Dorie and Pierre's Ispahan Cake #TheCakeSliceBakers

When I saw the recipe for Dorie and Pierre's Ispahan Cake, I was intrigued.

I know about Pierre Herme's famous Ispahan macaron, flavored with rose, raspberry, and lychee.

This cake is author Dorie Greenspan's cake version of Herme's macaron-- as relayed by this year's Cake Slice Baker cookbook author, Aleksandra Crapanzano.

Essentially, this cake is a recipe version of the game "Telephone."

The Ispahan Cake... and my Valentine's Day roses. Aren't they pretty? :)

I'm pleased that I chose this one out of this month's selections. To see what the other lovely bakers made, check out the links at the bottom of the page!

This Ispahan iteration is an almond flour loaf, studded with raspberries and flavored with rose syrup. I was pretty sure that my kids weren't going to like this cake and I'd get it all to myself.

I was wrong.

"It has a really nice pink flavor!"

--6-year-old daughter

"I like this! I can taste it with my nose!"

-- 4-year-old son

[Thumbs up with no commentary, because his mouth was full]

-- 8-year-old son

(My two-year-old didn't care much for it. But he's been feeling puny all week, so he hasn't liked much of anything. Poor little guy).

And I liked it too! Even my husband (who doesn't care for floral flavors) thought it was tasty.

My daughter described this cake as having a pink flavor-- which is a great description! As a kid, my mom had some Elizabeth Taylor perfume called "Emeralds"-- and I don't know how it smelled green... but it did. The Ispahan Cake is just fragrant enough to be elegant (not like drinking perfume) but is kind of the same taste a color/flavor experience.

As the cookbook author explained, Parisians are bonkers for Chef Pierre Herme's rose-flavored confections. The name "Ispahan" comes from an intensely perfumed Persian rose-- which makes sense because many desserts from the Middle East and India prominently feature rose as a flavor. I got my rose syrup from my local international market. It's a big bottle, so I need to make this cake about 75 more times to use it up.

(If you have any great recipes using rose syrup, let me know in the comments!)

The recipe specifically calls for rose extract and NOT rose water... but I used rose water ~~because I do what I want~~ because I didn't want to have to order a weird ingredient that would sit in my pantry unused for 5 years. It turned out well with the rose water and was adequately rose-flavored.

This cake (like the Orange Blossom Honey Cake that I made last month) is filling, fragrant, and not nearly as sweet as most American cakes. I think it would be lovely toasted and served with a cup of coffee for breakfast.

So give this Ispahan Cake a try! Taste the (pink) flavor (with your nose) that millions of Parisians can't get enough of 👍

Dorie and Pierre's Ispahan Cake

From Gateau: The Surprising Simplicity of French Cakes by Aleksandra Crapanzano

3 T rose syrup

2 T whole milk

2 cups almond flour

1 cup powdered sugar

3 large eggs (separated) + 1 whole egg (all room temp)

2 1/2 T granulated sugar

3/4 cup room temp butter

1/4 tsp rose extract

1/2 + 1T flour

1 pint raspberries

1. Heat the oven to 350F. Grease and flour a 9x5" loaf pan.

2. Combine the rose syrup and milk in a small bowl.

3. Sift the almond flour and sugar together in a mixing bowl.

4. Beat the egg whites with a mixer until they just begin to hold their shape, and then slowly add the granulated sugar (to firm, glossy peaks). Transfer the whites to another bowl (no need to wash the mixing bowl).

5. In the mixing bowl, combine the almond flour mix and butter, beating until smooth (~3 minutes). Leave on medium speed, and add the yolks one at a time (mixing for one minute after each addition). Add in the rose syrup milk and rose extract, and beat one more minute.

6. Stir in 1/3 of the egg whites to lighten the batter. Then fold in the remainder of the egg whites and flour.

7. Pour 1/3 of the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Make 3 rows of berries down the center (don't let them touch the sides). Cover with another third of the batter, and add another 3 rows of raspberries. Cover with the remaining batter.

7. Reduce the oven temperature to 300F, and bake the cake for 55-65 minutes, or until a tester comes out cleanly. Place on a cooling rack for 3 minutes, invert it onto the rack and allow to cool to room temperature.

Enjoy:)

Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is Gâteau: The Surprising Simplicity of French Cakes by Aleksandra Crapanzano. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes!

Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the links below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details.

The Cake Slice Bakers also have a new Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.