Pistachio Rose Honey Cakes Food

PISTACHIO AND ROSE WATER SEMOLINA CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit/100 degrees Celsius. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and grease a 9-inch/23-centimeter round springform pan and line with parchment paper.
• Make the candied rose petals, if desired: Whisk egg white by hand until frothy. Then, using a small pastry brush or paintbrush, very lightly paint both sides of each petal with egg white; do this in a few small batches, brushing and then sprinkling the sugar lightly over both sides of each petal. Shake off excess sugar and lay petals on the lined baking sheet. Place in the oven for 30 to 45 minutes, until dry and crunchy, then set aside to cool.
• Make the cake: Increase oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit/180 degrees Celsius.
• Combine pistachios and cardamom in a food processor. Process until the nuts are finely ground, then transfer to a bowl. Add almond meal, semolina, baking powder and salt. Mix together and set aside.
• Place butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until fully combined, but take care not to overwork it; you don't want to incorporate a lot of air into the mixture. With the machine still running, slowly add eggs, scraping down the sides of the bowl a few times and making sure that each batch is fully incorporated before adding the next. The mixture will curdle once the eggs are added, but don't worry; this will not affect the end result.
• Remove the bowl from the machine and add the dry ingredients, folding them in by hand and, again, taking care not to overmix. Next fold in lemon zest, lemon juice, rose water and vanilla extract and scrape the batter into the pan. Level with an offset spatula and bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean but oily.
• While the cake is in the oven, make the rose cream: Place all the ingredients for the cream in a bowl and whisk to beat everything together for about 2 minutes, until thick. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
• Make the rose syrup: About 10 minutes before the cake comes out of the oven (you want the syrup to be warm when the cake is ready), place all the ingredients for the syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring so that the sugar dissolves, then remove from the heat. Don't worry that the consistency is thinner than you might expect; this is how it should be.
• As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, drizzle all of the syrup over the top. It is a lot of syrup, but don't lose your nerve - the cake can take it! Sprinkle with finely chopped pistachios and set the cake aside in its pan to come to room temperature. Remove from pan and scatter rose petals over the cake. Serve immediately, with a generous spoonful of rose cream alongside. (The cake keeps well for up to 5 days in an airtight container. The rose petals should be sprinkled over just before serving.)

HONEY PISTACHIO MOONCAKES

Steps:

• Make the dough: In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, canola oil, golden syrup, and alkaline water. Using a flexible spatula, mix to form a shaggy dough, then knead with your hands to form a smooth, cohesive dough. Form the dough into a thick disc, wrap in plastic, and allow it to rest at room temperature for 45 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Make the filling: In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the pistachios until coarsely ground. Add the honey, coconut oil, cornstarch, and salt and continue to pulse a few more times. The filling should be a little crumbly but stick together when pressed. (Avoid overprocessing, so you don't end up with pistachio butter.) Divide the filling into 12 equal portions (for accuracy, weigh with a digital scale if you have one) and shape each piece into a ball.
• Divide the disc of dough into 12 equal pieces with a bench scraper (for accuracy, use a digital scale). Roll each piece into a smooth ball. Working with one piece at a time, flatten a dough ball with your palm and roll out into a 4-inch round. Continue to lightly dust with flour if sticking. Use a bench scraper to help lift up the dough.
• Center a ball of filling on the round. Bring the edges of the dough up around the filling. The dough won't initially cover all of the filling; just pinch it together until it completely wraps the filling. Pinch together any cracks that form and roll into a smooth ball.
• As you form the balls, arrange them on the prepared baking sheet, spacing at least 2 inches apart. Lightly dust the mooncake mold with flour. Place a ball in the mold and press the plunger down to apply pressure, but take care not to press too hard. Gently release from the mold and return to the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough and filling to form all 12 mooncakes.
• Bake mooncakes until the edges are lightly golden brown, 9 to 11 minutes. Remove the sheet from the oven and allow the cakes to cool on the sheet for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, mix together the egg and tap water. With a pastry brush, lightly coat the mooncakes with egg wash. Return to the oven and bake until deep golden brown, 10 minutes.
• Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and allow the mooncakes to completely cool on the sheet. Before serving, store mooncakes in an airtight container (a resealable bag works great) at room temperature for 1 to 2 days to allow the exterior dough to soften.

