Love Cake
A beautiful Love Cake for the occasion with subtle citrus flavour, a hint of spice and rosewater.
Ingredients
▢2 cups (200g) almond meal (almond flour)
▢1 1/2 cups (165g) semolina
▢1 tbsp baking powder
▢1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
▢1.5 tsp ground cardamom
▢120g / 8 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
▢3/4 cup (150g) brown sugar, packed or half a cup honey
▢3/4 cup (150g) white sugar or half a cup of honey
▢2 eggs
▢1 cup (250g) plain yoghurt
▢Zest of one orange
▢50g / 2 oz raw pistachios, chopped or slivered (or almonds)
SYRUP:
▢1/3 cup (85 ml) lemon juice
▢1/3 cup (70g) white sugar
▢1 tsp+ rosewater (adjust to taste, start with less)
Instructions
Preheat oven 180C/350F (standard) or 160C/320F (fan). Grease and line a 22cm/9" cake pan.
Mix almond meal, semolina, baking powder, nutmeg and cardamom in a bowl.
Beat butter and both sugars with an electric beater until incorporated. Add eggs, beat until smooth. Then add yoghurt and orange zest, beat until smooth.
Add dry ingredients. Stir until mixed through.
Pour into pan, smooth surface. Scatter over pistachios.
Bake 50 minutes to 1 hour, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Poke 30 - 40 holes all over the cake using a skewer (poke all the way through). Pour warm syrup over while the cake is still hot. Leave to soak for 1 hour+ before removing from pan. Cool then slice to serve.
Pictured decorated with dried rose petals. Alternative: no decorations (pistachios alone look great!), dust with icing/confectionary sugar, or a Lemon Glaze
SYRUP:
Place ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to simmer and stir to dissolve sugar. Simmer for 2 minutes. Keep warm (or reheat) for pouring.
Recipe Notes:
cakes made without flour like this can tend to be a bit crumbly and dry. This cake is not - the moisture comes from the syrup poured over the cake while it's hot!
NUTRITION INFORMATION:
Calories: 423cal (21%)Carbohydrates: 53g (18%)Protein: 9g (18%)Fat: 20g (31%)Saturated Fat: 6g (38%)Cholesterol: 51mg (17%)Sodium: 26mg (1%)Potassium: 250mg (7%)Fiber: 3g (13%)Sugar: 33g (37%)Vitamin A: 325IU (7%)Vitamin C: 3mg (4%)Calcium: 134mg (13%)Iron: 2.1mg (12%)
Photo by Meri Nillo