Valentine's Day Pistachio & Rose Water Semolina Cake

Happy Valentine's Day folks! I don't celebrate this holiday normally but decided it was only appropriate to call this cake a valentine's day cake since it screams roses with every component. It's like Yotam & Helen decided all the rose water in the world needed to go into this cake. Not that I'm complaining. I LOVE rose water. This cake is very similar to a middle eastern dessert called basbousa, which is kind of like a syrupy semolina cake. I'm a huge fan of middle eastern food, so this was right up my alley.

I've been slowly baking from Sweet cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi & Helen Goh and so far, everything has been really good. I have more recipes that I'm planning on baking soon. Maybe they'll turn up here on this new blog if everything goes well!
Cheers to my first post!

Pistachio & Rose Water Semolina Cake
Recipe adapted from Sweet by Yotam Ottolenghi & Helen Goh
Serves 16

Cake:
8 green cardamom pods, shells removed & seeds crushed
150 gm shelled pistachios, plus 2 tbsp for garnish - chopped (I accidentally ended up using roasted & salted)
100 gm almond meal
170 gm coarse semolina
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
300 grams unsalted butter, room temp
330 g sugar
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
grated zest of 1 lemon
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp rose water
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
40 fresh rose petals (organic or at least pesticide free)

Rose Cream:
170 gm greek yogurt
170 gm creme fraîche
1 tbsp confectioner's sugar
1 tbsp rose water

Rose Syrup:
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup rose water
100 gm sugar

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a 9.5" springform pan on the bottom with parchment paper. Line the sides also with a long skinny roll of parchment paper so it overlaps with bottom liner (this is to prevent the cake from leaking while baking and after, when you pour the syrup over it).
Grind the crushed cardamom seeds with pistachios in a food processor till it's a fine powder. Put the ground pistachios in a medium bowl and add almond meal, semolina & baking powder. Set aside.
In a large bowl beat the butter & sugar together with an electric beater with paddle attachment till combined. Don't beat it beyond that, we don't want too much air incorporated in it. Add the eggs slowly while beating the butter. The mixture will look curdled, but don't worry. Take the beater out and add the dry mix of nuts & semolina. Fold it in by using a spatula. Add lemon zest, lemon juice & rose water and mix it in till combined. Pour this batter into the prepare cake pan and level it on top with the spatula. Bake for 55-60 minutes till a skewer inserted into the middle comes out oily but without any crumbs.
While the cake is baking, make the rose cream by whisking green yogurt, creme fraîche, confectioner's sugar & rose water in a medium bowl till combined and slightly thick. Refrigerate the cream.
About 10 minutes before the cake is done, bring lemon juice, rose water & sugar to a boil in a small saucepan while stirring to completely dissolve the sugar. Set it aside. Once the cake comes out of the oven, immediately pour this syrup over the cake. It'll look like the cake can't take it all, but it'll eventually all get absorbed. Let the cake cool completely, about 3 hours. Un-mold the sides of the springform pan and take off the bottom along with all parchment paper liners.
Sprinkle reserved chopped pistachios & fresh rose petals. Serve thin slices with a generous smear of rose cream.