Pistachio and Orange Blossom Cake
| Servings: 10 people | Recipe course: Desserts | Total time (min.): 80 |
Ingredients
For the cake:
150g butter, softened
150g caster sugar
4 eggs
80g plain flour
1.5tsp baking powder
100g pistachios, finely ground
70g ground almonds
2tsp orange flower water
For the frosting:
250g mascarpone
50g caster sugar
1 tsp orange flower water
½ tsp vanilla extract
Slivered pistachios and candied orange slices to decorate, optional
Method
1- Preheat your oven to 170C, and line a 2lb loaf tin with baking parchment.
2- Fit your Kenwood Chef kitchen machine with the creaming beater, and add the butter and sugar to the bowl.
3- Set the machine to a low speed, then slowly increase to a medium high speed, and cream together the butter and sugar until pale, light and fluffy, for around 5 minutes.
4- Crack one egg into the bowl, and add a spoonful of the flour to stop the batter from curdling. Beat the mixture together for 30 seconds, until fully combined, then repeat with each of the remaining eggs, adding a spoonful of flour with each egg.
5- Once the final egg has been mixed in, sift in the remaining flour and baking powder. Change the bowl tool for the K beater, and set the machine to a low speed until the flour is just combined.
6- Add the ground pistachios and almonds and again mix on a low speed until just combined.
7- Finally, add the orange flour water, and briefly mix on a low speed.
8- Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf tin and smooth the top.
9- Bake in the preheated oven for 45mins-1hr, until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
10- Remove the cake from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes before lifting out of the tin onto a cooling rack.
11- Whilst the cake is cooling, prepare the frosting.
12- Into the clean bowl of your kitchen machine, fitted with the creaming beater, add all of the frosting ingredients, and beat together on a medium speed, until fluffy and smooth.
13- Once the cake is completely cool, top with the frosting, and decorate with slivered pistachios and candied orange slices.