Prepare to fall in love! This is my favourite dessert...ever. It's a wonderfully fragrant, aromatic combination of ingredients. Rose water, nutmeg, pistachios...they make you think of wandering around a busy souk, taking in the exotic sights and smells.
This is a flourless recipe, so it's gluten free. Does that make it healthy?! Well, let's just pretend it does ;)
There's two layers to a Persian Love Cake: a crunchy biscuity base, and a pleasingly soft granular texture on top.
If you're looking for a dessert to make for your loved one, look not further. Oh, and nutmeg is an aphrodisiac you know...
Before I start the recipe, there's a funny old tale behind this cake. The story goes: many many years ago there was a woman who worked for a Persian king. She fell in love with him. As we all know, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, so what did she do? She baked him a cake. Our Persian Love Cake. What the poor love-struck lady didn't know was that the king hated nutmeg! After one bite, she was thrown out of the royal household, a woman spurned! But the recipe lived on.
Hopefully you, lovely Steemies, are luckier in love than our female protagonist. Here's what you'll need. This makes enough for 8:
- 360g ground almonds
- 220g dark brown sugar
- 220g light brown sugar
- 120g unsalted butter, softened
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 250g Greek yoghurt, plus extra to serve
- 1 tbsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 40g unsalted pistachios, some finely chopped, some kept whole
- 2 tsp rose water
- rose petals, for decoration (you can also use edible rose petals found in good supermarkets)
You'll need a springform cake tin lined with greaseproof paper- I've used a 20cm one, but 26cm also gives a good result.
Here's what to do:
- Preheat oven to 180c.
- Combine the ground almonds, sugars and butter in a large mixing bowl, and rub with your fingertips until you form coarse crumbs.
- Spoon half of this mixture into the cake tin and lightly press it down with the back of a spoon, to evenly cover the base.
- Add the egg, yoghurt, nutmeg and 1 tsp of the rose water to the remaining mixture, and stir thoroughly until smooth.
- Pour over the prepared base.
- Pop it into the oven for 25-30 minutes, until it's just starting to lose its wobble. Take it out, and scatter over a handful of the pistachios, then place it back in the oven for another 10 minutes until golden brown.
- Cool in the tin on a wire rack until it reaches room temperature. Don't be impatient with this part!
- Serve with a delicious dollop of yoghurt mixed with the remaining rose water (or to taste), and scatter the pistachios and rose petals on top. I've also drizzled a little warm blueberry jam for an extra colour on the plate.
- Light those candles, dim the lights, and prepare to fall in love!
Here's me in the garden picking the last rose of the summer!
See you soon Steemies! XXX