Flourless Almond Cake | Persian Love Cake

This recipe is for a light, moist, gluten-free cake made with fine, blanched, almond flour.  The flavor profile of flourless almond cake includes notes of almond, rose water, and cardamom.  If you are looking for a healthier Persian dessert, this Flourless Almond Cake (also known as Persian Love Cake!) with Rose Frosting is the perfect treat. 

This cake tastes even better as the flavors settle and soak in.  One of my favorite ways to enjoy it is heated up with a drizzle of honey and chopped nuts.  It tastes like baklava when served with honey glaze and pistachios, mmm, mmm!  Traditional baklava is cumbersome and time-consuming to make involving delicate phyllo dough and layers.  One of the things I appreciate about this cake recipe is that it is quite simple to prepare yet has an elegant result.

Ways we enjoy Persian Dream Cake:

• as an elegant, exotic dessert with flavor notes of marzipan and baklava
• as a tea or coffee cake with a drizzle of honey
• for breakfast with chopped nuts

For this recipe, you separate the eggs and beat the egg whites until stiff for a foamy base to the cake batter.

How to beat egg whites:

• separate the egg yolk from the egg whites and set aside
• beat in a bowl with an electric beater – first, the egg whites will appear foamy, then they will begin to turn from clear to white in color
• Continue beating until the egg whites are firm (test by tilting the bowl up, the eggs should stay in tact in the bowl/not fall out)

How to make the cake batter:

• Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and whisk the egg whites until stiff 
• In a separate bowl, combine egg yolks and sugar
• Gently whisk in almond extract, vegetable oil, and cardamom into the egg yolk/sugar mixture
• Gently stir in about 1/3 of the whisked egg whites into the yolk batter
• Fold in the rest of the egg whites until just incorporated, then stir in the almond flour until it is completely moistened
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth it out

This is a very wet batter.  There is nothing more sad than when you’re hard work, precious ingredients, and cooling cake sticks to the pan.  You can avoid sticking by simply lining the very bottom of the round cake pan with parchment paper and heavily buttering the sides of the pan.  The cooled, baked cake will come right out when inverted with nice crisp edges.

The flavors are similar to baklava and the tastiest Persian desserts.  It’s worth every red light bite and then some.  Many Iranian cookies and cakes have almonds – the taste is similar to marzipan.  In addition to the almond/marzipan taste there is a lovely hint of rose to this cake, thanks to the frosting.  Many years ago I used to bake a similar cake we called “Cake-lava” – a cake version of baklava. For a more authentic baklava experience, add a 1/4 chopped walnuts and/or pistachios to the cake batter.

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The whipped cream frosting is a concoction of my own.  It is basic whipped cream, slightly sweetened and flavored with rose water.  If you can’t get ahold of any rose water don’t fret – it’s optional and can be substituted with pure vanilla extract in this recipe.  I add just a few drops of red or pink food coloring for a pretty pale pink colored frosting, perfect for springtime and the Persian New Year.  Another version I like very much is to keep the cake plain and simply drizzle it with warmed honey and chopped pistachio nuts.

How to make rose frosting:

Add 1 1/4 cups of chilled heavy whipping cream to a clean bowl.

Whip with an electric mixer on medium speed until the cream thickens and just starts to turn to a pale yellow color.

Add one teaspoon rose water.

Lower the speed on the mixer and add 1/3 cup powdered sugar, a little at a time until combined.

Gluten-free Flourless Almond Cake also known as Persian Love Cake!

We love this light and fluffy cake anytime.  If you’re not up for making the icing and decorating the whole cake, keep it plain, cut a slice, warm it up, and serve it a la mode with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on top.

or skip the icing and serve it with ice cream!

If you liked the flavors of this cake you’ll love Yazdi Cakes, Healthy Baklava Spice Cupcakes and Orange Cardamom Tea Cake.

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