MasterChef UK ™
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Persian Love Cake
Pistachio and cardamom Persian love cake with pomegranate gel, candied pistachios, rose water and saffron ice cream, and pomegranate caramel sauce.
Amy is originally from Massachusetts, a humanist wedding celebrant who spent 20 years as a US diplomat living and working in the Middle East and Africa.
Amy: "My first assignment was in Turkey and I worked with Iranians and Persian food is spectacular, so I thought that would be a nice place to start."
Anna: "Amy's got some really bold flavours in her pistachio cake. I love green cardamom, but if you use too much it's really quite dominant. She's got mahlab powder going in there. Mahlab is like a ground seed and it's got a lovely aromatic smell, but quite a bitter flavour. So a little bit goes a long way."
Grace: "Rose water divides the crowd. It needs a deft hand when you're adding it to a meal."
Grace: "I think the cake is so rich in cardamom. I love the denseness of it. I love the moistness of it."
Anna: "For me, there's too much mahlab in that cake. There is a tang off it that is too bitter. Your ice cream is absolutely silky smooth, but there is too much rose water in it, and it tastes quite soapy."
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