Persian Love Cake Recipe (2024)

Published: · Modified: by Shadi HasanzadeNemati · This post may contain affiliate links .

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Persian love cake is full of amazing flavors. You'll fall in love with the notes of cardamom, rose and saffron in this classic Persian dessert.

Persian Love Cake Recipe (1)

Anything with the aroma of saffron and rose water will make you fall in love with life.

Every time I feel homesick, which is quite often because to me family is so important, I brew some Persian tea (there will be a step by step tutorial in my upcoming cookbook!) with some rose petals and it takes me back all the way back to Tehran, Iran.

I love to have my tea with something sweet, and thisPersian Love Cakeis such a lovely treat to have with a cup of tea or coffee, especially on a cold winter afternoon. Stay here so I can show you how to make thisPersian cake filled with magical aromas of saffron, cardamom and rose water.

Persian Love Cake Recipe (2)

This Persian inspired cake has become a hit in recent years and, in my humble opinion, it's a fantastic dessert for Valentine's Day. After all, nothing says "I love you" more than saffron and rose water. And as some say, this cake is "love at first bite". I promise you and your sweetheart will love this delicate cake.

What is Persian love cake?

This is a beautiful cake flavored with the ingredients used in Persian style baking such as rose water, saffron, orange blossom water and cardamom. Once this beautiful cake is fully baked, I add a saffron glaze and top it with edible rose petals and crushed pistachios. It's easy, pretty, and contains a world of stories in every bite.

What I love the most about this cakeis the memories it brings. Our home was always enchanted with rose water and saffron aromas when I was a kid, and that's why these aromas just bring me back to my childhood, to the time that life was simple and a bite of cake could turn a bad day into a good one. Just like now, because I still love cake just as much 🙂

Persian Love Cake Recipe (3)

What does this cake taste like?

We are talking cardamom, rosewater, orange blossom water, saffron, rose petals and pistachios. It can't get any more Persian than this! This Persian love cake tastes like, how can I explain it? It tastes like one thousand untold stories, childhood days wrapped in laughter and hope, a lover's hug after a long day or the magical feeling of "this is it." I hope this gives you some sense of the flavors involved.

This love cake recipe is pretty easy to follow so if you have the ingredients at hand, it's going to be very simple and you'll soon be enjoying it with your family and loved ones. The Persian ingredients you need for this recipe are:

These ingredients are also available in Middle Eastern and Persian shops. You can find pistachios in any supermarket and, interestingly enough, I have seen edible rosebuds in Asian supermarkets.

Persian Love Cake Recipe (4)

Notes and tips to make Persian Love Cake:

  • Rose water, orange blossom water and cardamom are all very strong ingredients so make sure you won't overuse it.
  • Store the remaining rose water and orange blossom water in a cool dark place such as a cabinet or pantry shelf.
  • This recipe for Persian love cake uses vegetable oil instead of butter to keep the focus of flavors on rose water and cardamom.
  • For the saffron glaze, mix powdered sugar with bloomed saffron.If the glaze is too thick, add one teaspoon milk to the glaze and stir well until it reaches the desired consistency.
  • This Persian love cake is perfect for Valentine's day. If you would like to make it in a smaller batch, make the recipe with half the ingredients in a 8x8 square pan or an eight-inch round pan.

Make this Persian love bundt cake and you will understand what I mean by love at first bite!

Persian Love Cake Recipe (5)

Related Recipes:

  • Pistachio cake
  • Olive oil cake
  • Cardamom Shortbread Cookies
  • Saffron Milkshake Recipe (Persian Style)
  • Cardamom Cookies Recipe
  • Persian Cardamom Muffins – Cake Yazdi
  • Revani (Turkish semolina cake)

Step-by-Step Recipe

Persian Love Cake Recipe (6)

Persian Love Bundt Cake

Shadi HasanzadeNemati

You will fall in love with this Persian Love Bundt Cake. Not only because it's filled with aromatic rosewater and cardamom, but also because it's full of love!

4.79 from 52 votes

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine Persian

Servings 12 servings

Calories 298 kcal

Ingredients

Persian Love Bundt Cake:

  • 1 ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 5 large eggs
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • ¼ cup rosewater
  • ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 2 tablespoon orange blossom water
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Saffron Glaze:

  • ½ cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoon bloomed saffron

Topping:

  • Dried rose petals
  • crushed pistachios

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350f. Coat a bundt cake pan with non stick spray.

  • Mix sugar and eggs until fluffy. Add in vegetable oil, rosewater, ground cardamom and orange blossom water into the mixture and whisk well.

  • Add flour, baking powder and salt to the wet ingredients and gently whisk until combined.

  • Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for 35 minutes until tester comes out clean.

  • Cool on a rack for 5 minutes then transfer into a serving dish.

Saffron Glaze:

  • Mix powdered sugar and bloomed saffron in a small bowl. If too thick, add a tablespoon of milk.

