The end of ‘love week' and some cake

It’s the end of ‘love week’ (not the ‘end of love’ week – just to be clear). Valentine’s day this year was celebrated in usual fashion by eating delicious food and chocolate.

We started the week with dinner at Blancmange – a modern Australian restaurant.  It’s a sweet little spot in an unlikely neighbourhood. We ate three filling courses – all showcasing local and seasonal ingredients.

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By the end of the week we had lovely friends for dinner.  I wanted to make something special for dessert and stumbled on a recipe for a ‘Persian love cake’.  What a beautiful and special name – it sounded like the perfect sweet.

I changed the recipe ever so slightly and added coconut to the main base of almond meal.  The recipe called for nutmeg and of course I added some cardamom – given the cake’s Persian influence.  Yoghurt lent the perfect creaminess without adding heaviness.

persian love cake (gluten/wheat-free)
serves 8 
recipe adapted from Australian Gourmet Traveller Magazine
*where possible ingredients used were organic*

360 g/ 3 cups almond meal
100g dessicated coconut
120g/1/2 cup brown sugar
120g unsalted butter
1 tsp sea salt
2 eggs
250g greek-style yoghurt, extra to serve
1 tbsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp cardamom
1/4 cup unsalted pistachio nuts, coarsely chopped

First, preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Prepare a 26 cm - diameter springform pan with baking paper and grease with a little butter.  In a large bowl - add almond meal, coconut, sugar, butter and salt - then rub butter into mix until course sand-like crumbs form.  Place half the mixture into pan - press down until evenly covering base. Next, add lightly beaten eggs, yoghurt and spices and mix until creamy.  Pour mix into the pan and place chopped pistachios around edge.  Bake until golden 35-40 minutes*. Take out and let cool in pan on wire rack.  Will keep for up to a week in an airtight container - I placed mine in the fridge and enjoyed it cold. Serve with more yoghurt. Enjoy.

*note - I baked mine longer than the recipe called for - I found the middle of the cake more moist than I wanted so baking it longer worked better. Also, I covered the cake halfway through baking time with foil so it wouldn't get too dark.