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    Home » Dessert

    Persian Love Cake Recipe

    Published: Feb 8, 2018 · Modified: Feb 18, 2021 by Shadi HasanzadeNemati · This post may contain affiliate links .

    7212 shares
    • 54
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    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 bundt cake made with saffron and rose water. Topped with pistachios and rose petals.

    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 this Persian Love Cake is 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 this Persian cake filled with magical aromas of saffron, cardamom and rose water.

    Love Cake Persian Style with rose, cardamom and saffron

    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 cake is 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, full of rose water, cardamom and saffron.

    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:

    • Saffron
    • Rose Water
    • Cardamom 
    • Edible Rosebuds
    • Pistachios 
    • Orange Blossom Water

    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.

    A slice of this Persian Cake is full of rose water and saffron. This is also called Persian Love Cake.

    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!

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

    Related Recipes:

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

    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 41 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 35 mins
    Total Time 50 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!
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    7212 shares
    • 54

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Khadijah

      April 05, 2021 at 9:07 am

      5 stars
      I've made this cake using your exact recipe numerous times. It's ALWAYS a bit hit. Thank you for sharing!

      Reply
      • Stephanie

        July 09, 2022 at 9:00 pm

        Hello!e

        I am going to try this recipe for the first time. Does it really take 1/4 cup rose water? That seems like a lot. Especially since the orange blossom water is only 2 tablespoons.

        Reply
        • Shadi HasanzadeNemati

          July 11, 2022 at 6:59 am

          Hi Stephanie. We like rosewater so the amount work for us. IF you'd like to use less, replace the rest with water.

        • Stephanie

          July 25, 2022 at 8:40 pm

          Thanks so much!

    2. Natalie

      February 13, 2021 at 1:11 pm

      5 stars
      Hello! This cake looks beautiful! I’d love to make this at some point. What size Bundt pan do you use? I ask because I have two different sizes. 🙂

      Reply
      • Shadi HasanzadeNemati

        February 07, 2022 at 10:39 am

        A 10-inch would work!

        Reply
    3. Beth

      October 26, 2020 at 9:29 am

      5 stars
      Beautiful and delicious! I love the colors and flavors of this recipe and can see it looking quite elegant on a Thanksgiving dinner table!

      Reply
    4. Meagen

      October 26, 2020 at 8:46 am

      5 stars
      I love how this recipe turned out. It was so beautiful and delicious. We will definitely be making another one to share!

      Reply
    5. Maria

      September 22, 2020 at 5:34 pm

      5 stars
      Hi Shadi,
      Thank you so much for this recipe. I made it this week for our wedding anniversary. The cake Is amazing! The fragrance of the combined flavours and fragrances is wonderful! The cake was a big hit!! However, next time i make it, I will make the glaze a bit thicker so that it doesn’t pool around the cake, but rather stays on the cake.
      Thanks again!

      Reply
    6. Mina

      August 06, 2020 at 6:00 pm

      5 stars
      I made this last week and had it both with Persian tea and also with lavender lemonade and it is HEAVEN. The flavors are so delicate yet so beautifully melded together. I love that you can taste each of the ingredients. Will definitely be making this again, everyone really loved it! Thanks for this!

      Reply
    7. Hannah

      March 02, 2020 at 3:50 pm

      4 stars
      I made this cake and it was a big hit! I do have one question though, for me it was a bit dry even after putting the glaze on. I followed the recipe but only the bottom seemed to get the flavor of the saffron glaze. Any idea what I could have done wrong? Maybe I just needed more glaze? Or is this cake supposed to be a little dry? Thank you!

      Reply
      • Shadi HasanzadeNemati

        October 19, 2020 at 8:31 am

        Hi Hannah! Yes, the cake is a tad bit dry on its own, but maybe next time you could poke a few holes on the cake using a toothpick and then pour the glaze over? Hope this helps!

        Reply
    8. Kim NELSON

      January 26, 2020 at 9:31 pm

      Making this cake for tomorrow, does the glaze go onto the warm cake?

      Reply
      • Shadi HasanzadeNemati

        January 27, 2020 at 6:33 am

        Hi Kim, it's best to pour the glaze when the cake is at room temp.

        Reply
    9. Priya

      November 16, 2019 at 3:29 am

      Can this cake be made eggless as I really want to bake this

      Reply
      • Shadi HasanzadeNemati

        November 19, 2019 at 11:29 am

        Hi Priya, I've never made this cake without eggs, but here is an article explaining egg substitutions. https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/egg-substitutes-for-baking/ Hope this helps.

        Reply
    10. Christina

      April 09, 2019 at 8:13 am

      5 stars
      it is delicious! I made it today and its very fluffy! Thanks for the recipe. Just say that it is sweeter than my taste, i think rosewater give the sense of sweetness. Congrats and greetings from Greece!

      Reply
      • Shadi HasanzadeNemati

        April 13, 2019 at 5:22 am

        Hi Christina! Glad you like this Persian love cake, yes, rosewater does give a sense of sweetness! Love Greece and can't wait to visit!

        Reply
    11. hannah

      March 04, 2019 at 12:03 pm

      5 stars
      I want to have a white icing, would it work to switch the saffron and orange blossom water so to have the saffron in the sponge and an orange flavoured icing?

      Reply
      • Shadi HasanzadeNemati

        March 06, 2019 at 3:47 am

        Hi Hannah, yes, that would work 🙂 Enjoy!

        Reply
    12. Allison

      January 20, 2019 at 10:40 am

      5 stars
      I made this cake exactly as written except I baked in a springform pan. Totally terrific. Reminds me of the flavors from the Persian ice cream shop I used to visit in LA. Little kids also loved it.

      Reply
      • Shadi HasanzadeNemati

        January 20, 2019 at 11:45 am

        Hi Allison! Thank you for your kind comment, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed this Persian love cake!

        Reply
    13. Karyn Narayan

      December 05, 2018 at 2:17 am

      Hello is the orange blossam essential as I'm struggling to find it here in Australia! Is there a substitute you could recommend?

      Reply
      • Shadi HasanzadeNemati

        December 05, 2018 at 7:10 am

        Hi Karyn! You can simply leave out orange blossom 🙂

        Reply
    14. Alex Frank

      August 07, 2018 at 4:07 am

      5 stars
      This was amazing article i have ever read relate " Persian Love Cake Recipe " to be honest.
      But i missed up with things once i tried to do it with persian saffron, i will try again same thing according to your article, i hope you can reply back my comment if i get stuck then ask you question.

      I have ordered persian from this website they import their product direct from farm
      their website is : http://acesaffron.com

      Thanks
      For Reading

      Reply
    15. Kacey B

      May 11, 2018 at 11:47 am

      5 stars
      I just made this cake and it is amazing. I haven't cut a full slice, but tried little bits that stuck to the pan and it was incredible. The saffron glaze is fantastic too. Unfortunately I couldn't find roses to decorate, but that's ok. I had to skip the nuts this time since one of the people at the dinner party has a nut allergy. However, I will make again and I will get the nuts and roses on it!

      Reply
      • Shadi HasanzadeNemati

        May 11, 2018 at 12:02 pm

        Kacery, I'm so happy you love this cake! It's made to bring love and smile to people, and it warms my heart to see that you're happy with the results <3

        Reply
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