Local Chef Delights with Elaborate Cake

Sandy Springs native Nadia Deljou graduated from The Weber School, Georgia State University, the International Culinary Center in New York, and then her real training ground in Manhattan, where she worked at renown Michelin- starred top shelf restaurants. Operating in Atlanta as Delle Dining, she has shifted during COVID-19 to include a virtual focus and community events.

Delle is now offering private dinners on its patio space in Sandy Springs. Deljou books dinners for up to 10 guests and takes them through a multi-course menu paired with wine and music. This outdoor venue is reminiscent of a sukkah in far off Marrakech, Morocco, or Tuscany, Italy.

The rose water cardamom cake delights tables year-round, though the Deljous served it for the high holidays.

She is also doing corporate online cooking classes, one recently on Moroccan cuisine for the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, NextGen, and then OneTable a few weeks ago. She has also been doing a pastry pop-up on weekends and special-order cakes, most recently a fantastical wedding cake in Alpharetta. Otherwise, she has shifted her community online, allowing access to cooking tips, live video demos, original recipes and music reviews. It’s a membership-based online resource center called The Delle Community that elevates members’ relationship to cuisine music and culture, https://thedellecommunity.mn.co/.

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Here Deljou shares an irresistible and decorative gateaux Persian Roulette recipe.

“This is a traditional dessert from Iran that’s very nostalgic. The cardamom and rose water flavors make it what it is and ties it into Persian cuisine,” Deljou said. “For our family, we like to serve it for special occasions because it’s decadent and feeds 10 to 12. We just served it at Rosh Hashanah. It takes 12 minutes to bake, and all together, I’d say, takes an hour start to finish. There are multiple steps. You need either a hand mixer or stand mixer.”

Persian Cardamom Roulette
Servings: 8 to 10

Rose water cardamom cake

Nonstick cooking spray or butter, for greasing the pan
7 eggs, room temperature
¾ cup + 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
3 teaspoons vanilla, divided
¾ cup + 2 tablespoons sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 ½ pints (6 cups) heavy cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
½ cup pistachios, ground or finely chopped, for topping
1 ½ cups strawberries, thinly sliced, for topping

Preheat oven to 375 F. Lightly spray or butter a 13-by-18-inch rimmed baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment. Set aside. Prepare a second sheet of parchment (or kitchen towel) about the same size as the one in the baking sheet and set aside.

You will need a stand mixer. If using a handheld mixer, you will need a large mixing bowl and a chilled large metal or glass mixing bowl. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs and ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons of sugar on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla, and beat on the highest speed for 4 more minutes, until it has thickened and the color is a light yellow. Reduce the speed to low and slowly add the flour and ground cardamom until just mixed.

Pour the batter into the baking sheet, making sure to spread it evenly with an offset spatula.

Bake until the cake springs back when touched in the middle and it has started to pull away from the sides, about 14 minutes.

Let cool for 2 minutes. Evenly sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar over the remaining piece of parchment or towel, then invert the cake onto it. Gently peel off the top parchment and roll the cake, starting at the long end. Let cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes. This helps to train the cake into the roulade form.

While the cake cools, prepare the filling. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment add the heavy cream and mix on high until it has reached soft peak stage, about 2 ½ minutes. Add 2 teaspoons of vanilla and the powdered sugar and mix until it has reached stiff peaks, 30 seconds more. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Filling
On a clean work surface or large cutting board, unroll the cake, and use an offset spatula to evenly cover with 2 to 3 cups of whipped cream. Re-roll the cake and refrigerate for 4 hours. Keep the remaining whipped cream tightly covered in the refrigerator for the decoration.

Decoration
Once completely cooled, take the cake out of the refrigerator and transfer to a cutting board. Completely cover the cake with the remaining whipped cream. Next, sprinkle with ground pistachio and top with a line of sliced strawberries along the top.

Slice into 1 ½ pieces and serve, with a few extra sprinkles of pistachio if you like.

For more information about Nadia Deljou, visit www.delledining.com.