This easy Persian Love Cake is glorious to look at and so delightful to eat. Sit back and enjoy the exotic flavours of the Middle East.

A beautiful gift

These gorgeous small Persian Love cakes are a perfect gift for Mother’s Day. This makes 2 small but decent sized cakes because we can gift them to more than one mum. Enchant their taste buds with amazing Middle Eastern flavours, as they won’t be able to resist this stunning cake!

This textural Persian Love Cake is made with almond meal, semolina and yoghurt. Hot syrup of honey, lemon and rosewater is then poured over the warm cake making it deliciously moist and fragrant. It is then topped off with zesty lemon icing, rosebuds and pistachios.

I don’t know the story behind this cake but I’m sure it involves a romantic fairytale with a magical ending.

This cake may sound overwhelming to make with all the steps involved but it’s anything but complex. For such luxurious cake it’s quite simple to make, I have included my step by step guide and photos so making this will be a breeze!

BUT I can’t lie though, I have to say that this cake is not cheap to make. The ingredients are quite expensive to purchase.

Not to worry as it’s for a very special occasion and our mums are 100% worth it!

Happy Mother’s Day

With Mother’s Day just around the corner it’s time to pay a special little tribute to all the mums around the world! A very heartfelt HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY to all the mums out there, being a mum is a full time job motivated by pure love.

During my teens when I gave my mum grief she would say sternly to me ‘You will be in my shoes one day and understand how hard it was for me raise you.’ Of course this fell on deaf ears, all I wanted to do was blast my music and pretend that I was a pop star dancing in front of my wardrobe mirror.

Her words came back to haunt me when Kai was born. I never knew that I could love someone so strongly when I just met them. That was it for me, all that mattered to me in life was his wellbeing. If he was happy I was ecstatic, if he was in pain I was in agony, when he was sick I was sleepless. No doubt these were the emotions mothers feel and my mum had to look after 5 of us so not only is she a superwoman, she’s also my hero!

My mum is the strongest woman I know, with lots of warmth but never emotional. I have only seen her cry once when grandma passed away. She lectures me most days to be the best I can be, annoying at times but I know she wants the best for me. I’m the opposite, I am emotional and passionate, I would immediately cry when hear stories of animals being treated cruelly. When it matters, I hope I can be as strong, resilient and hardworking as my mum.

For the latest recipes, join our FREE 3CatsFoodie mailing list

Ingredients needed for Easy Persian Love Cake

Orange Zest – finely zest the orange by grating only the coloured part of the fruit.

Semolina is flour made from durum wheat, it has a grainy texture and is commonly used to make pasta and bread. It is usually should next to the different varieties of flours at the supermarket.

Almond meal is also known as almond flour or ground almond. Almond meal is sold with and without the skin of the almonds, either can be used.

Plain flour is also known as ‘all-purpose’ flour, it has no leavening agent added.

For the syrup and topping

Honey syrup gives these cakes a beautiful flavour that goes amazing with the rosewater so I highly recommend using honey. However, if this is not an option you can substitute honey with sugar or maple syrup.

Rosewater is very fragrant and has a strong ‘perfume’ taste so a little goes a long way. It’s usually sold near the vanilla essence or cake flavourings at the supermarket.

Icing sugar mixture is also known as ‘confectioners’ sugar’ or ‘powdered sugar’. Icing sugar mixture has a small amount of cornflour added to keep it soft and clump-free. Pure icing sugar can be used but you may need to sift it prior to use if it’s clumpy.

How to make Easy Persian Love Cake

Step by step guide with photos

Preheat oven to 200°C (390°F) or 180°C (360°F) for fan-forced ovens. Line and grease the base and sides of 2 x 15cm (6in) or a 23cm (9in) round cake tin with nonstick baking paper.

In a large bowl add in semolina, almond meal, flour, cardamon, bi-carb, baking powder and salt, whisk to combine.

Using a stand or hand mixer beat the butter, sugar and zest first on low speed to avoid splatter then increase then speed to high and beat for 3 minutes. Add in the eggs one at a time whilst continuing to beat in between, pour in the orange juice and yoghurt and beat for a further minute.

Divide the batter evenly into the prepared tins, using a flat spatula or a butter knife smooth the surface then tap the pans against the table a few times. Place the tins into the oven on top of the middle rack. Bake for 38 to 40 minutes or until the top of the cake is golden and a skewer comes out clean when inserted in the middle.

For the Syrup

Prepare the syrup when the cake has 10 minutes left to bake. In a small saucepan combine the honey, rosewater, lemon juice, water and salt, cook on medium heat as soon as it starts to bubble decrease and let it simmer softly for 5 minutes.

As soon as the cakes come out of the oven use a skewer to poke several holes in the cakes, making sure the skewer reaches the base of the cakes. Whilst the cake and syrup is hot, use a spoon to coat each cake in syrup. Avoid putting too much syrup in the centre of the cakes as the middle may get soggy. Leave the cakes to cool in the tin at room temperature (1 to 2 hours)

Icing and topping

In a small bowl add in the icing sugar and 3 tablespoons of lemon juice, mix until combined. Check it for preferred consistency, for a runny icing, slowly add more juice and continue to mix until the icing runs off the spoon but it should still be thick. Use a spatula to spread the icing over the cakes, decorate it with rose buds and sliced pistachios.

If you love Middle Eastern inspired cuisine like I do, why not check out my healthy and tasty Mediterranean Chickpea Salad or the beautiful Giant Pancake With Lemon

Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements.

A Third-Party Application calculated the calories and nutritional information. Please use this as an approximate guide only.

I would love to hear your thoughts or feedback on this post. If you have made this recipe, please show your support by commenting and rate this recipe. You can do this by scrolling down or by clicking the green circle on the left. To prevent spam on this site, your email address is required but it will not be published.

Cheers (I’ll drink to that) – Cat Tre