Persian Love Cake
My good friend, Rose, made this cake last year for my boyfriend, Luke's, birthday. We had it following a long day of the beach on Whidbey Island and after a dinner of fried chicken, brisket enchiladas (her dad owns a barbecue restaurant), and hopefully a salad which now escapes my mind. When the cake came, it was accompanied by The Beatles' birthday song and an embarrassed Luke (who just like everyone else, hates being sung to on their birthday). We ate it hungrily even though we were stuffed with two kinds of meat. It's called a Persian Love Cake; a cardamom chiffon cake filled with lemon curd, frosted with rose buttercream, and topped with pistachios and rose petals. Rose- it's very fitting her name is Rose- went the extra mile and coated her pistachios in edible glitter, an obvious choice to those who know her. She told us the recipe had been rather dramatically and ceremoniously given to her by a friend of the family's and she was, under no circumstances, allowed to share it. But of course, I then wanted it all the more.
We reached out to Rose who is currently in China and has spent the last several months there studying midwifery and all things women and I can't even pretend I'm not a little jealous. He asked her for the recipe and told her we hoped to make it for our anniversary. With an enthusiastic "AWWWWW!" she agreed, with feeling, and we rejoiced. Unfortunately the recipe was hard to access from China and we didn't get it in time. So instead we pieced together a recipe based on what we knew.
I googled recipes for Persian Love Cake. Most of the cakes that came up were more of the single layer type, with or without a drizzly glaze, and topped with pistachios and rose petals. These cakes often have a combination of almond and regular or semolina flours. This is the more traditional version of the cake. I knew what we had last year was a far more extravagant affair; a chiffon cake, and there was lemon curd and rose buttercream involved. So I had to get a little creative finding good cake, buttercream, and curd recipes separately, tweaking them a bit, and then bringing them all together.
There was a lot of debate on whether we should use oil in this cake. Chiffon cakes, are by definition, oil based cakes. I personally hate using oil in cakes; I can often taste it and it can make the consistency too fluffy or oily and the flavor lacking depth. To be honest, I associate oil in cakes with boxed cake mix. So I looked into what oils are best for cakes, hoping to avoid that cake mix flavor. Safflower oil was recommended by Martha Stewart, I couldn't find it at the store and so instead went with grapeseed oil and ended up miles away from anything that comes out of a box. It turns out part of that cake mix flavor might actually come from the cardboard. The cake recipe I used is adapted, pretty close, from Martha Stewart's chiffon cake.
My second dilemma was choosing a buttercream. There are French, Italian, and Swiss buttercreams. The process of learning the differences between them was so long and confusing that I will now list them here in a way that would have been helpful to me:
- French Buttercream: Egg yolks are beaten until pale and thick. A hot syrup is whipped in before butter is gradually beaten in.
- Italian Buttercream: Egg whites are first beaten to stiff peaks. Hot syrup is whipped in to form a merengue and then butter is gradually beaten in.
- Swiss Buttercream: Egg whites and sugar are placed on a double broiler until sugar is dissolved. It is then taken off the heat and whipped into stiff peaks before butter is gradually beaten in. Swiss buttercream is generally acknowledged as the most stable of the buttercreams and is often used on wedding cakes.
With all that information I had to choose which one I was going to make. I was fairly sure the buttercream Rose made used egg whites instead of yolks. I was also sure that a double broiler was too much work for me/I don't have the right heatproof bowl to fit over a pot of boiling water. I'm getting the taste of college life I never thought I'd have: at home we certainly have all the mixing bowls one could need, in a flat of university students you just won't find the same selection.
So that left me with Italian buttercream and in no was was I settling as this was one of the most delicious frostings I have ever made. I tend to be dubious of buttercreams. They can be too thick/too sweet/too rich and being found on wedding cakes doesn't give them a good rep. Nearly all wedding cake is bad. This buttercream is good, you can take my word for it. I trust Martha, so the buttercream recipe also comes from her.
Another issue I faced in the college kitchen was the absence of a candy thermometer. A buttercream is made with a syrup that has reached the softball stage or 138 degrees F. We went to Tesco's to find a good old fashioned candy thermometer to find that they only had a digital read one that cost twelve pounds. Being poor, we walked home and called my mom. My mom told me you don't need a candy thermometer if you pay close attention and test the syrup regularly by pouring a tiny bit into a bowl of cold water.
It was a long affair, making this cake. To try and spread out the work we made the curd a few days ahead, vowing to make the cakes the following day and the buttercream day of. This did not happen and we arrived at cake day with a long road ahead of us. We split up tasks and Luke took the cake and I took the temperamental buttercream.
We have only one hand mixer at home. I'm accustomed to a standing Kitchen Aid so I've had to get used to using a hand held mixer. It works just as well, maybe just a bit slower and your arm hurts at the end of it. Luke was busy separating the 9 eggs for the cake and I was zipping along with the buttercream. I had accomplished a perfect softball without a candy thermometer and was on a real high. Halfway through adding the butter I tasted it to see how it was going along and was disappointed with a mouthful of salty frosting. I had forgotten to buy unsalted butter. I normally don't believe in unsalted butter at all, not in cooking nor baking. You'll find that the only time I specify which kind of butter to use is when it is truly important to use unsalted. I knew, however, that salted butter would be too salty in a frosting that uses an entire pound of butter. I almost cried. I was in denial, I bargained, I was angry, I was sad. I experienced every stage of grief in the mourning of my perfect buttercream, every so often suggesting we taste it again in the hopes that it would suddenly become usable and my efforts would not have been for naught. Luke in the meantime created a perfect chiffon cake. He consoled me while I tried not to cry and assured me we would make another buttercream later, after we had gone to dinner. I insisted on keeping the salty one under the ruse that should the next attempt fail, as buttercreams do, we'll have a backup frosting, but really I was just so proud and simultaneously heartbroken I couldn't bear to throw it out.
