Pistachio and Cardamon Cake with Lemon Buttercream

This will be the last blog post until next holidays because school starts tomorrow, and as you already know, I don’t have time during the term to blog. So I hope you enjoy this blog post, it is a bit of a different flavour combination than usual.

This recipe is actually from Molly Yeh, and it’s light and fluffy and so moist. The flavours also work really well together with the nutty, spiced-cake and tartness of the buttercream it isn’t overly sweet.

And this cake is obviously a naked cake which used to be and still is one of the biggest cake trends. Sometimes I do prefer it over a drip cake simply because it is less trouble and work. Like you don’t have to wait for the glaze to cool or making sure if the frosting is perfect.

 A naked cake is meant to be a bit rustic with some of the cake layers showing through. I also really like this cake stand which I got from the Finders Keepers Markets and it matches the cake perfectly. I also used it in my previous sponge cake blog post.

Then these are photographs of the inside; as you can see the cake has a slight green hue due to the pistachios. You can add green food colouring of course if you want the colour to pop, but I prefer keeping it natural. I hope you enjoyed this post, my last one for about 3 months. One of my favourite parts about blogging is actually having the opportunity to somehow inspire people, and when I read your comments or receive messages from you guys it makes my day. I cannot thank you enough.

Pistachio and Cardamon Cake with Lemon Buttercream

Pistachio and Cardamon Cake

Cake recipe adapted from Molly Yeh.

• 95g roasted, unsalted pistachios (unshelled)*
• 350g sugar
• 330g plain flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp ground cardamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 240ml buttermilk**
• 120ml oil
• 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 180ml water

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF/180ºC. Grease and line four 6-inch round cake tins or two 8-inch cake tins.
2. Place the pistachios in a food processor/blender and grind until fine, small crumbs form (should be a pistachio meal).
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: pistachio crumbs, sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground cardamon and salt.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients: eggs, buttermilk, oil, vanilla bean paste and water.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Distribute batter evenly between cake pans and bake for 25 minutes until golden brown, or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean.
6. Allow to cool in tins for 20 minutes then turn onto a cooling rack. Set aside to cool completely.

Notes:
*If you cannot find unsalted pistachios, you can use salted pistachios but you will have to omit the salt.
**Buttermilk can be made by combining 240ml of milk and 1 tbsp of white vinegar/lemon juice. 

Lemon Buttercream

• 200g butter, room temperature
• 330g icing sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 3 tbsp lemon juice (about half a lemon)
• 1-3 tbsp milk, if needed

1. In a stand mixer bowl fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until pale in colour – about 6 minutes. Add the icing sugar a half cup at a time, mixing on high between each addition. Make sure you scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally.
2. Once all the sugar is combined, add the vanilla and lemon juice. Add the milk if needed to loosen up the frosting. Beat on high for a further 3 minutes.
3. Set aside until ready for assembly.

Assembly

• Fresh flowers, to decorate

1. Trim and level the cakes with a serrated knife or cake leveller so that the the top is completely flat/even.
2. Put the first layer of cake onto your cake stand/platter and spread a generous amount of lemon buttercream.
3. Place the next layer of cake on top, and continue until all layers are complete.
4. Spread a thin amount of vanilla frosting around the cake to secure any crumbs (this is called a crumb coat). Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
5. Remove from the fridge, and this time – spread a slightly thicker layer of vanilla buttercream as the final coat. Gently run a cake scraper around the sides to get the desired “naked” effect.
6. Decorate with fresh flowers, then serve and enjoy!