The Persian Love Cake is a traditional dessert with lemon, rose and cardamom. Its taste is unique and its presentation is exquisite.

When spring rolls around, rich flavors of chocolate and cinnamon take a backseat to lighter flavors such as lemon, orange and almond. Add with those warm floral flavors of rose and lavender, and you end up with some deliciously unique baked goods.

This Persian Love Cake is a white round single cake layer made with both almond flour and all-purpose flour. The flavors combine together in both the cake and the glaze in a special way that your family and friends will love. Sprinkle the top with crushed pistachios and dried roses and you have a stunning presentation.

About Persian Love Cake

Flavor: This cake has subtle notes of rose, cardamom and lemon with a sweet, rose water flavored icing.
Texture: Soft, moist and slightly dense, this is a very tender cake. It has a smooth texture that pairs well with the simple frosting. The finish of rose petals and crushed pistachios add a delicious little crunch.

Recipe Inspiration

This is a classic recipe that you’ll find countless variations of on the internet and in ethnic cookbooks. I believe the original version was by Yasmin Khan for Food & Wine.

Ingredients Needed

For the cake:

labeled ingredients for persian love cake on a table

For the icing:

ingredients for rose water icing on a table

Notes about ingredients

Use a high quality gluten free all-purpose flour in place of the regular flour for a gluten free cake.
Don’t like lemon? Try orange peel and juice instead.
Buy rose water on Amazon if you can’t find it in the store. You can also find dried rose petals there.
Almond flavor is delicious with this cake instead of vanilla if you like to switch things up.

Storage Instructions

Room temperature: Store in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days.
Refrigerator: Store this cake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Bring to room temperature before eating.
Freezer: Freeze the cake whole or sliced in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before eating.

Persian Love Cake

4.78 from 9 votes

The Persian Love Cake is a traditional dessert with lemon, rose and cardamom. Its taste is unique and its presentation is exquisite.

Servings 10

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 15

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Equipment

rose water

Ingredients

For the cake:

2 1/3 cups almond flour
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup salted butter room temp 1⁄4 c vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cup whole milk
1 1/2 tablespoons rose water
1 whole lemon (use all of the zest and 1 ½ tablespoons of the juice)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the icing

1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon rose water
1-2 teaspoons whole milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For garnishing

dried rose petals
ground pistachios

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line the bottom of a 9” cake pan with parchment paper and spray with baking spray. Set aside.
In a medium sized mixing bowl combine almond flour, all purpose flour, salt, baking powder, cardamom and baking soda. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment combine sugar and butter. Beat together on medium speed for 2 minutes, until smooth.
Add in oil and mix to combine.
Add in eggs and mix for 30 seconds.
Next, add in milk, rose water, lemon juice, vanilla and lemon zest and mix until incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing.
Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
Transfer the batter into the prepared cake pan, then place into the preheated oven on the center rack. Bake for 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
Once baked, remove from the oven and place onto a wire cooling rack to let cool completely.

Make the icing:

In a small mixing bowl combine powdered sugar, rose water, milk and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth.
Once the cake has completely cooled, remove it from the cake pan and place onto a plate or cake stand. Pour the icing over top of the cake, allow some of it to drip down the sides.
Top with rose petals and ground pistachios. Allow the icing to set before cutting and serving.

Storage Instructions:

Cake may be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature.

Notes

Refer to the article above for more tips and tricks.

The calories shown are based on the cake being cut into 10 pieces, with 1 serving being 1 slice of cake. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. The information in the nutrition box are calculated through a program and there is room for error. If you need an accurate count, I recommend running the ingredients through your favorite nutrition calculator.**