PERSIAN MAGIC LOVE POTION CAKE

Once upon a time, there was a Persian woman who fell in love with a prince. In order to win over his heart, she baked him a cake that was filled with a magical love potion. The prince immediately fell in love with her after tasting the cake. Below, you will find the recipe to this special magic love potion cake.

Use a 26-cm. springform pan.

70 gr. softened butter

2/3 cup sugar

4 medium eggs

1 tsp. ground cardamom

2¾ cups (225 gr.) ground almonds Juice and zest from 1 lemon 1 Tbsp. rose water

¾ cup flour, sifted

1 tsp. baking powder

Icing:

2 cups (280 gr.) powdered sugar 2 Tbsp. lemon juice

½ tsp. rose water

2-3 Tbsp. pomegranate concentrate

Toppings:

1 Tbsp. chopped pistachios 1 Tbsp. rose petals

Heat the oven to 180°, line a pan with baking paper and grease it with butter.

With a mixer fitted with a dough hook, whip butter with the sugar until it’s creamy. Add the eggs one at a time and mix the batter between each addition. Add the cardamom, ground almonds, lemon juice and zest, and rose water. Mix well.

Add the flour and baking powder and mix.

Pour the batter onto the pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes until a toothpick comes out dry. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes and then remove cake from the pan and place on a wire rack to cool.

When the cake has completely cooled, you can prepare the icing. Add the powdered sugar, lemon juice, rose water and pomegranate concentrate to a bowl and mix well. Add a little bit of powdered sugar at a time until you reach the desired consistency. Pour the icing in the center of the cake and let it drizzle down the sides. Sprinkle with pistachios and rose petals.

‘PERSIAN KITCHEN’ author Rottem Lieberson (left) with the writer.