Persian love cake

SERVES 14 PREP + COOK TIME 1 HOUR 45 MINS

You will need to start this recipe a day ahead.

YOGHURT ICING 2kg Greek-style yoghurt ½ cup (80g) gluten-free icing sugar 3 teaspoons rosewater

1 To make yoghurt icing, line a sieve with a clean tea towel or muslin cloth. Place yoghurt, sugar and rosewater in a large bowl, stirring until well combined. Spoon mixture into lined sieve. Place sieve over a large bowl, ensuring base of sieve is not touching base of bowl. Cover; refrigerate overnight.

2 Transfer yoghurt icing to a bowl. Reserve 1 cup of the whey (liquid) from drained yoghurt. Discard remaining whey.

3 Preheat oven to 160°C/140°C fan. Grease two deep 20cm round cake pans. Line base and sides with baking paper.

4 Beat egg whites in a bowl with an electric mixer until frothy. Add cream of tartar, beating to soft peaks. Gradually add sugar, beating until thick and glossy.

5 Whisk butter, egg yolks, lemon rind and cardamom in a separate bowl until combined. Fold in almond meal and flour until combined.

6 Gently fold half the egg white mixture into the almond mixture until just combined. Repeat with remaining egg-white mixture. Divide mixture between pans; level surface.

7 Bake cakes for 50 minutes or until firm to the touch. Leave cakes in pans for 5 minutes before turning, top-side up, onto wire racks to cool.

8 Pour reserved whey into a small saucepan with honey and lemon juice. Bring to the boil. Add half each of the figs and rose petals. Reduce heat to medium. Cook for 15 minutes or until syrup is reduced by a third. Cool to room temperature; refrigerate until cold. Strain syrup, pressing down lightly on figs to extract the flavour. Discard solids.

9 Using a serrated knife, cut each cake in half horizontally to create four even layers. Place one cake layer on a cake stand. Brush with 2 tablespoons of fig syrup. Spoon ¾ cup of the yoghurt icing onto cake layer on stand, spreading evenly using a palette knife. Repeat with remaining cake layers, syrup and icing.

10 Spread the remaining yoghurt icing over top and side of cake to create a thin see-through layer of icing. Refrigerate cake for 30 minutes or until firm. Serve topped with remaining figs and syrup, sprinkled with nuts and remaining rose petals.