Persian Love Cake Recipe with Black Tea Drizzle
Some cakes feel like they belong in a fairy tale, delicate, fragrant, and made for sharing on life’s most romantic occasions! This Persian love cake with black tea drizzle is one of them. Baked with almond flour and infused with rosewater, cardamom, and saffron, it’s a treat that feels both timeless and enchanting.
The recipe has roots in Persian tradition, where rosewater, cardamom, and saffron cakes are often baked to celebrate love and new beginnings. Many modern twist recipes add a black tea drizzle icing; this creates a subtle depth that complements the floral sweetness just perfectly. The result is a tea-infused romantic cake recipe that’s just as perfect for a quiet afternoon tea as it is for a celebration.
Imagine serving a slice as a romantic dessert for Valentine’s Day, bringing a spring floral cake recipe to a sunlit table, or offering it as a cake for a wedding breakfast. With its fragrant spices, tender crumb, and golden saffron hue, this floral saffron almond flour cake is as beautiful as it is delicious.
You may be searching for a Persian Love Cake to bake at home, or dreaming of a rosewater cardamom dessert that feels special. This cake will make the moment memorable! One drizzle of tea glaze, and you’ll see why it’s truly a cake made with love.
Origin and Meaning of the Persian Love Cake
The story behind the Persian love cake is as enchanting as the recipe itself. There are several legends about how this romantic dessert got its name, each tied to the cake’s fragrant ingredients and its association with love.
💘 One explanation is that it’s called a “love cake” because of the ingredients traditionally used. Rosewater has long been linked with romance and calm, while cardamom and saffron are often thought of as natural aphrodisiacs. Together with almond flour and sugar, they create a sweet, floral cake that symbolises affection and hospitality. In Persian tradition, serving such a cake was seen as a way to show love and warmth to guests.
💘 Another story tells of a young woman who baked the cake to win the heart of a Persian prince. The combination of saffron, rosewater, and cardamom was said to be so irresistible that the prince fell in love with her after tasting it.
Whatever the true origin, the recipe for Persian love cake has become a cherished part of many kitchens around the world. With its unique blend of spices, floral notes, and a tender almond crumb, it’s a dessert often chosen for romantic occasions, spring celebrations, and even weddings.
If you enjoy these flavours, you might also love trying my 👉 Persian love buns recipe with black tea, rose, and cardamom, another fragrant treat perfect for tea time.
What is a Persian Love Cake Made Of?
A Persian love cake is a fragrant almond flour cake infused with spices and floral notes that make it wonderfully unique. A traditional recipe for Persian love cake typically includes:
Rosewater: Adds the signature floral aroma.
Cardamom: Brings warmth and depth of flavour.
Saffron: Gives the cake its golden hue and luxurious taste.
Almond flour: Creates a moist, tender crumb.
Eggs and sugar: To bind and sweeten the batter.
Once baked, the cake is often finished with a black tea drizzle syrup, a light glaze, or simply dusted with powdered sugar. Some versions are decorated with pistachios or rose petals for a beautiful final touch.
The combination of rosewater, cardamom, saffron, and almond flour makes this floral saffron cake both aromatic and indulgent, a dessert that feels special whether served for Valentine’s Day, a wedding breakfast, or a spring gathering.
Read next 👉 How to make tea around the world
Persian Love Cake and Traditional Iranian Desserts
The Persian love cake is just one example of the many fragrant and colourful traditional Iranian desserts. Like baklava, saffron rice pudding (sholeh zard), and rosewater-flavoured nougat (gaz), this cake celebrates the region’s love of floral notes, spices, and nuts. With its blend of rosewater, cardamom, saffron, and almonds, the Persian Love Cake fits beautifully into this tradition, offering a modern twist on flavours that have been enjoyed for centuries.
Expert Tips for Making the Perfect Persian Love Cake
If you’re trying this recipe for Persian love cake at home, these simple tips will help you get the best flavour, texture, and presentation every time:
🌹 Choose high-quality ingredients: The magic of a rosewater cardamom saffron cake lies in its fragrant spices. Use fresh cardamom, real saffron threads, and pure rosewater to bring out the authentic floral notes.
