I was born in Croydon, south London, but my mother’s side of the family comes from the subtropical shores of the Caspian Sea in northern Iran. It was my grandfather who nurtured my love of good food.

One time he poked me and my cousins awake with his walking stick at 6am to share a basket of figs he’d just picked from the tree in the front garden. We knew if we weren’t at the table by 6.05am, he’d have eaten the lot.

At the heart of these recipes is a celebration of a side of Iran that never makes the headlines, but that is central to its story - its amazing food. These are three of my favourite desserts.

Delicious Iranian desserts

Persian love cake