Persian love cake

Ingredients:

Cake:

• ⅘ cup (200g) butter
• ¾ cup (150g) castor sugar
• 4 large eggs
• Grated peel of 1 lemon
• ⅓ cup (80ml) lemon juice
• ½ -1 Tbsp (7-15ml) rose water
• ½ cup (100g) cake flour, sifted
• 2¼ cups (215g) almond flour
• 10 cardamom pods, seeds removed and finely ground
• 1 tsp (5ml) baking powder
• Pinch fine salt

Syrup:

• ¼ cup (60ml) honey
• Juice (60ml) of 1 lemon
• Pinch saffron (optional)
• ⅓ cup (80ml) water
• 150g icing sugar, sifted
• 1 Tbsp (15ml) rose water
• Water, as needed
• 1 packet (100g) shelled pistachios (optional)
• Candied rose petals or dried rose buds (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170°C.
2. Cream butter and sugar together with an electric beater for 7 minutes or until light and fluffy.
3. With the motor running, add eggs, one by one, fully incorporating each one before the next.
4. Pour in lemon zest, juice and rose water and mix until well combined.
5. Combine flours, cardamom, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
6. Stir in wet mixture until well combined.
7. Pour into a 23cm bundt tin or 20-22cm loose-bottomed cake tin.
8. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
9. Remove cake from oven and cool in tin for 5-10 minutes.
10. Add syrup ingredients to a pot and bring to a simmer.
11. Pour syrup over cake.
12. Once cooled completely, turn the cake out onto a plate.
13. Whisk icing sugar and rose water together (add a splash of water if mixture is too thick).
14. Drizzle over cake and top with pistachios, rose petals or dried rose buds if using. Serve.