Persian scented cake

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 200 g butter
• 150 g sugar
• 275 g almonds, ground
• 100 g flour
• 4 eggs
• 12 cardamom pods
• 1 lemon(s), untreated, juice and zest
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp rose water
• 1 pinch of salt
• Fat for the mold
• 2 tbsp sugar
• ½ lemon(s), juice
• ½ tbsp rose water
• 300 g powdered sugar
• 1 lemon(s), juice
• 4 tsp water
• 2 tsp pistachios, chopped
• some rose petals or other flower petals

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 1 hour; Cooking/baking time approx. 45 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 15 minutes

Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl until creamy. Add the eggs and continue mixing. Crush the cardamom pods in a mortar and pestle, discarding the husks. Grind the seeds into a powder. Grate the lemon zest and juice the lemon. Sift together the flour and baking powder. Mix the flour, baking powder, cardamom powder, ground almonds, lemon zest, and salt in a bowl. Fold in the butter mixture. Add the rose water and lemon juice and stir to combine. Pour the cake batter into a greased 23 cm springform pan and bake in a preheated oven at approx. 160 °C (top/bottom heat) for 40-45 minutes. Meanwhile, for the syrup, squeeze half a lemon and heat the juice together with the sugar and rose water in a pan over low heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar has completely dissolved. Let the syrup cool briefly. After baking, remove the cake from the oven and pierce holes all over with a wooden skewer. Pour the syrup over the cake and let it cool for at least 1 hour. Mix the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and water to make a glaze and spread it over the cake. Finally, decorate the cake with chopped pistachios and dried flower petals.