Making a second buttercream paid off in the end, being better even than the first one. I threw the salty frosting out and felt nothing but pride for my second successful buttercream of the day made, shall we not forget, without a candy thermometer.
Persian Love Cake
Serves 8-10
Cooking time: All day, don't make any other plans.
Chiffon Cake
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Chiffon Cake with Strawberries and Cream
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups caster sugar, divided (I find caster sugar always works better than regular granulated in baking, but granulated works fine)
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
9 egg whites and 7 egg yolks
1/2 cup grapeseed oil (or other neutral oil such as safflower)
3/4 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp lemon zest (about one lemon)
Pistachios and dried rose petals for topping (you won't need these till way later)
Method:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F
Butter two 9 inch cake pans, place a parchment round on the bottom of each pan, then butter the top of the parchment. Flour the pans.
In one bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and 3/4 cup of the sugar. Whisk together.
In another bowl whisk together egg yolks, oil, and milk. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir until smooth.
In yet another bowl, beat the egg whites until they become frothy. At this point, add the cream of tartar and continue beating until soft peaks form. When this happens, gradually add the remaining 3/4 cup of sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form.
Fold 1/3 of the whites into the batter first, then fold in the rest. Make sure the mixture is well combined but do not over mix it, doing so will cause the whites to fall. You want the whipped egg whites for volume.
Divide batter between two 9 inch cake pans and sprinkle the cardamom and grate the lemon zest on top. Gently swirl to combine with a butter knife, careful not to scrape the knife against the bottom of the pan.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until cakes are lightly browned and springy to the touch.
Let cool completely. Assemble soon after or cover in plastic wrap overnight at room temperature. Any longer than that and stick them in the freezer, letting them return to room temperature before assembling.
Rose Italian Buttercream
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Italian Merengue Buttercream
Ingredients:
5 egg whites
2/3 cup water
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1 pound of unsalted butter, chilled but not cold, cut into cubes (Take your butter out of the fridge as you begin this recipe, cut it into cubes, and set it aside. This will make it the perfect the temperature when it's time to add it to the egg whites.)
1-1 1/2 tsp rosewater- to taste (don't put too much or your buttercream will taste like soap)
Method:.
Whip egg whites until they are frothy. Add cream of tartar and continue whipping until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
Bring water and sugar to a boil. Boil for several minutes or until syrup has reached softball stage* or 238 degrees F.
Begin whipping the egg whites again and immediately begin to gradually add your syrup in a steady stream into your egg whites. The mixture will grow into a voluminous and glossy merengue. Continue beating until the merengue is completely cool. This is very important as when you add the butter, it must not melt or your buttercream will be ruined beyond repair.
When the merengue is completely cool, beat in the butter one cube at a time.The mixture will fall drastically as you add the butter, but don't worry, keep mixing. If the mixture begins to curdle at any point (it probably will) keep mixing until it is smooth and spreadable.
At the very end, beat in the rosewater. Add just one teaspoon first, taste it, and decide if you want more. Add 1/2 teaspoon at time until the desired flavor is reached. Too much rosewater can make your buttercream taste like bad perfume and/or soap.
*Softball stage is when if you drop about 1/2 teaspoon of your syrup into a cup or bowl of very cold water, you are able to pick up the the bit of syrup from the water (it should hold some shape after your drop it in) and roll it between your fingers into a squishy ball.
Lemon Curd
Ingredients:
The zest and juice of 4 lemons
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter
4 eggs beaten
Method:
Place lemon zest, juice, sugar, and butter in a double boiler/heatproof bowl over a pot of boiling water. When butter has melted add the eggs. Whisk well to combine.
Keep whisking frequently for about 10 minutes until the mixture has become thick and custardy.
Strain the curd into a jar or bowl and let cool. Keep in the fridge until ready to use.
Assemble the Cake
(Thank God you've made it this far)
Cut each cake in half with a long serrated knife so you have 4 layers in total. Cut the sides straight if they are wonky, mine were.
Place a small dollop of buttercream in the center of a cake plate and place one layer, cut side up, on top (this will help hold the cake in place). Spread 1/2 cup or more of lemon curd on the cake, being mindful not to let the curd fall down the sides.
Place your next layer on top. Spread buttercream on top, about 3/4 -1 cup depending on your preference. The layer may want to slide a little (or a lot) due to the lemon curd. Just do your best to hold it still.
Place the next layer on top of the buttercream. Spread with more lemon curd.
Place the top layer and finish frosting the cake. I started with frosting the top so I was able to hold the cake still on top of the curd while I spread the frosting, then finished with the sides.
Top with pistachios and rose petals as desired. I scattered some of both on top and just pistachios along the base of the cake.
