This aromatic spongy Persian Almond Cardamom Pistachio Cake has been freely spiced with cardamom and is heavy on the eggs for a dense but moist cake. Instead of vegetable oil, we use LIA Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil. We also have below a video to walk you through the steps.
Hey my friends, this week I have for you my new "favorite" coffee cake. I originally found it during my research for Passover desserts and unique desserts of Jewish holidays throughout the year. The original cake recipe was featured in an article by An Iranian Seder in Beverly Hills with the name “Almond Cake With Cardamom and Pistachio.” This article is about an Iranian Jewish family who settled in California in 1979.
Almond Cardamom Pistachio Cake Video
Here is a little history lesson I learned from reading this article:
"Iran has one of the oldest known Jewish communities, going back over 2,500 years to when Jews fled the land of Israel after the destruction of the First Temple."
It's pretty amazing to learn other country’s traditions. “Food and feasts were a part of life for us,” said Angella Nazarian, one of Mrs. Maddahi’s daughters, who has just published a memoir of the Iranian Jews’ arrival in the United States, titled “Life as a Visitor”. If you want to read more about this fantastic article, go to the New York Times.
Persian Almond Cardamom Pistachio Cake Photoshoot
This cake is easy to make, but the best part was taking the photographs of the cake. Most of the time when I shoot food, I do it in the morning because the sunlight is more stable. My condo faces the city of Miami – the west side - and after 12:00 pm the sunlight hits my whole place and the light is too intense. So the mornings are best for a lot of indirect sunlight. Sometimes when there are a lot of clouds, the quality of lighting is unstable as the sun comes out, then behind a cloud, then back out again. Besides being extremely frustrating during the picture taking, the post-shoot editing part becomes too difficult to achieve the look I want.
This time I decided to shoot for the first time early in the evening to get a dark background with a bright food. It was a lot of fun and I got so excited that I ended up taking over 200 pictures. I might have went a little overboard!
I really love the flavor of this Persian Almond Cardamom Pistachio Cake. I love adding cardamom to any dish, savory or sweet, to give it an extra warm taste and aromatic fragrance.
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Jewish Traditional Dessert Recipes
If you are looking for more Jewish traditional dessert recipes for Hanukkah or Passover, check out these recipes.
- How to Make an Easy Rugelach with Jam Walnut Filling
- Walnut Macaroon Thumbprint Cookies with Fig Preserves
- Lemony Almond Macaroons
- Hazelnut Citrus Torte
This is a flour-less cake made with almond meal, and to accentuate the flavor I added almond extract. One thing that is different from the original recipe is that I use LIA Extra Virgin Olive Oil instead of vegetable oil. We have a number of baking recipes here using EVOO instead of vegetable oil or cooking oil.
I hope you get a chance to make this Persian Almond Cardamom Pistachio Cake. Did you make this or another recipe? Tag @Spoonabilities on Instagram or add a photo or comment on Pinterest, so we can find you! And we love to hear from you in the comment section below.
Have a fun week!
Carlos
Persian Almond Cardamom Pistachio Cake
- Total Time: 90 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
Description
Persian Almond Cardamom Pistachio Cake is a moist and aromatic dessert recipe. It can be served during Passover using Kosher's confectionary sugar and matzo meal instead of almond flour. If you want more of an Iranian flavor, add two Tablespoons of rose water. This cake is delicious with a hot Persian Tea (Chai) or Turkish coffee. Adapted from NYT-Cooking.
Ingredients
- ½ cup LIA Extra Virgin Olive Oil, plus additional for pan
- 7 large separated eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 Tablespoon almond extract
- 4 ½ cups plus 1 tablespoon almond flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cardamom
- 2 Tablespoons confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
- 3 Tablespoons finely chopped pistachio nuts, for garnish
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 F degrees. Oil a 9-inch round or square pan and set aside.
- Whisk egg whites using a stand mixer until stiff but not dry, and set aside.
- Combine egg yolks and sugar in a medium bowl, and whisk to blend. Whisk in almond extract and oil. Add almond flour and cardamom.
- Gently stir a third of the whites into the batter, then gently fold in the rest until just incorporated.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and finish cooling on a rack. To decorate, dust with confectioners’ sugar and chopped pistachios.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: Middle East
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 524
- Sugar: 2 g
- Sodium: 55.1 mg
- Fat: 29.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 61.4 g
- Fiber: 25.7 g
- Protein: 20.8 g
- Cholesterol: 108.5 mg
Suggested Ingredients & Equipment
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Hey there, I'm Carlos, a food and drink enthusiast, recipe blogger and 
Lawrence
I've been a professional baker at times in my life and this was a disaster. Everything was going fine until I added the almond flour. The mixture was so dry and crumbly that adding the egg whites was impossible. Did I mistakenly add too much almond flour? If I did, it wasn't by much. I know I used the right amount of large eggs. Since there was no way to incorporate the beaten whites into this dry clumpy mess that was impossible to even stir, I thought, in the event there was too much flour, I'd add another egg, and a bit more sugar and oil. It still was so immovably thick, I couldn't get the whites in there. I added some milk to try and smooth it out a bit. When I got it to a reasonable consistency, I added the whites, but could never get them to completely mesh with the mixture. I decided to bake it anyway and see what happens. It's so dense...and not in a good way, I love dense cakes and make olive oil cakes all the time...and dry and flavorless, I just have to throw it out. Thankfully, I had made a second dessert that came out well, but these ingredients were expensive. I still don't know why it didn't work...too fine almond flour, maybe? I'm an American in Berlin and things are just different here. Baking, in general, hasn't been going well for me here.
