Persian love cake on a yellow plate with a slice cut out on a plate to the right

Persian love cake

Name: Persian love cake
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 10
Cuisine: Iran, Persian
Ingredients: 300g ground almonds; 180g caster sugar; 185g soft light brown sugar; 125g unsalted butter softened and cubed; 2 eggs; 260g greek yogurt; 2 tsp ground cardamom; 2 tsp ground nutmeg; 50g flaked almonds; 35g slivered pistachio kernels; edible dried rose petals to serve (optional)

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Serves 8 - 10

Easy

Prep: 15 mins

Cook: 40 mins

A star rating of 5 out of 5.2 ratingsRate

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Recreate this beautiful Persian love cake for close friends and family. It's wonderfully fragrant thanks to cardamom, nutmeg and pistachios

Gluten free

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This Persian love cake recipe comes from Hamed Allahyari's book Salamati – Hamed’s Persian Kitchen: Recipes and Stories from Iran to the Other Side of the World (£25, Murdoch Books).

Hamed says: "Why ‘love cake’? The story goes that a village woman tried to woo a prince with this cake. He swooned over the cake but rejected the girl and she ended up eating it all herself."

This is a recipe that Hamed shared as part of his guide to Iranian cuisine. Check it out to learn about the rich and complex flavours of this Middle Eastern country, including herb-packed sabzi. After, check out our favourite Persian-inspired recipes.

Ingredients

Nutrition

300g ground almonds
180g caster sugar
185g soft light brown sugar
125g unsalted butter

softened and cubed
2 eggs
260g greek yogurt
2 tsp ground cardamom
2 tsp ground nutmeg
50g flaked almonds
35g slivered pistachio kernels
edible dried rose petals

to serve (optional)

Nutrition: per serving

kcal529
fat35.3g
saturates10.4g
carbs40g
sugars38.9g
fibre0.5g
protein12.6g
salt0.6g

Method

step 1

Heat the oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2. Butter a 20cm round cake tin. Combine the ground almonds, sugars and butter in a large bowl with your fingers until they resemble breadcrumbs. Press half the mixture into the cake tin, creating an even base.
step 2

Add the eggs, yogurt, spices and 1 tsp of salt to the remaining mixture and, using a wooden spoon, combine until smooth. Pour into the tin and smooth the surface with a spatula. Sprinkle the flaked almonds and pistachios over the top.
step 3

Bake for 1 hr until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean – check after 50 mins to ensure it’s not colouring too quickly and cover the cake with foil if necessary.
step 4

Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10 mins, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Decorate with dried rose petals (if using) and serve. The cake will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.

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