Candied Rose Petals - Preheat oven to 200º

Laquer egg white on petal, sprinkle sugar on each side, place on baking sheet lined with silpat. Bake for 30 mins. Remove to cooling rack.

Cake Topping

In food processor, combine almonds and 1 tbsp sugar until fine. Reserve.

Roughly chop pistachios.

In small saucepan add butter over medium heat. When melted, add pistachios until coated.

In a small mixing bowl, add 2 tbsp sugar and 1 tbsp salt with 1 ramekin cardamom. Whisk together.

Toss pistachios until coated. In a fine sieve, gently shake and reserve.

Cake - Increase oven to 350º

Grease a 9 inch pan and line with parchment paper.

Pick through pistachios for any off color nuts. Roast all pistachios for 6 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Roast almonds for 7-8 minutes, set aside to cool.

Crack cardamom pods, 3 at a time, grind and reserve separately. (If you're obsessive/compulsive, you can cover the ramekin with plastic wrap so no flavor is lost.)

In food processor, grind 1 cup pistachios with 1 tbsp sugar until coarse, not fine. Repeat for 1 cup almonds.

Rub lemon peel with 1 tbsp sugar until fine.

Add pistachios, almonds, one ramekin cardamom, semolina, baking powder, and salt. Whisk until mixed and reserve.

Place butter and remaining sugar in bowl of an electric mixer with paddle. Beat on medium-high speed until combined.

Reduce speed to low. Add egg yolks one at a time, scraping the side of the bowl as necessary. Add rose water, lemon juice, and vanilla extract until just combined.

Pour mixture into a large mixing bowl.

Clean electric mixing bowl, whip egg whites until stiff peaks form.

Add dry ingredients to wet, fold together. Add 1/4 of egg white, mix with spatula until combined. Add 1/4 more egg white, folding. Add remaining 1/2 egg white, folding in more gently this time.

Add batter to pan, level with small offset spatula.Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Rose Syrup

You want the syrup to be warm when the cake comes out of the oven, so 10 minutes before the cake is ready, combine ingredients in a sauce pan, bring to a boil, stir so the sugar dissolves, and set aside.

As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, pour evenly over the top. Sprinkle with almond mixture and pistachios. Set on cooling rack to room temperature. Remove from pan. Add flowers. Serve with rose cream and pomegranate arils.

Rose cream

Whip heavy cream until stiff, adding sugar and rose water halfway through. Remove and fold in creme fraiche. Refrigerate until needed.