You’re going to fall in love with this Persian Love Cake!!! Made with semolina and almond meal with a hint of citrus and subtle spices, this cake is soaked with hot syrup to make it moist and add sweetness.
Straightforward to make, a beautiful cake for afternoon tea or to finish off a Persian or Middle Eastern themed meal – try these slow cooked Persian Lamb Shanks and Crispy Saffron Rice!
Welcome to the 3rd and final instalment of PERSIAN WEEK! A week in which I’m sharing 4 recipes so you can make your very own Persian feast at home!!
Here’s what’s on the menu for your Persian Feast:
Persian Lamb Shank recipe – the main event! Braised until fall apart tender in a beautiful aromatic broth. Incredibly easy with every day spices you’ll find at any supermarket!
Persian Saffron Rice – that golden, crispy beauty… and it tastes as amazing as it looks!!!
Persian Cucumber Tomato Salad (in the Lamb Shanks recipe)- lovely and fresh, with a little sprinkle of Sumac for a touch of Persian exoticness; and
Persian L♥ve Cake (today’s recipe)- made with semolina and almond meal, this cake is soaked with a lemon-rosewater syrup, with a hint of citrus and spice flavours. You’re going to LOVE this Persian Looooove cake!
AND SO THE STORY GOES…
A Persian girl madly in love with a Prince made a beautiful cake with magical powers to make him fall in love with her.
As for whether it worked – I never got to the bottom of that. Some say they lived happily ever after, others say he never returned her love – though hopefully she got to eat the whole cake herself.
Now – I can’t promise that this cake has magical powers to woo your secret crush (whether it be George Clooney or a boy band) but I can promise that it tastes as enchanting as that story (despite the unsatisfying ending to the fairytale!!)
ABOUT THIS PERSIAN LOVE CAKE
This is a cake is made with semolina and almond meal instead of the usual flour. It has subtle spicing from cardamom and nutmeg, a hint of citrus from orange and some lovely tang from lemon in the syrup.
Most people say that the best part about making this cake is pouring the syrup over the cake when it’s fresh out of the oven so it soaks right through, adding sweetness as well as moisture.
I’d argue that and say that the most satisfying part is jabbing lots and lots of holes in the cake.
It’s totally not in the spirit of a Persian Love Cake. More Basic Instinct, really.
But I cannot lie. It’s my favourite part! (Other than eating it, of course). – Nagi x
PS Decorated the Persian way with dried edible rose petals from Essential Ingredient, my favourite gourmet food store. I spend hours in there every time I go and always treat myself to something a little special. Last time it was the pictured rose petals. 🌹🌹🌹
A PERSIAN FEAST
Persian Lamb Shanks | Tachin – Saffron Baked Rice | Persian Chopped Salad (in Lamb Shanks recipe) | This Persian L♥ve Cake
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
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Persian Love Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups (200g) almond meal (almond flour)
- 1 1/2 cups (165g) semolina
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1.5 tsp ground cardamom
- 120g / 8 tbsp unsalted butter , at room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) brown sugar , packed
- 3/4 cup (150g) white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup (250g) plain yoghurt
- Zest of one orange
- 50g / 2 oz raw pistachios , chopped or slivered (or almonds)
Syrup:
- 1/3 cup (85 ml) lemon juice
- 1/3 cup (70g) white sugar
- 1 tsp+ rosewater (adjust to taste, start with less)
Instructions
- Preheat oven 180C/350F (standard) or 160C/320F (fan). Grease and line a 22cm/9″ cake pan.
- Mix almond meal, semolina, baking powder, nutmeg and cardamon in bowl.
- Beat butter and both sugars with an electric beater until incorporated. Add eggs, beat until smooth. Then add yoghurt and orange zest, beat until smooth.
- Add dry ingredients. Stir until mixed through.
- Pour into pan, smooth surface. Scatter over pistachios.
- Bake 50 minutes to 1 hour, until skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Poke 30 – 40 holes all over the cake using a skewer (poke all the way through). Pour warm syrup over while cake still hot. Leave to soak for 1 hour+ before removing from pan. Cool then slice to serve.
