Love Cake
A light, delicate sponge cake, gently infused with spices and rose water. Try this simple, elegant recipe from Meera Sodha.
From the book
Made in India: Cooked in Britain: Recipes from an Indian Family Kitchen
130 mouth-watering Indian recipes made simple
Aromatic curries and flavourful dals
Homemade chutneys and pickles
Introduction
I've never had stronger feelings for any cake than for the love cake. Packed full of some of the most delicious ingredients around (cashews, honey, cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg), it is rich, moist and incredibly fragrant. I like to serve this cut into small squares topped with a spoonful of cardamom shrikhand and a sprinkling of fresh pomegranate seeds.
Ingredients
| 125g | unsalted butter at room temperature (plus extra to line the cake tin) |
| 325g | caster sugar |
| 6 | eggs |
| 200g | fine semolina |
| 100g | ground cashews (or ground almonds) |
| 5 1/2 tbsp | honey |
| 2 tsp | ground cinnamon |
| 1/2 tsp | grated nutmeg |
| 1 tsp | ground cardamom (or finely ground seeds from 12 pods) |
| 2 tbsp | rose water |
| 1 tsp | vanilla essence |
| Zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange | |
| For the cardamom and pomegranate shrikhand: | |
| 250g | good-quality Greek yoghurt, like Total |
| 2 1/2 tbsp | icing sugar |
| 1/2 tsp | ground cardamom (or finely ground seeds from 6 pods) |
| Seeds of ½ a pomegranate |
Essential kit
You will need a rectangular cake tin (approx. 30cm x 20cm).
Method
Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F/gas 2. Line a rectangular cake tin (approx. 30cm x 20cm) with greaseproof paper and a fine layer of butter.
Cream the butter and the caster sugar together in a bowl and set aside. In another bowl, beat the eggs until pale and smooth, then slowly whisk them into the sugar and butter mixture. Fold in the semolina, ground cashews, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, rose water, vanilla essence and lemon and orange zest.
Fold the mixture together and spoon out into your cake tin. Place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown all over and firm to the touch. Leave to cool before cutting or taking out of the cake tin.
To make the cardamom and pomegranate shrikhand, mix the yoghurt with the icing sugar and cardamom and half of the pomegranate seeds in a bowl, then leave the ingredients to mingle for as long as possible before serving.
Serve a good-sized square of cake with a dollop of yoghurt and a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds over the top.
