Cake Yazdi is a traditional and individually portioned cake that originates in Yazd, Iran. Baking these muffins is connected with customs and rituals in Yazd. Egg, sugar, ghee or vegetable oil, flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, yogurt or milk, and cardamom are the key ingredients for baking these soft and fragrant muffins. They’re perfectly sweet and they will quickly disappear from the afternoon tea table.
About This Recipe
Cake Yazdi is a soft and tender muffin loaded with cardamom and rose water flavor. The deliciousness of these Persian cardamom muffins will evoke all those nostalgic childhood taste memories! There is nothing better than a warm fragrant muffin with a cup of Persian tea. The combination of sweet and spicy flavors makes these muffins stand out. Cake Yazdi has a hearty and unique taste despite the simple ingredients used in it.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Uses pantry ingredients: These muffins are beyond easy to make and you can find all the ingredients already in your kitchen.
- Soft, fluffy, and packed with flavors: Persian cardamom muffins are packed with flavor thanks to cardamom and rose water. The freshly baked muffins are so fluffy and smell like heaven.
- Bakery style quality: Bring back nostalgic memories of the cardamom muffins of your childhood with this recipe. Bakery-style muffins with a domed top and perfect texture.
What You Need to Make Cake Yazdi
- Flour: All-purpose flour gives the best structure to the muffins.
- Eggs: Eggs add moisture and stability to the muffins.
- Sugar: Use granulated white sugar to add sweetness to the cake Yazdi muffins.
- Yogurt: Be sure to use plain full-fat yogurt for this recipe.
- Vegetable oil: You can use any tasteless and odorless liquid vegetable oil (canola, corn, and sunflower) for this recipe.
- Powdered cardamom: For this recipe use powdered green cardamom, which you can typically find at middle eastern grocery stores.
- Baking powder: Baking powder is a leavening agent that increases the volume and lightens the texture of muffins.
- Rose water: Rose Water adds a floral flavor to the muffins.
- Corn starch: Corn starch improves the softness and texture of the muffins.
- Sesame seeds: Sprinkle cake Yazdi muffins with toasted sesame seeds.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Heat white sesame seeds in a small frying pan over medium heat for 2-3 minutes until golden and set them aside.
- If you want high-domed bakery-style muffins preheat the oven to 200°C or 400°F and line a 12-hole muffin tray with paper cases.
- Sift flour, baking powder, and cornstarch in a bowl and mix them with a whisk.
- Add eggs and sugar to a clean bowl. Beat them with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Then begin mixing on high using an electric beater for 2-3 minutes until light and foamy.
- Add oil, yogurt, cardamom, and rose water and beat with an electric mixer until just mixed.
- Add half of the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and mix with a whisk until combined.
- Mix in the next half of the dry ingredients.
- Spoon batter into paper cases. To have beautifully domed muffins, the paper cases should be almost full.
- Sprinkle a little sesame on each muffin.
- Bake for 15 minutes at 400°F. After 15 minutes, lower the temperature to 356°F and Yazdi cakes for another five minutes.
- Remove the muffins from the oven and place them on the cooling rack for 10 minutes.
- Serve Persian cardamom muffins with a cup of tea.
Tips & Tricks
- If your muffins came out flat, probably your measurements were not accurate.
- Your oven was not hot enough.
- Ingredients were not at the right temperature.
- The baking powder was expired.
Did you like the cake Yazdi recipe? Try my shirini keshmeshi recipe as well! Leave your comment below and If you make this recipe, be sure to tag your photos #yummynotes

Ingredients
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 cup full-fat plain yogurt
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 2 tablespoons rose water
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3 tablespoons sesame seeds
Instructions
Step 1
Heat white sesame seeds in a small frying pan over medium heat for 2-3 minutes until golden and set them aside.
Step 2
If you want high-domed bakery-style muffins preheat the oven to 200°C or 400°F and line a 12-hole muffin tray with paper cases.
Step 3
Sift flour, baking powder, and cornstarch in a bowl and mix them with a whisk.
Step 4
Add eggs and sugar to a clean bowl. Beat them with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Then begin mixing on high using an electric beater for 2-3 minutes until light and foamy.
Step 5
Add oil, yogurt, cardamom, and rose water and beat with an electric mixer until just mixed.
Step 6
Add half of the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and mix with a whisk until combined.
Step 7
Mix in the next half of the dry ingredients.
Step 8
Spoon batter into paper cases. To have beautifully domed muffins, the paper cases should be almost full.
Step 9
Sprinkle a little sesame on each muffin.
Step 10
Bake for 15 minutes at 400°F. After 15 minutes, lower the temperature to 356°F and Yazdi cakes for another five minutes.
Step 11
Remove the muffins from the oven and place them on the cooling rack for 10 minutes.
Step 12
Serve Persian cardamom muffins with a cup of tea.
1 comment
greate photos!!!