- Pictured decorated with dried rose petals. Alternative: no decorations (pistachios alone look great!), dust with icing / confectionary sugar, of a Lemon Glaze (use this one)
Syrup:
- Place ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to simmer and stir to dissolve sugar. Simmer for 2 minutes. Keep warm (or reheat) for pouring.
Recipe Notes:
- General note: cakes made without flour like this can tend to be a bit crumbly and dry. This cake is not – the moisture comes from the syrup poured over the cake while it’s hot!
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
Me – in Vietnam.
Dozer – with the golden retriever boarder, running wild with his friends.
OMG!! Just made this. Stunning!! So delicious. Did this as a test run as planning a Nagi’s Persian Feast in a couple of weeks time. Already know the Persian Lamb Shanks & Tachin are amazing & now confident to complete the full menu 😋
Hi, I’m a bit confused about how much nutmeg and cardamon to use. Is it teaspoons or tablespoons?
Thanks
Hi, it says this recipe is gluten free, however it has semolina in it. What can you substitute?
Made this for my daughter’s birthday. It’s a beautiful cake and everyone enjoyed it. It was very moist, but i found it very crumbly. Not sure if there is a difference between semolina and semolina flour. I used semolina flour. Next time I will increase the amount of rose water.
It says gluten free but semolina is high in gluten. Could I use all almond flour or gluten free flour in place of the semolina
Please explain how semolina has become a gluten free product.
This is a beutiful cake which I make each year for our anniversary. I use fine polenta. Unfortunately semolina which you use in your recipe is NOT gluten free. I am concerned people wil be misled by your claim that the recipe is gf. I have tried many of your recipes and they have all been amazing. Thankyou.
Whenever I wish to cook something I goggle best………..recipe and Tin eats always comes up. I love you Nagi!
Hello, I have made this recipe twice. The taste was sublime but on both occasions it sank in the middle before it had come out of the oven. I would appreciate your insight in to what I may have done wrong.
Many thanks
Carolyn
I just made this cake as part of the Arabian feast. I made it a day ahead – can I leave this out in a cake container or does it need to go in the fridge?
I have made this many times with great success.
I would like to make mini versions though. If I use the same amount of ingredients but filled multiple mini cake pans, at what temperature should I set the oven to, and for how long should they be cooked for?
I made this as part of the Persian feast for my family for Father’s Day, huge success!
Only change for my 3 coeliac children was to replace the semolina with more almond flour.
My all time favourite cake and one I make for clients frequently. Wondering whether anyone has managed to make a gf/vegan version? Ive seen some one used buckwheat. Wondering if polenta would work?
This recipe is crazyyyyy good!! The syrup is a delicious touch.
Can you tell me why my Persian Love cake collapsed in the middle. I have made lots of Nagi’s recipes and this has never happened. I can’t rate the recipe because I made it to take to a friend.
Made this last weekend. Came out perfect. I found that cake tasted much better following day. Next time will try mix of lemon and orange for the syrup! Thanks for sharing it.
I have made this many times with great success.
I would like to make mini versions though. If I use the same amount of ingredients but filled multiple mini cake pans, at what temperature should I set the oven to, and for how long should they be cooked for?
do you use fine or coarse semolina
I used fine semolina
Delicious! This was SOO good I was confident to serve it to a mate who is an experienced chef and passionate dessert-lover.
I successfully made the following adjustments:
** GF by subbing plain GF flour for the semolina
** A cup of thick coconut yogurt for the plain dairy yogurt
** omitted the white sugar from the batter (the brown sugar and sugar syrup are more than sweet enough for me)
** 3 small eggs instead of 2 large ones.
Thanks Nagi – we love you!!!
Hi, I would love to try this, it looks so delicious. Any suggestions on how to sub out refined sugars. do you think it would work to use honey instead? Many thanks!
I have made this many times. It’s such a favourite and always impresses!
Double the syrup quantity else this bad boy is a bit dry
Semolina is made from durum wheat – it is full of gluten!