Geoffrey Swetz
Hi Lawrence. I'm so sorry to hear you had trouble (understatement I guess) making this recipe. I know we've made it a few times since publishing it, and so have many other people. I think your last statement is probably the answer: "I'm an American in Berlin and things are just different here. Baking, in general, hasn't been going well for me here." Both climate and available ingredients are big factors in baking. Baking the same recipe her in Miami would not be the same in say Denver or Vancouver... but I don't need to tell you that if you've been a professional baker. Also, maybe(?) you measured something in grams instead of US measurements? Not sure what else to tell you. If you figure it out, please do let us know. What was the second dessert that you made?
Lawrence
A Passover chocolate cake. Luckily, it came out beautifully. We were too full to eat 2 desserts anyway but I'd like to try this again some time. Is the almond flour you use more like finely ground almonds or the texture of regular wheat flour? I've seen it both ways.
Carlos Leo
Hi Lawrence,
I'm glad to hear your Passover chocolate cake turned out beautifully! It's unfortunate that the Persian Almond Cardamom Pistachio Cake didn't work out, but I appreciate your persistence and interest in trying it again.
Regarding the almond flour, the texture can indeed make a significant difference. For this recipe, I used almond flour with a fine, powdery consistency, more like regular wheat flour. Finely ground almonds can sometimes be coarser, which might affect the texture and moisture of the cake. If your almond flour was coarser, that could explain the dry and crumbly texture you encountered.
It's great that you adjusted with additional liquids, but if the almond flour is too coarse, it might still struggle to incorporate well with the egg whites. If you decide to try the recipe again, I recommend ensuring the almond flour is very fine. You could also sift it to remove any larger pieces.
Baking in different environments can be challenging, so it's always a bit of an experiment. If you have any other questions or need further adjustments, please let me know. I'd love to hear about your experience if you give it another shot. Happy baking!
I will submit another reply with some tips.
Carlos Leo
Carlos Leo
Hi Lawrence,
Here are a few tips that you might already be familiar with as a professional baker, but I hope they help ensure our readers can successfully make our recipes. Thank you for sharing your experience!
Check Ingredient Quality: Sometimes, ingredient quality can vary by region. If possible, try using a different brand of almond flour or even grinding your own from blanched almonds to control the texture.
Temperature and Humidity Considerations: Since you're baking in Berlin, consider that the climate might affect the ingredients and baking process. Ingredients like almond flour can absorb moisture differently depending on humidity levels, so adjusting the liquid content might be necessary.
Testing Small Batches: If you're experimenting with ingredient textures or substitutions, try making a smaller batch to test the consistency and flavor before committing to a full recipe.
Thank you again, and happy baking!
Carlos Leo
Lawrence
Carlos, thank you for your messages and tips. I couldn't respond to you underneath your messages for some reason. I did use very fine almond flour so that wasn't the reason. I must have either measured it incorrectly or it's just a baking in Berlin issue. Ah well. Next time!
Susan Suchowski
I made 6 of these today with no problem - smooth on top. the next 2 I made are so wonky - they look like cornbread on the top, i did nothing different on cakes 7 or 8. i had to throw #7 in the garbage which killed me - idk what happened. your thoughts.
Geoffrey Swetz
Hi Susan. WOW, 8 cakes! That's an amazing feat itself. What were they all for? Not sure what to tell you. Did you forget the olive oil, or to separate the eggs? Maybe next time only make 6, and then come back fresh the next day and make 6 more. LOL! If you figure it out, I'd be interested to know.
Gladys
Just a Roman Catholic girl from Toronto, Canada, here.
Searching the internet for wonderful exotic recipes from around the world…from every country. Every year my new year’s resolution is to try one new recipe from anywhere in the world.
This year’s theme is EGGs. I want to find, learn, cook and fall in love with hundreds of eggs recipes from every corner of the world.
Ah, then, I spotted this recipe when I googled Syria. I eat keto. I am going to replace the sugar with Lakanto Erythritol/monk fruit blend…I adore cardamom. This cake should be over the top spectacular! I cannot wait to taste it.
I will certainly bake this after my recovery from a hiatus hernia operation coming soon.
I will now scan through all your articles to discover that other marvellous spice combination you can teach me!
Regards, from Canada
Geoffrey Swetz
Hi Gladys. Well, I went to Roman Catholic schools my whole life. How was the operation for you? Not too bad I hope.
Glad you found this recipe during your annual search. We, especially Carlos, love cardamom too, and we just started using monk fruit in our coffee and soon some recipes.
Wishing you well, and let us know how the cake turned out for you.