A Taste of Eastern Promise

Pistachio and Rosewater Cake
(adapted from RedOnline here)

I cannot tell you how excited I am to share this Middle Eastern inspired cake with you. I think it is one of the prettiest cakes that I have seen for a while and it is my way of heralding the start of Summer.

When I found it amongst my recipe file, I just thought, 'oh hello.....you look tasty, come into my kitchen!'
I love all things pistachio (its ice cream is my favourite), and I love the rose flavour of Turkish Delight. Throw in some pink from the rose petals, and combined in a cake, it just had my name written all over it. However, I have never baked with this classic combination before so I was intrigued to find out if it would live up to my expectations.
It did, and I was so pleased. While the cake was baking, the most delicious scent of rose and lemon filled my kitchen, and when cut into it, that same scent was intoxicating.
The rose flavour was very delicate, (not at all like ingesting a mouthful of  perfume) and mixed with the sharpness of lemon, the cake was so moreish. The pistachio nuts give a slight green hue to the cake, and a creamy nuttiness. You will find this cake very moist because of the oils in the ground almonds, and its taste and texture improves with age. Therefore, if you make this cake, I would recommend that you do so a day or two in advance for maximum impact! 

 For the cake
225g butter, softened (and a bit extra with which to grease the tin)

60g corn flour (I was a bit sceptical about this, but its addition gives a lovely crumbly lightness) 

1 tsp baking powder

100g blanched almonds

125g unsalted shelled pistachios

225g caster sugar (I used white instead of my usual golden because that is what I had in the cupboard)

3 large eggs

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

2 tbsp rose water

To decorate

Icing sugar

25 - 50g chopped pistachios 

2 tbsp edible dried rose petals (I found mine in Waitrose, but they are available online)

To serve
Greek yogurt mixed with lemon curd

23cm 9" springform cake tin, greased with butter and base lined with a circle of baking
parchment

1. Preheat the oven to 160C/325F/Gas mark 3

2. In a dry frying pan toast the almonds and pistachios in a until they have gained a little colour and the and you can begin to smell them. Do be careful to keep an eye on them and stir them occasionally as the almonds can easily get too brown and burn. Don't be tempted to miss out this step as the toasting really helps with developing the nutty flavour.

3. Put into a food processor and grind very finely.

4. Mix the butter and sugar in a bowl until very light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each one, and then add the lemon juice, zest and rosewater.

5. Sift together the flour and baking powder. Add to the butter, sugar and egg mixture and fold in gently until well combined. 

6. The mixture should be a soft dropping consistency. If not, add a little more lemon juice until it is.

7. Pour into the cake tin and bake for 40 - 50 minutes until a skewer comes out clean and the top is golden brown. If you think that the top of the cake is becoming too brown while baking, just put a layer of greaseproof paper over it. 

8. Take the tin out of the oven and leave to cool down for about 10 to 20 minutes for before removing from the tin and placing on a cooling rack. Do be careful at this stage though, because the cake is quite delicate and liable to break in half if you pick it up on either side. I would recommend a fish slice to slide under the bottom of the cake to help move it.

9. Dust with icing sugar, sprinkle either delicately, or liberally with the chopped pistachios and dried rose petals.

 If you try this cake I would really like to know how you like it. Or, do you have a recipe that you make that says 'Summer' to you?