Little Pistachio Cakes Recipes

LITTLE PISTACHIO CAKES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and grease a 12-hole silicone muffin or friand mould, then dust with a little flour, and tip out the excess (a metal tray will work too, but line with muffin cases, as the mixture may stick). Put the pistachios in a food processor and blitz until finely chopped but not greasy. Add the remaining cake ingredients and blend again into a creamy mixture. Use 2 spoons to fill each hole of your tray 2/3 full, place on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 15 mins or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Leave to cool in the mould for 10 mins, then run a knife around the edge of each cake and turn out onto a wire rack.
• Meanwhile, make the icing. Using an electric hand whisk, blend 3 tbsp of the cream cheese with the butter until smooth, then add the remaining cream cheese and icing sugar. Whizz again until creamy, transfer to a piping bag fitted with a small round nozzle, and chill until ready to use.
• When the cakes are cool, pipe spikes of icing on top of each one, then sprinkle with chopped pistachios. Can be made ahead - store the un-iced cakes in a sealed container for up to 3 days and chill the icing for 2 days.

PISTACHIO CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease and lightly flour three 9-inch cake pans.
• Pulse the pistachios in a food processor until ground up into very fine crumbs. See photo above for a visual. You'll have about 1 and 1/2 cups of crumbs. (If you have more than that, set aside for garnish.)
• Pour 1 and 1/2 cups of pistachio crumbs in a large bowl. Whisk in the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
• Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Beat in the egg whites on high speed until combined, about 2 minutes. Beat in the sour cream, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients until just incorporated. With the mixer still running on low, pour in the milk (and the green food coloring, if using) and mix just until combined. You may need to whisk it all by hand to make sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl. The batter will be slightly thick.
• Pour batter evenly into cake pans. Bake for around 21-23 minutes or until the cakes are baked through. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, it's done. Allow cakes to cool completely in the pans set on a wire rack. The cakes must be completely cool before frosting and assembling.
• Prepare the cream cheese frosting (see note below).
• Using a large serrated knife, slice a thin layer off the tops of the cakes to create a flat surface. Discard (or crumble over ice cream!). Place 1 cake layer on your cake stand, cake turntable, or serving plate. Evenly cover the top with frosting. Top with 2nd layer and evenly cover the top with more frosting. Top with the third cake layer. Spread the frosting all over the top and sides. (I used a bench scraper to smooth out the sides.) Decorate with garnishes, if desired. Refrigerate for at least 30-45 minutes before slicing. This helps the cake keep its shape when cutting.
• Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for 5 days.

FLUFFY PISTACHIO CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING AND DONUT BAGELS

Steps:

• Position an oven rack in the middle position. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
• Place the pistachios in a food processor fitted with the blade attachment and grind them until you have small crumbs. Measure out 1/4 cup of the crumbs and set them aside for the filling.
• Pour the remaining crumbs into a large mixing bowl. Add the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk to combine. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, oil, extracts and 3/4 cup water. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, then pour into the cake pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, begin checking for doneness at 28 minutes. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn them onto a greased cooling rack and cool completely.
• Level the cake rounds and spread the top of one cake with a layer of Frosting. Sprinkle on the reserved ground pistachios. Place the other cake round on top, cut-side down, then frost all over with the remaining Frosting.
• Place the Donut Bagels on the top of the cake. Decorate the top and sides of the cake with the sprinkles.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer, beat together the butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar and salt until smooth. Add the food coloring and whisk until fully combined.
• Color and shape the marzipan on a powdered sugar dusted surface. Cut into circles for tomatoes. Smash into oblong shapes for salmon. Roll into little balls for capers. And to make the onions, just brush a bit of food coloring on the edges of slivered marzipan.
• Put the seeded topping mixture in a small bowl. Using a pastry brush, brush the tops of the donuts with simple syrup, then dip into the seeded topping, pressing down slightly so everything adheres. Cut the donuts in half and spread a thin layer of cream cheese on the cut sides of the top and bottom pieces. To the bottom halves, add the marzipan salmon, tomato, onions and capers. Top with the seeded donut halves.