persian girl fell madly in love with a Prince and made a cake full of beautiful flavours to make him fall in love with her. Whether it worked, no one knows!
Yes - you can swap lemon zest for orange zest and lemon juice for orange juice in equal amounts. If you really want that orange flavour to shine, you can even add a tiny dash of orange blossom water—only about ¼ tsp, otherwise it can overpower. The swap will give the cake more of a warm, sweet citrus taste instead of that bright, zesty lemon hit.
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Persian Love Cake
Ingredients
For The Cake
- 225 g butter
- 40 g (3 tbsp) vegetable oil or canola oil
- 220 g (1 cup) caster sugar
- 2 eggs room temperature
- juice of 1 lemon
- lemon zest of 1 lemon finely grated
- 2 tablespoon rose water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 150 g (1 cup) plain flour
- 120 g (1 cup) almond meal almond flour
- 2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- pinch salt
For The Glaze
- 225 g (1 ½ cups) icing sugar see notes
- 1 tablespoon rose water
- 1 ½ tablespoon full cream milk
- ⅓ cup pistachios roughly chopped
- edible rose petals to decorate, optional
Instructions
Prepare The Cake
- Preheat the oven to 170 degrees celsius (fan forced). Grease and line the base and sides of a 20cm round cake tin with baking paper and set aside.
- Use hand-held beaters or a stand mixer to cream the butter, vegetable oil and caster sugar until pale and fluffy (approximately 2-3 minutes). If using a Thermomix: Place butter, oil and sugar into the TM bowl and and mix for 15 seconds, Speed 5. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix for a further 10 seconds, Speed 5.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating between each addition.If using a Thermomix: reduce to Speed 2 and with the blades turning, add the eggs, one at a time, through the MC hole in the lid.
- Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, rose water and vanilla extract and beat until combined. If using a Thermomix: Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, rose water and vanilla extract and mix for 10 seconds, Speed 3.
- Add the plain flour, almond meal, ground cardamom, baking powder and a pinch of salt and beat on low until just combined. If using a Thermomix: Add the plain flour, almond meal, ground cardamom, baking powder and a pinch of salt and mix for 15 seconds, Speed 5. Scrape down sides of mixing bowl with spatula, then mix for a further 10 seconds, Speed 5.
- Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool in the tin before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Prepare The Glaze
- Place the icing sugar, rose water and full cream milk into a bowl and whisk until smooth and combined. Microwave for 30 seconds. Mix again and then pour over the cooled cake.
- Decorate with chopped pistachios and edible rose petals (optional).
Notes
- Pistachios - raw pistachios are a more vivid green than roasted pistachios. make sure to use unsalted pistachios.
- Rose water - don't be tempted to add more than the recipe calls for! Rose water is very strong and can easily become overpowering.
- Edible rose petals are optional, but a very pretty addition to the cake! You can buy these from speciality food stores or you can use edible florals designed for cocktails instead.
- Creaming the butter and sugar - this will take around 2-3 minutes. Don't be tempted to rush this otherwise your cake can come out on the dense side.
- If you find that your cake is browning too much in the oven - simply place a sheet of foil loosely over the top and continue cooking.
- How to check if the cake is cooked - start checking if it’s ready approximately 10 minutes before the recipe states. The cake is ready when a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Make sure the cake is completely cold before pouring over the glaze.
- Storing Persian love cake - the cake can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days. Do not store in the fridge as the cake may dry out.
- Freeze - you can freeze leftover cake for up to 2 months.
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