Lemon & pistachio cake with a hint of rosewater – a show stopping dessert that will finish any dinner party in style.
Lemon and pistachio cake with just a hint of rosewater is a multi-layered cake. Despite it’s impressive appearance it’s a remarkably straightforward cake to prepare. In fact it’s more grill than bake!
Michelle recently moved to a country house with a completely archaic oven. The oven was somewhat “classic” and temperamental. For a baker like Michelle the loss of her oven was akin to losing a best friend. She had visions of it leading to one baking disaster after another, so she mostly avoided using it. During the Christmas holidays her eldest convinced her to bake a cake from her new Jamie Oliver “Comfort Food” cookbook. Panic ensued. However, after closely reading through the recipe, she realised it required the grill rather than the unreliable oven. She was pleasantly surprised with the result and it was a thumbs up from the whole family.
Spurred on by her success, Michelle decided to change the flavour combinations using the same method of grilling rather than baking. She settled on lemon, pistachio cake with rosewater. Not everyone is a fan of rosewater, and in the case of this cake it can be left out or extra lemon extract added to the filling to lift the intensity of the lemon flavour. The flavours of lemon and pistachio alone are delicious. However we both agreed that the rosewater added a delicately sophisticated flavour.
The finished product was delicious. The cake layers showed through (all 14 of them!), the lemon marmalade gave it a slight acidity and the rosewater was the perfect balance to bring it all together and leave a fragrant but not pungent taste in my mouth.
Other dinner party desserts:
For other dinner party desserts try our quick peach & raspberry mille feuille, our lemon tart with limoncello ice cream or our baked vanilla cheesecake.
lemon, pistachio & rose cake
Ingredients
CAKE
- 175 g unsalted butter
- 300 g pistachio paste (see notes below to make)
- 225 g caster sugar
- 80 ml double cream
- 10 medium eggs (separated)
- 175 g self raising flour
- 80 g cornflour
FILLING ONE
- 150 g white chocolate
- 25 g unsalted butter
- 4-6 Drops rose water (to your taste)
FILLING TWO
- 150 g lemon marmalade
ICING
- 50 g white chocolate (melted)
- 2 tsp natural yogurt
- 2-3 Drops rosewater (to your taste)
- 100 g crushed unsalted pistachios
Instructions
- In a stand mixer, add the pistachio paste, butter and sugar. Blend until combined then add the double cream and continue to mix well until light and fluffy. Slowly add the egg yolks a few at a time and mix between additions until all well incorporated.
- Sift the flour and cornflour into the mixture and fold in with a metal spoon until combined. Set aside.
- In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add the egg whites to the cake mixture and fold in with the metal spoon until incorporated trying to keep as much air in as possible.
- In a small pan melt the lemon marmalade over a low heat and keep warm. In the glass bowl over simmering water add 150g of the white chocolate with 25g butter and melt over low heat, add the drops of rose water (you can adjust this amount to your taste but do be careful as rosewater can be a delicate flavour if used lightly but overpowering if too much useagain keep warm.
- To make up the cake, preheat the grill to 190Butter and line a 23cm springform pan. Start by adding a thin layer of the batter in the pan, making sure it spreads all over the pan. Place under the grill for 3-4 minutes until golden and set on top. Remove from the oven. Using a pastry brush, brush a layer of the melted marmalade over the top of the first cake layer. Add another thin layer of batter and spread evenly and then place under the grill again for 3-4 minutes until golden. Brush a layer of the melted white chocolate, taking care not to tear the cake layer. Continue this way with layering with batter, lemon, batter, white chocolate, finishing with a layer of melted marmalade. When the batter is used up and all layers grilled, run a sharp knife around the edges as the marmalade will get sticky once cooled. Leave the cake to cool completely on a wire rack.
- Once the cake is cooled, remove from the pan and place on a cake plate. To make the icing, in a small bowl, melt the white chocolate in the microwave slowly so as not to burn. Mix well and add the yogurt to loosen the chocolate. Add the suggested amount of rose water to your taste and mix. To decorate the cake, spread the melted chocolate around the edges of the cake and immediately press the crushed pistachios onto it. You can finish by adding a few more pistachios to the top.
Notes
• Please note that the nutrition information provided below is approximate and meant as a guideline only •
Karen
What a romantic cake and also a fabulous recipe for shredless marmalade jelly too! Karen
Michelle
It was truly a lovely fragrant cake, very grown up flavours and such fun to plan and make something that swirls about in your head for awhile.
Michelle
Thanks Kirsti, really enjoyed making this one, the flavours are lovely and subtle, a nice change from a classic sponge.
Kirsti Cook
Mmh…looks lovely Michelle. X