Pistachio Cardamom And Lemon Drizzle Cake Food

PISTACHIO, CARDAMOM AND LEMON DRIZZLE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Grease and line a 900g/2lb loaf tin.
• In a food processor, pulse the pistachios to make a powder.
• In a large bowl, mix together the sunflower oil and caster sugar. Add the eggs, vanilla paste, ground cardamom and lemon zest. Stir until combined.
• In a separate bowl, add the flour, ground pistachios, ground almonds, salt, baking powder and bicarbonate soda. Stir until well combined then fold into the wet ingredients in the other bowl. Fold in the soured cream.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
• Meanwhile, prepare the syrup. Heat the lemon juice and sugar in a saucepan until the sugar is dissolved, then briefly bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• As soon as the cake is cooked, poke holes all over the top using a skewer. Pour over two-thirds of the hot syrup and leave to cool in the tin. Add half the extra pistachios (for decorating the cake) to the remaining syrup.
• When the cake is cool, remove it from the tin.
• For the lemon icing, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and stir in the lemon juice until smooth. Drizzle over the cooled cake.
• To finish, finely chop the remaining pistachios and scatter over the icing. Top with the syrup-coated pistachios and some dried rose petals.

PISTACHIO CARDAMOM CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. Place a greased 9-in. springform pan on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 18 in. square). Securely wrap foil around pan., In a small bowl, combine cracker crumbs and brown sugar; stir in butter. Press onto the bottom of prepared pan. Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack., In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in the milk, lemon juice, cardamom and, if desired, food coloring. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Fold in pistachios. Pour over crust. Place springform pan in a large baking pan; add 1 in. of boiling water to larger pan. , Bake for 35-40 minutes or until center is just set and top appears dull. Remove springform pan from water bath; remove foil. Cool cheesecake on a wire rack for 10 minutes; loosen sides from pan with a knife. Cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight., Remove rim from pan. Top cheesecake with whipped cream and sprinkle with pistachios and cracker crumbs if desired.

ALMOND CAKE WITH CARDAMOM AND PISTACHIO

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Oil a 9-inch round or square pan and set aside. Using a stand mixer, whisk egg whites until stiff but not dry, and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, combine egg yolks and sugar, and whisk to blend. Whisk in almond extract and oil. Add almond flour and cardamom. Gently stir a third of the whites into the batter, then gently fold in the rest until just incorporated.
• Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and finish cooling on a rack. To decorate, dust with confectioners' sugar and chopped pistachios.

BLUEBERRY & PISTACHIO CAKE WITH CARDAMOM CREAM

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Lightly grease and line the base of 2 x 20cm sandwich tins with baking parchment. Grease the tins again, dust with a little caster sugar and a little flour, then tap out any excess.
• Put the eggs and sugar in a heatproof bowl and, using an electric whisk, mix briefly to combine. Place the bowl over a pan of steaming water and continue to whisk until the mixture is pale and thick - when the whisk is lifted, the mixture should leave a trail on the surface lasting about 5 secs. Remove the bowl from the pan and continue beating for 2 mins.
• Continue to whisk the mixture while trickling the melted butter around the edge of the bowl. Sift in the flour and ground pistachios, very gently give the mixture 2-3 folds, then add the blueberries and fold again, being careful not to knock out all the air. Divide the mixture between the tins and bake for 25-30 mins, until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
• To make the filling, beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add the cardamom, then drizzle in the cream. Continue to beat until light and airy.
• Cool cakes in their tins for 10 mins, then turn out onto a wire rack. Remove lining paper when completely cooled. Sandwich the cakes together with the cardamom cream, top with some more, then decorate with pistachios and blueberries.