Nutrition

Calories: 298kcalCarbohydrates: 46gProtein: 4gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 68mgSodium: 76mgPotassium: 132mgFiber: 1gSugar: 30gVitamin A: 99IUCalcium: 49mgIron: 1mg

Did you make this recipe? Let us know how it was by leaving a comment and a 5-star review!

Persian Love Cake Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why did my Persian love cake sink in the middle? ›

Overmixing the batter is the most common cause for your cake to sink in the middle. Be sure to mix just until smooth, and allow it to cool completely!

What is the origin of the Persian love cake? ›

Once in Iran, the story becomes a legend stating that Persian love cake came about when a young Persian woman fell in love with a prince. To make him fall in love with her, she baked a cake infused with aromatic spices and rose water. To complicate matters further, many Iranians are not familiar with the cake.

What is love cake made of? ›

Love cake is made from semolina, cashew nuts, pumpkin preserve, butter, eggs, sugar, and honey flavoured with rose water and a variety of spices, including cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamon, creating a fragrant, sweet, lightly spiced cake with a moist chewy inside and a crunchy exterior.

Why is my love cake dry? ›

The ratio of wet to dry ingredients determines a cake's moisture level. If there's simply too much flour and not enough butter, a cake will taste dry. On the other hand, if there's too much milk and not enough flour, a cake will taste too wet. Finding the right balance between wet and dry ingredients is key.

Can I fix a cake that sunk in the middle? ›

Unless you notice that your cake is undercooked right after removing it from the oven, it will not rise again by baking it longer. If your toothpick came out clean when you tested the center, there's a good chance that your cake isn't undercooked and that something else caused it to sink.

How do I stop my cake from sinking in the middle? ›

Cake sinking after baking can be prevented by ensuring the oven is preheated correctly, using the right size of baking tin, avoiding opening the oven door too early, checking for doneness with a toothpick, and allowing the cake to cool gradually in the oven before removing it.

Why is it called love cake? ›

Some say the cake was baked by Sri Lankan girls to win the hearts of Portuguese sailors. Another theory has it that the rich ingredients the cake demands - sugar, spices and butter - meant you would only ever make it for someone you loved dearly. It was called "bolo di amor", or "cake of love" by the Portuguese.

What is the oldest cake in the world? ›

The world's oldest known cake, baked during the reign of Pepi II in Egypt between BCE 2251 and 2157. Alimentarium, Vevey, Switzerland. The Egyptians gave us the world's oldest known cake–and also the world's oldest Tupperware as it happens.

Which country is known as the cake of the world? ›

Scotland is widely known as the land of cakes which is originally one of the four constituent nations of the United Kingdom.

What is Elvis Presley cake? ›

An Elvis Presley cake is a single-layer classic yellow cake that's topped with a pineapple glaze. Much like a poke cake, the syrup and juices of the pineapple will seep into the cake through fork holes, resulting in a decadent, ultra-moist cake.

What is Queen Elizabeth cake made of? ›

Queen Elizabeth cake is a lightly sweet, moist, and low-fat date cake, topped with a brown sugar, butter and broiled coconut mixture. "Queen Elizabeth cake" is named after the Queen of Canada, Elizabeth II, and may have first been made in 1953 for her coronation.

What is funeral cake made of? ›

Technically, funeral cake is a chocolate sheet cake with fudge icing and topped with crunchy pecans and big enough to feed a crowd—which you may recognize as Texas Sheet Cake.

Why do bakers soak cakes? ›

Let me introduce you to the cake soak.

When you do this, the cake integrates moisture and flavor, and the sweetened liquid helps preserve the cake's freshness, so a slice can taste just as delicious a couple days after baking.

Why is my cake not moist enough? ›

A dry cake is usually the result of one of the following pitfalls: using the wrong ingredients, making mistakes while measuring or mixing the batter, or baking the cake too long or at too high a temperature. Once you understand which common cake-baking blunders to avoid, you'll know how to bake a moist cake every time.

What makes a cake too moist? ›

Check the ingredients. Too much butter or too many eggs can make your cake super moist. If you've not got enough flour to balance this out then your cake can be super moist.

Why did my cake mix cake sink in the middle? ›

Overbeating, Overmixing, or Undermixing Your Cake Batter

Too much air and your cake will collapse because it simply can't hold onto all that air. Overbeating can add too much additional air and/or large air bubbles which the cake can't support, causing it to collapse in the oven.

Why would my cake fall in the middle? ›

Baking too high or too low can both cause your cake to sink in the middle.

Why did my cake rise and then fall? ›

When cakes are over-leavened, cakes can rise too quickly and then fall. The best way to ensure cakes get the perfect amount of leavening is to measure them out accurately, according to your recipe. Also if you are using older baking powder or baking soda it may not be active any more.

Why did my cake sink in the middle high altitude? ›

Cake falls in center

Because liquids evaporate faster in higher climates, your cake can have a higher sugar concentration and weaker cell structure. This can cause your cake to fall in the center. If this happens, try one of these adjustments: Increase the liquid.

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