Ingredients
170g soft light brown sugar
170g soft unsalted butter
3 nice free-range eggs
125g self-raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
45g ground almonds
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 cardamom pods, seeds only
2 drops of rosewater
ICING
250g mascarpone
25g icing sugar
1–2 drops of rosewater
DECORATION
Fresh edible or dried rose petals (optional)
A handful of pistachio slivers
2 fresh figs, thinly sliced
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 160°C fan/180°C/gas 4. Beat the sugar and butter together until soft, then whisk in the eggs. Fold in the flour, baking powder, ground almonds, spices and rosewater, then transfer the mixture to a lined 26cm by 20cm shallow roasting tin and bake for 25–30 minutes, until the cake is golden brown and a skewer, when inserted, comes out clean. Meanwhile, beat the mascarpone and icing sugar together with one or two tiny drops of rosewater (depending on the brand, it can be very strong so use it carefully). Once the cake is out of the oven, let it cool for 5 minutes in the tin, then transfer to a wire rack until completely cold. Spread the icing all over the cake neatly with a hot palette knife, then scatter over the rose petals, pistachio slivers and quartered figs. NOTE: This cake freezes well un-iced. If you are not eating it on the day you make it, store in the fridge as the topping uses fresh fruit.