Persian Love Cake {Eggless}

Persian love cake is a delicately aromatic cake flavored with rosewater, lemon and cardamom.

While some variations include  eggs and almond flour, this recipe is egg and nut free. A few years ago I made Persian Love Cakes for two, which were fantastic no doubt but I wanted to try my hand at an eggless full size version.

LET’S TALK CAKE

I have simplified the base of this eggless cake recipe to be a wet and dry mix so it takes minutes to put together.

If you don’t like cardamom bits in your cake you can use powdered cardamom.

The cake itself is mildly sweet so the lemon rose glaze at the end is a perfect addition to an already delicious base.

FLAVORS & ALTERNATIVES

Persian Love Cakes are known for their rise and cardamom notes. Below I’m sharing some alternatives if you have any aversions to the ingredients of this cake.

• Rose Water: This is a key ingredient in this cake, while I don’t recommend leaving it out, you could always substitute it for Kewra water.
• Lemon juice and zest: The addition of lemon juice and zest in this cake really balance the sweet flavors of rose and cardamom. If you don’t have lemons you can use limes or oranges.
• Cardamom: Cardamom is the perfect spice in this cake, they bring a fruity floral touch. Nothing really substitutes it’s flavor in this cake. 
• Yogurt: We’re using whole milk yogurt instead of any eggs in this recipe. If you prefer eggs you can substitute two eggs for the yogurt or use flax eggs, either will work.

This cake can easily be made 1-2 days ahead of time. It can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container. If you live in warmer climates, I would suggest refrigerating it in an airtight container.

Persian Love Cake {Eggless}

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

55 mins

 

Persian love cake {eggless} is a delicately aromatic cake flavored with rosewater, lemon and cardamom.

Author: Nisha Vedi Pawar

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 4

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE

• 1½ cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup whole milk yogurt; plain
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon rose water
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ cup cooking oil; neutral
• 2 teaspoon lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon lemon zest
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cardamom seeds; finely crushed

FOR THE GLAZE

• ¾ cup confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)
• 2 tablespoon whole milk
• 1 tablespoon rose water
• ½ teaspoon lemon zest

FOR THE GARNISH

• 1 tablespoon unsalted pistachio slivers
• 2 tablespoon edible rose petals

Method

FOR THE CAKE

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease one 8-inch cake pan with melted butter or oil.
2. In a large bowl mix the yogurt, oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, rose water, baking powder and baking soda together. Have it rest for 2 minutes, allowing the baking soda to react with the lemon and yogurt.
3. Once bubbles start to appear, sift in your flour and salt, & sugar.
4. With a spatula mix the dry with the wet, just until incorporated.
5. Fold in the crushed cardamom seeds.
6. Bake for 40-45 minutes.
7. Allow the cake to cool completely before adding the glaze.

FOR THE GLAZE + GARNISH

1. In a bowl add the confectioners sugar, milk, rose water and lemon zest. Mix until creamy and smooth.
2. Pour glaze all over cake. Garnish with pistachios and edible rose petals.

Notes

This is an eggless cake that uses whole milk yogurt, however if you have a dairy allergy or no yogurt on hand, you can substitute the yogurt for two eggs + ¼ cup water or milk.

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Enjoy,