Persian Love Cake

Cardamom cake with rose-scented filling topped with pistachios and candied rose petals.

I made this cake for my mom's birthday back in June.  This is the only decent photo I have of the party.  Sometimes I'm just too busy hostessing to properly document everything.  

This cake is my own little version of this recipe from Bon Appetit.  It is inspired by the aromatics of Persian, Turkish and Indian confections.  Saffron, lemon, rose water.  Is it authentic?  I have no idea.  So, no.  It's not authentic.  But it is fancy and exotic.  Perfect for a very special celebration.  Cardamom seeds are used instead of ground powder, peppering the cake with little pockets of spice.  I adore cardamom, don't you?  

I also adore ingredient photos.  Here you go.

So my version of this cake is vegan.  And it's great, I promise.  My Mom and the rest of my family, all omnivores, were impressed.  

Some things I learned:  candied rose petals aren't as pretty as plain, fresh rose petals.  I've edited out the candying part of this recipe because it is an unnecessary element in my opinion.  Also: don't overdo it with the saffron.  Just trust me and save yourself the headache of having to dump your first batch of frosting.

(My) Persian Love Cake

serves a lota folks

Cake:

2 2/3 cups all purpose flour

1 1/3 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 cups pure maple syrup

1 1/3 cups water

2/3 cups canola oil

4 tsp cider vinegar

1 tbsp vanilla

2 tsp grated lemon zest

1 tsp whole cardamom seeds

Frosting/Filling:

1/3 cup soy milk

good pinch of saffron threads

3/4 cup nonhydrogenated shortening

3/4 cup nonhydrogenated margarine (Earth Balance is good)

5 1/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted

1 tsp vanilla 

2 tsp rose water

Garnish:

petals from 2 organic roses (I used roses from my garden.  Ding.)

2 tbsp unsalted pistachios

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease two 8 X 8 cake pans and dust with flour.  Sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, water, oil, vinegar, vanilla, lemon zest and cardamom seeds.  Add the wet mixture to the dry and stir.  Don't over-mix.  Pour the batter evenly into the cake pans and bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool.  

Combine the soy milk with the saffron in a small saucepan.  Bring to simmer.  Remove from heat and let steep 20 minutes.  Chill.  Beat the shortening and margarine together until fluffy.  Add the powdered sugar and beat for about 3 more minutes.  Add the vanilla, rose water and saffron-infused soy milk and beat again for about 7 minutes.  

After cake has cooled completely, place one layer, flat side up, on a platter.  Spread with about 1 cup of frosting.  Place second cake layer on top, flat side down.  Spread remaining frosting over the top and sides of the cake.  Garnish the cake with rose petals, pistachios and decorative frosting rosettes if you like.  

Note:  The saffron gives the frosting a really pretty color, but I added some pink food coloring to make it more girly and you know, pink.  

Comments

[Karen Larson]

I can definitely say it was fantastic. Not only was it beautiful, it tasted out of this world. I appreciated you taking so much time to make my birthday cake so special. Love, Mom

[briana]

Mom, you are so sweet. I am so flattered that you read my blog and take the time to make comments. (I don't get a lot of comments). Thank you!

[Alyssa]

Hi Bri, I am intrigued by this cake and given that my husband is a an (ex-) chef he could help me out with this to make for my parents 40th anniversary. Can I assume that you can substitute milk and butter for the soymilk and margarine in the frosting? What do you think about substituting toasted slivered almonds for pistachios as garnish? My parents will be so impressed, and my mom is a baker extraordinaire so even more reason to go above and beyond for this special occasion. Love this blog!