Cake Yazdi is to Iranians what vanilla or chocolate cupcakes are to Americans! I have yet to serve this cupcake without sparking a twinkle in someone’s eye, followed by an ear-to-ear smile. For anyone of Iranian origin, this familiar little treat evokes sweet and tender emotions, often prompting nostalgic stories of a distant childhood spent enjoying Cake Yazdi in Iran.
Cake Yazdi originates from Yazd, a five-thousand-year-old city located in the heart of Iran and one of the greatest adobe cities in the world. This desert provincial capital is renowned for its delectable sweets, silk textiles, Zoroastrian fire temples, mosques, and wind towers. These ingenious structures provide ventilation in buildings by capturing breezes from above while venting warmer air from below. The tallest wind catcher in Yazd is part of the Dowlatabad Garden, which is inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
I have made this cupcake dozens of times and have even taught it in some of my cooking classes here in Seattle. Recently, I revisited some of my old—and by old, I mean Roza Montazemi-old—cookbooks to see if there are easier or better ways to make them. For those unfamiliar with Roza Montazemi, she was a celebrated chef and author whose cookbooks date back to the early 1970s. The food photos in her books absolutely scream the style of that decade!
After six different attempts at this recipe, each with varying degrees of success, I decided this version was the best. I hope these cupcakes evoke strong emotions as you make them, and I would love to hear the stories they inspire you to share.
Innocence!
Cake Yazdi
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour, (300 g) or all purpose
- 2 teaspoons cardamom, ground
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sugar, (200 g)
- 1 cup plain yogurt, (245 g) whole fat
- 4 tablespoons rose water
- 1/4 teaspoon saffron, ground and dissolved in 3 tablespoons of hot water
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, (113 g) gently melted
Topping
- 1 tablespoon pistachios, chopped finely
- 1 teaspoon rose petals (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° F / 190° C.
- Gently grease the muffin tins or use cupcake liners.
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, cardamom, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In another bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients.
- Fold the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Evenly fill the muffin tin or liners with the batter and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until muffins are golden brown and a toothpick test comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and place on a serving platter and sprinkle the topping while hot.
- Store in an airtight container.
If I wanted to make this in a bundt cake mold instead, how would that change the cooking time? Thank you!
Hi Sepideh, you’ll need to bake it longer. Since I haven’t tested this recipe in a bundt pan, I can’t give you an exact time, but I’d suggest starting to check for doneness around 40 minutes. Insert a toothpick into the cake, and when it comes out clean, the cake is ready!
My Iranian husband was craving the taste of yazdi cakes from his childhood. We tried several different recipes and he said that this one was right on! – perfect balance of rose water, cardamom, and saffron and the right cake texture. We also boiled some raisins until they were plump and added them in which created a wonderful variance in the cake texture. We can’t wait to make them again!!!! Thank you Caspian Chef!
So delighted that you enjoyed them! ✨
Hello! Thank you for your wonderful recipes. Would it be okay to use Greek yogurt rather than plain yogurt for cake yazdi?
Absolutely, Abby! Since Greek yogurt has less water in it, then you may need to add some water to the batter to compensate.
Hi Omid. Was wanting to try this recipe to honour a Persian gentleman who is visiting my workplace this week. Where would I purchase rose petals that haven’t been heavily sprayed with pesticides? I had thought to just a local floral to see if I could purchase a few but now I’m a bit hesitant to do that (safety-wise). Thank you.
Hi Leslie, I used to purchase my organic rose petals from a company named Rose Dose. Sadly I think they are no longer in business. However, I was able to find their product on Amazon. Hope that helps!
Why baking soda?! is it possible to use no baking powder or soda?
Hi and thank you very much for this delicious receipe. I baked these cakes yesterday as a surprise for my Iranian family.. self being German and not having eaten these cakes before. They were really pleased and assured, they taste very original. I am glad that I found this blog and will try other dishes.
I love this recipe! Point 7 is meaningless as they hardly get to the airtight container before they are consumed
Simply love this recipe. They hardly get out of oven before eaten
Can’t wait to try these! Merci Chef Omid!
My pleasure, hope you enjoy them!
Delicious! I made them today and love them.
Wonderful, so glad you enjoyed them Mirjam! There is just something so special about these cupcakes!
Would this work as a layer cake? Also, what size muffin tins do you have? I only have 3oz ones and was wondering if i will come up with a dozen or maybe more, given the amount of flour in the recipe? Thank you!
Hi Katherine. By layer cake, do you mean baking this as a cake instead and layering it with other cake batters? If so, I imagine that may work, except I only use one egg for this cupcake so it will not rise significantly as a cake. As far as the size of the muffin tin goes, I used a standard muffin tin which is roughly about 3 oz and it will definitely fit the entire batter and yield 12 cupcakes. Hope this helps!