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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.
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.
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 🙂
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.
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 8×8 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!
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)
Persian Love Bundt Cake
Ingredients
Persian Love Bundt Cake:
- 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 5 large eggs
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup rosewater
- 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
- 2 tbsp orange blossom water
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
Saffron Glaze:
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp 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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi Shadi! I am exited to make this cake. I am wondering if I could make cupcakes instead? Do I need to change the temperature or the cooking time? Thank you so much!
What is bloomed saffron, please.
The process of sprinkling saffron over ice cubes and let it melt or pouring hot water over ground saffron and let it steep is called blooming saffron. You can learn all about it here.