Persian Love Cake with Rose, Cardamom & Figs
There are thousands of versions of this cake with the roughly similar legend behind them that a young woman made it for the man she liked, who promptly fell in love with her on tasting it. I can make no guarantees as to the efficacy of this recipe for similar results, as the man was a prince and that was a fairytale, but nonetheless this is a lovely, baklava-scented cake to make for friends or loved ones.
Once the cake is out of the oven, let it cool for 5 minutes in the tin, then transfer to a wire rack until completely cold
Serves 8
Prep 15 minutes
Cook 25 minutes
115g soft light brown sugar
115g soft unsalted butter
2 free-range eggs
85g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
35g ground almonds
½ tsp ground cinnamon
4 cardamom pods, seeds only
2 drops of rosewater
ICING
250g mascarpone
25g icing sugar
1-2 drops of rosewater
DECORATION
fresh edible or dried rose petals (optional)
handful of pistachio slivers
2 fresh figs, quartered
- Preheat the oven to 180C/ 160C fan/gas 4.
- Beat the sugar and butter together until soft, then whisk in the eggs. Fold in the flour, baking powder, ground almonds, spices and rosewater, then transfer the mixture to a lined shallow 26cm x 20cm roasting tin and bake for 20–25 minutes, until the cake is golden brown and a skewer, when inserted, comes out clean.
- Meanwhile, beat the mascarpone and icing sugar together with the rosewater (it can be overwhelming, so use very little or you risk making an icing that tastes like shower gel).
- Once the cake is out of the oven, let it cool for 5 minutes in the tin, then transfer to a wire rack until completely cold. Spread the icing all over the cake neatly with a hot palette knife, then scatter over the rose petals, pistachio slivers and figs. Serve immediately.