Rose & Ginger Persian Love Cake

The Wonder of Roses

As I developed the menu for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku, I struggled a bit with the dessert – do I do something classic like a baklava, or lean into a something more creamy and sweet. But then the more I researched the unique cuisine of Azerbaijan, the more I discovered what an important role roses play in so many dishes. The country of Azerbaijan, north-west of Iran, is actually renowned for its roses, and both dried and fresh versions are used in a variety of dishes including rice plov, sprinkled on chicken, and of course plays heavily in drinks and desserts. I was lucky to track down dried petals at my local Middle Eastern grocery store Shaganappi Grocery, which also carries rose water and cardamom, both a part of this cake with a light eastern air. I also added British chopped stem ginger & it’s soaking syrup which made for a perfect complement to the rose and cardamom.

Mixing the Persian Love Cake

This is a shockingly simple recipe to put together. Using the “creaming method”, beat the sugar, ghee, and sugar together until well combined. While your butter is creaming with the sugar, finely chop your stem ginger – I find 2 pieces is subtle, but 3 really makes the ginger come through.

Now to mix the dry ingredients. I like to pulse my dry ingredients together in a food processor, for one reason to even distribute the ingredients, but also to help refine the ground almonds that could be a little chunky.

Bake the cake

Smooth the batter into a prepared 8″ baking tin, I use an 8″ bamboo steamer basket liner to line my tin since it’s a perfect fit (I felt very clever the day I discovered this). Bake the cake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes until golden.

Finish the cake

Once the Persian Love cake is cooled, make a simple thick glaze with icing sugar, rose water, stem ginger syrup and a touch of milk. Pour the glaze onto the top of the cake and gently ease it to the sides with an offset spatula. Decorate the cake with dried rose petals, chopped candied ginger, and chopped pistachios. Enjoy with a cup of ginger tea or a Baku cognac Land of Fire Hot Toddy.

Ginger Persian Love Cake

Aromatic with rose and ginger perfumes, this almond based tea cake is the perfect end to your Azerbaijani menu.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Cooling 1 hour hr

Total Time 2 hours hrs

Course Dessert

Cuisine Azerbaijan, Persian

Servings 8 servings

Equipment

• 8" cake tin
• Food processor (optional)

Ingredients

  

Cake

• ½ cup softened butter
• 3 tbsp ghee
• 3 eggs
• ⅔ cup granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp stem ginger syrup
• 2 tbsp rose water
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• 1 tsp salt
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• 100 grams ground almonds
• 1 tsp ground cardamon
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3 pieces stem ginger, finely chopped

Rosewater Ginger Glaze

• 1½ cups icing sugar
• 1 tbsp ginger syrup
• ½ tbsp rose water
• 1-3 tbsp milk

Garnish

• 2 tbsp dried rose petals
• 3 pieces candied ginger, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp pistachios, shelled and roughly chopped

Instructions

 

Cake

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease, flour, and line an 8″ cake pan with parchment paper (or a steam basket wrapper in my case) and set aside.
• In the base of a stand mixer, add the butter, ghee, and sugar and beat until combined. Add in the eggs, rose water, ginger syrup, and vanilla and beat until combined (you might see little chunks of butter remaining).
• In a food processor, combine all your dry ingredients minus the stem ginger. Pulsing the dry mix will help break down the ground almonds so they're a bit finer, as well as mix the dry ingredients together evenly. If you're using almond flour, then whisking the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl will be sufficient.
• Add 1/3 of the dry mix to the wet and beat the combine, then add the remaining dry ingredients and beat until thoroughly mixed. Lastly, fold in the chopped stem ginger so it is evenly distributed.
• Spread the batter into your prepared 8" cake tin. Bake on the center rack of your oven for 30-35 minutes. The cake is done when it has a light golden colour and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Leave to cool completely.

Glaze & Decoration

• In a mixing bowl, sift in the powdered sugar and add your flavourings and 1/2 a tablespoon of milk to start. Whisk the ingredients together and check the consistency. For this cake we are looking for a slightly thicker glaze that will just fall from the whisk. Too runny and the final icing look will be thin and sad. Sprinkle the garnishes as you like and serve to a loved one.

Keyword almond cake, pistachio, rose cake