Persian Love Cake
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There once was a girl who fell madly in love with a Persian prince - so she baked him a cake filled with love magic to make him fall in love with her.
The verdict is out on whether it worked or not, but one thing is for sure - this cake is magical. Made of almond flour and lemon. Scented with rose and cardamom and topped with pistachio, I knew this cake would make an excellent cocktail.
There are a few recipes out there with additional ingredients. I like to add fresh pomegranate arils to mine. I like the pop of color and also their acidity helps to cut through the sweetness of the glaze.
You’ll need the following equipment:
Ingredients:
Expert Level Pistachio Orgeat
Lemon
Gin
Amaretto
For the base spirit, this gin felt like the natural choice. New York Distilling Company makes one of my favorite gins which has a nice floral character to it that I think pair really nicely with the other flavors in this drink. It’s named after New York’s own Dorothy Parker who was known for her quick wit and of course her writing.
Since this is an almond cake after all, I will be using Disaronno to impart the almond flavor and a bit of sweetness. For the cardamom, rose and pistachio elements, I will be making an orgeat combining all three.
Instead of my usual classic orgeat recipe, I decided to try a pistachio orgeat recipe that is a variation of Dave Arnold’s recipe that includes a blend of stabilizing gums.
Before I build the cocktail, I want to add a pop of pomegranate. Instead of doing an elaborate garnish, I thought it would be fun to dust the exterior of the glass in dehydrated pomegranate powder. You will need a frozen glass for this to work.
I’m going to place the frozen glass in a bowl and spritz a section at a time with rose water, then sift the pomegranate powder onto the glass in a thin layer. I’ll repeat this process until the whole glass is covered, then put it back in the freezer while I build the drink.
The contents of the drink will be:
A half ounce of lemon juice
1.5 ounces of the cardamom, pistachio & rose orgeat
One and a quarter ounce of the Dorothy parker gin
A half ounce of Disaronno
4 to 5 drops of saline.
Since this is being served over crushed ice, I will be shaking this without ice just to make sure the ingredients are fully combined before pouring it into the ice filled glass. If you have a swizzle stick, you can just put it all directly into the crushed ice filled glass, swizzle then top with more crushed ice.
I really like the simple look of this drink with the matte powder coated glass.
It tastes absolutely amazing, and oddly enough- not really like a dessert drink. The tartness from the lemon and the savory ness from the pistachio along with the saline lend a lot of character to the cocktail. I like how the Disaronno is more of a supporting character than the star of this drink - which for me - Disaronno tends to take over. Side by side with the cake, it tastes pretty much spot on- the drink may be a little less sweet even with the almond liqueur and a good amount of orgeat. The pomegranate powder definitely helps to add a bit more tartness too.
Though I didn’t add any love magic to the drink, I think anyone would fall in love with this cocktail.
Ingredients:
1.5 oz Pistachio Rose and Cardamom orgeat
1.25 oz Dorothy Parker Gin - or any floral gin of your choosing
.5 oz Disaronno or almond liqueur of your choosing
.5 lemon juice
5 drops saline
Method:
Dust your frozen serving glass with dehydrated pomegranate power using rose water to help power adhere.
Shake without ice to combine and pour into the glass filled with crushed ice or add ingredients to the glass filled with crushed ice, swizzle with a swizzle stick until well combined and top with more ice.