HONEYED PISTACHIO MOONCAKES

Steps:

• Make the dough: In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, oil, syrup and lye water. Using a flexible spatula, mix to form a shaggy dough, then knead with your hands to form a smooth, cohesive dough. Form the dough into a thick disk, wrap in plastic and let rest at room temperature for 45 minutes.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Make the filling: In a food processor, pulse the pistachios until coarsely ground. Add the honey, coconut oil, cornstarch and salt, and pulse a few more times until the filling is a little crumbly but sticks together when pressed. Avoid overprocessing: You don't want to end up with pistachio butter. Divide the filling into 12 equal portions (each about 1 rounded tablespoon) and roll each piece into a ball.
• Divide the disk of dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a smooth ball. Working with one ball at a time and keeping the rest covered with plastic wrap, flatten a dough ball with your palm. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll into a 4-inch round (about 3/16-inch/ 1/2-centimeter thick), lightly dusting with flour if sticking. Gently lift the dough with a bench scraper or spatula, and center a ball of filling on the round. Bring the edges of the dough up around the filling. If the dough doesn't initially cover all filling, just pinch it together until it completely encases the filling. If there is excess, pinch it off. Pinch together any cracks that form and roll each round into a smooth ball.
• As you form the balls, arrange them on the prepared baking sheet, spacing at least 2 inches apart. Lightly dust a 1.7-ounce/50-gram mooncake mold with flour. Place a ball in the mold and press the plunger down to apply pressure, but take care not to press too hard. Gently release from the mold and return to the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough and filling to form all 12 mooncakes. If you don't have a mooncake mold, skip this step and bake the mooncakes as balls.
• Bake until the edges are light golden brown, 9 to 11 minutes. Remove the sheet from the oven and allow the cakes to cool on the sheet for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, mix together the egg and 2 tablespoons water. With a pastry brush, lightly coat the mooncakes with egg wash. Return to the oven and bake until darker golden brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and allow the mooncakes to cool completely on the sheet. Before serving, store mooncakes in an airtight container or a resealable bag at room temperature for 1 to 2 days. This step is optional, but the extra time allows the crust to soften and become a little chewier. Mooncakes can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

PISTACHIO BAKLAVA WITH HONEY AND ROSE WATER

Steps:

• In a saucepan, heat the water, sugar, honey and lemon juice until it comes to the boil and cook for a minute. Now add the orange blossom and rose waters, boil for a few seconds, and remove from the heat. Allow to cool before using on the baklava.
• Preheat the oven to 200°C.
• Grind the nuts. We want them to be medium-fine - if they are ground too finely, the resulting filling will be very dense. Combine with the sugar and cinnamon, then add the orange blossom and rose waters and mix well. Set aside.
• In a dish (I used one 21 x 28cm), brush the base with a little melted butter, then add a sheet of filo. Brush with butter, then add another sheet. Brush with butter, and continue until you have six sheets of filo in the dish. Add the filling, and spread out. Be gentle so you don't break the pastry. Now add the rest of the pastry, in each case adding a layer, brushing with melted butter, then adding the next. Finish by brushing the sixth sheet with butter.
• Cut the baklava into pieces - long rectangles, diamonds, squares, or whatever whimsical shapes take your fancy. Do this carefully with a sharp knife and make sure to go all the way through to the base. You might want to leave a border of "scrap" baklava where the pastry is a bit untidy at the edges. This means the final result is neater, and as the cook, you get to enjoy this "angel's share".
• Bake the baklava for 15-20 minutes until crisp and golden. When done, remove from the oven, allow it to sit for a minute, then pour the cooled syrup over the hot baklava. Be sure to get the syrup in between each cut. If you see syrup forming pools in some areas, don't worry - it will all be absorbed.
• Allow the baklava to cool fully before serving. Decorate with chopped pistachios and dried pomegranate seeds(**).
• (*) By this, I mean the lightly aromatic rose water. If you have the much more intense rose extract, then use just a few drops and not a whole tablespoon!
• (**) To dry pomegranate seeds - remove the red seeds from the white pith, and spread on a non-stick baking tray. Leave in the oven at 60°C (140°F) for several hours until the seeds are dry. They will remain slightly sticky but should keep their colour and not turn brown.