Pistachio and cardamom cake
“Pistachios are super tasty, vibrantly colourful and chock-full of healthy fats. In addition to being highly nutritious, they’re also very forgiving to the baker – the high fat content provides incredible moisture and makes it almost impossible to overbake this cake. We tend to use whole pistachios and grind them fresh, as they oxidise quickly once ground. A top tip is to freeze the pistachios prior to blitzing – they will hold their shape better and resist getting smooshed between the blades of your food processor. Cardamom and orange zest add gentle lift and complexity, resulting in a simple yet elevated bake that’s perfect for afternoon tea – preferably after a long, invigorating gardening session, or a walk in the great outdoors. Pistachio works wonderfully well with citrus. Try zesting three extra oranges or some lemon, and using this in place of the cardamom. This cake will also hold fruit in the mixture, so it’s a good way to use up berries – raspberries or blackberries work particularly well.” - Michael & Pippa James
SERVES 10-12
For the cake
140g unsalted butter, softened
250g raw sugar
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped (or 1 tsp real vanilla paste)
grated zest of 1 orange
3 eggs, at room temperature
150g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp fine sea salt
150g pistachios, roughly ground
2 tsp ground cardamom seeds
140g sour cream or crème fraiche
For the icing
110g icing sugar
20g lemon juice
To finish
30g pistachios, roughly chopped
Preheat the oven to 160°C (320˚F). Grease a 25 × 10 cm (10 × 4 in) loaf tin and line it with baking paper.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, vanilla and orange zest for about 10 minutes, until the mixture is pale and creamy. In a separate bowl, lightly beat the eggs. In several stages, add the eggs to the creamed butter mixture, mixing well between each addition to ensure the eggs are fully incorporated. Scrape down the side of the bowl as necessary to ensure the ingredients are thoroughly mixed.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together into a large mixing bowl. Add the ground pistachios and cardamom and mix well. Use a spatula to gently fold the flour mixture into the creamed butter mixture, in two or three batches. Finally, add the sour cream and gently fold it in until just incorporated.
Pour the mixture into your tin and use a spatula to gently smooth out the top, then bake for 40 minutes. Rotate the tin in the oven and bake for another 10 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool your cake in the tin for about 10 minutes before turning it out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
Once cool, ice the cake. To make the icing, sift the icing sugar into a medium bowl and whisk in the lemon juice until the icing is a thick pouring consistency. Adjust by adding a little more juice or icing sugar as required. Spoon it over the cooled cake to cover the top, allowing a little to drizzle over the sides. Sprinkle the chopped pistachios over the top immediately, so they set into the icing as it cools.
This is an edited extract from Sweet Seasons by Michael & Pippa James (Hardie Grant Books, RRP $60). 📷 Rochelle Eagle.