🌹 Mix the batter gently: Overmixing can make the cake dense. For the light, moist crumb that a Persian love cake is known for, combine the ingredients just until smooth, then stop.
🌹 Use blanched almond flour: Traditional recipes call for almond flour, which gives the cake its delicate texture. Blanched almond flour works best for a soft and tender bite.
🌹 Balance the rosewater flavour: Rosewater is what makes this cake so distinctive. Add enough to perfume the cake beautifully, but not so much that it overwhelms the other flavours.
🌹 Allow the cake to cool completely: This isn’t a dessert to rush. Letting the cake rest at room temperature helps it set properly and allows the saffron, cardamom, and rosewater flavours to deepen.
🌹 Add a drizzle of black tea syrup: For a modern twist, finish with a black tea drizzle icing made with honey and orange juice. It adds sweetness, richness, and a subtle tea infusion that pairs beautifully with the spices.
🌹 Garnish with pistachios or rose petals: To make your Persian love cake look as good as it tastes, sprinkle chopped pistachios, scatter edible rose petals on top, or add both! The result is a cake that’s as beautiful as it is fragrant.
By following my top tips, you’ll have a floral saffron almond flour cake that’s authentic, aromatic, and ready to impress guests at any celebration.
Which Rose Water is Best for Cakes?
For a Persian love cake, always use a high-quality culinary rose water made from natural ingredients, with no artificial flavours or additives. The brand you choose may depend on availability, but quality makes all the difference to the cake’s floral aroma and taste.
Rose water can be strong, so start with a smaller amount, about half a tablespoon in the batter and icing, and adjust to your preference.
How to Make Persian Love Cake at Home
Ingredients (Serves 12)
For the Cake
1 cup (225g) of butter
1 cup (200g) of caster sugar
4 eggs
Juice from 1 orange plus the zest
1 tablespoon of rose water
1 cup (125g) of plain/all purpose flour
2.5 cups (250g) of ground almonds
1 teaspoon of cardamom
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
Pinch of salt
For the Tea Drizzle
3/4 cups (250g) of honey
3/4 cups (6fl oz) of orange juice
4 teaspoons of black tea (or 4 tea bags)
Pinch of saffron
For the Icing - Optional
1 cup (125g) of icing sugar/powdered sugar
1 tablespoon of rose water
For the Topping - Optional
Chopped pistachio nuts
Sprinkle of edible rose petals
Method
Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/Gas Mark 4 and line a cake tin with parchment paper.
Cream together the butter and sugar before adding the eggs, one at a time.
Mix in the orange juice, orange zest and rose water.
Next, add the dry ingredients: flour, ground almonds, cardamom, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Pour into your lined cake tin and bake in the oven for 45-55 minutes. Check the cake after 45 minutes with an inserted toothpick. The cake should be golden brown and springy to the touch. If it’s browning too quickly, cover with foil and bake for the remaining time.
While the cake is baking, make the drizzle. Place a small saucepan over a medium heat and add the honey and orange juice. Keep stirring for around ten minutes until the mixture is well combined, starting to bubble and turning syrupy-caramel-like.
Remove from the heat, add the black tea and saffron and set aside for 10-15 minutes to infuse. Remove the leaves with a strainer or sift and set aside for the cake. If the mixture gets cold too quickly, warm it back up so that the leaves can be easily removed.
Once the cake is ready, poke lots of holes on top with a fork or toothpick and pour the drizzle over the warm cake. Leave the cake to cool completely before removing it from the tin.
Once the cake has cooled completely, make the icing. This is optional, but it does make the cake extra indulgent and extra pretty, too.
Mix together the icing sugar and the rose water. If it’s too thick, add a few drops of cold water at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
Sprinkle a good helping of chopped pistachios on top with a fluttering of edible rose petals and enjoy with a cup of traditional Iranian tea :)
What Tea Pairs Best with Persian Love Cake?
The fragrant flavours of a Persian love cake, rosewater, cardamom, and saffron, make it perfect to enjoy with tea. Here are a few pairings I recommend to try:
🫖 Traditional Persian Black Tea: Strongly brewed black tea and often infused with cardamom or other spices, Persian tea balances the cake’s sweetness and highlights its warm spice notes.
