French Fridays with Dorie: Ispahan Loaf Cake

IT'S A KEEPER!

Such a wonderful cake made from almond flour, raspberries, and fragrant rose syrup.  I've been doing needed yard work all week:  planting my summer garden (which the dog unplanted twice), mowing the lawn, trimming Winter's frost kill on trees and shrubs, raking, and getting everything ready for Spring, which here in sunny AZ is like Summer in many areas.  We've had a few mid-nineties days, but mostly eighties.  I have a "farmer tan" and I feel healthy.  I mailed away all our business taxes on Monday and I'm taking a break to get things ready for a family Easter holiday, for Hubby's and Son # 2's birthdays in a few days, and for a new granddaughter due on Sunday, or any moment  (Honey will have a new baby sister...and Honey gets to stay with me for a week).  So many special days to look forward to over the next week.  After several days of "man-work," I'm tired and anticipated some relaxing baking fun with today's Ispahan Loaf Cake.

One of the very best things about this time of year is the smell.  Everywhere.  All our citrus trees are in bloom and our yard is perfumed with orange blossoms.  Ahhhhhhhhh.  I love the outdoors.  We'll be ready for an Easter egg hunt  and our usual brunch with all the trimmings and desserts we want to try.  Of course, the Easter Bunny keeps coming to our house even though our kids are grown.  Grandkids keep the fun in so many special days.

Today's loaf fits in with our season.  When I shop at the market I find that the berries are perfect.  Beautiful raspberries are inexpensive, abundant, and beg to add elegance to my baking.  I expected a much better than average dessert.  I was not disappointed!

This cake was simple to put together, although the rose syrup is an unusual ingredient.  I read on P's and Q's that the cake needs a little something with a glaze being a good fix.  My only problem with this recipe was the baking temperature/time.  The oven is pre-heated to 350^, then reduced to 300^ as the cake is put into the oven for baking.  At 60 minutes my cake insides were very gooey and the cake seemed to need a much longer time.  I had to run a few errands so I turned the heat back up to 350^.  I should have had time to be more patient, but could not wait.  My cake took an additional 15 minutes with the increased heat...probably would have been 15 more at the reduced temperature.

No worries, this cake is incredibly delicious!  I used Trader Joe's almond meal (with the skins) so my finished loaf may look a little extra brown rather than pink, but it is a great choice.  I added a little fresh orange zest to my glaze along with the juice of that orange because I love my oranges which will be gone in another month.  It was lovely with the rose.

For fun I picked a pretty rose from my garden to garnish my plate...we have so many beautiful roses right now which are at their best before the Summer heat torches them.  And for more fun I tried to make rose petals from gum drops for my loaf top...a task my talented daughters would have done much better.  But it is all for  fun.

If I were a royal queen (I am queen of my kitchen) I would order this cake often with my afternoon tea.  At our house, King Hubby will find this loaf as a surprise for his breakfast.  (It is fun to have Son #2 back at home.  He seems to sense when every baked good is pulled from the oven, appears for a taste, and loves everything.  He especially loves this extraordinary cake and he is impressed that it could be baked with almost all almond flour.)  I'm with Cher...I want to try blackberries, and......

Thanks to some of you who suggested a glaze.  It made a delicious difference.

Happy Spring!