🫖 Rose Tea: Made from dried rose petals, rose tea mirrors the floral rosewater in the cake, creating a romantic, aromatic pairing. Rose petals can be used with or without black tea depending on your preference.
🫖 Saffron Tea: Delicate and slightly sweet, Saffron tea complements the saffron threads used in the cake, enhancing its golden flavour.
Each tea offers a different way to enjoy this delicious rosewater cardamom saffron cake. Choose your favourite to make the experience even more indulgent!
Persian Love Cake Recipe (Serves 12)
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 cup (225g) butter
- 1 cup (200g) caster sugar
- 4 eggs
- Juice and zest of 1 orange
- 1 tbsp rose water
- 1 cup (125g) plain / all-purpose flour
- 2.5 cups (250g) ground almonds
- 1 tsp cardamom
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- Pinch of salt
For the Tea Drizzle
- ¾ cup (250g) honey
- ¾ cup (6 fl oz) orange juice
- 4 tsp black tea (or 4 tea bags)
- Pinch of saffron
For the Icing (Optional)
- 1 cup (125g) icing / powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp rose water
For the Topping (Optional)
- Chopped pistachios
- Sprinkle of edible rose petals
Method
- Prepare the oven: Preheat to 350°F / 180°C / Gas Mark 4. Line a cake tin with parchment paper.
- Make the batter: Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, then mix in orange juice, zest, and rose water.
- Add dry ingredients: Stir in flour, ground almonds, cardamom, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until combined.
- Bake: Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 45–55 minutes. Check at 45 minutes with a toothpick. Cover with foil if browning too quickly.
- Make the drizzle: Heat honey and orange juice in a pan until bubbling and syrupy. Remove from heat, add tea and saffron, and infuse for 10–15 minutes. Strain out leaves.
- Soak the cake: Once baked, poke holes in the warm cake and pour over the tea drizzle. Leave to cool completely before removing from the tin.
- Optional icing: Mix icing sugar with rose water (add a few drops of water if needed). Drizzle over cooled cake.
- Decorate: Finish with chopped pistachios and rose petals. Serve with a cup of Persian black tea.
FAQs About Persian Love Cake
1. What does Persian love cake taste like?
Persian Love Cake has a rich, moist texture with floral notes of rosewater, warm cardamom spice, and a hint of saffron. It’s sweet, aromatic, and delicately perfumed.
2. Is Persian love cake gluten-free?
Yes, most recipes for Persian love cake are naturally gluten-free because they use almond flour instead of wheat flour. Always check your ingredients to be sure.
3. Can I make Persian love cake without saffron?
You can leave out saffron, but it does add a distinctive golden colour and flavour. If unavailable, a small pinch of turmeric can provide colour, though the taste will differ.
4. What is the origin of Persian love cake?
There are several legends. One story says it was baked by a young woman hoping to win the heart of a Persian prince. Others believe the name comes from its use of romantic, aphrodisiac-like ingredients.
5. Can I make Persian love cake in advance?
Yes, the cake keeps well for 2–3 days at room temperature, sealed in an airtight container. In fact, the flavours often deepen if made a day ahead.
6. What can I use instead of rosewater in the recipe for Persian love cake?
If rosewater isn’t available, try orange blossom water for a similar floral flavour. Vanilla extract can also be used, though it changes the taste profile.
7. How do you serve Persian love cake?
It can be served plain, with a dusting of icing sugar, or topped with a black tea syrup. Many also garnish with pistachios and rose petals for a romantic finish.
8. Is Persian love cake suitable for special occasions?
Yes! With its fragrant spices and elegant decoration, it’s often chosen for weddings, Valentine’s Day, or spring celebrations.
9. Can Persian love cake be made vegan?
Yes! By substituting eggs with flax eggs or aquafaba and ensuring plant-based sweeteners and syrups are used, you can make a vegan-friendly version.
10. Why is it called a Persian love cake?
The name comes from its romantic ingredients, rosewater, cardamom, and saffron, and the legend of it being baked to win someone’s love.
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