Each bite of this cake tastes like a roasted pistachio because the pistachios have been ground into fine crumbs. The pistachio cake looks great with honey mascarpone frosting on top of it.
INGREDIENTS
– 2 cups roasted and salted shelled pistachios I used Wonderful Pistachios (275 grams)– 2 ¾ cups cake flour spooned & leveled (315 grams)– 1 tablespoon baking powder– ½ teaspoon salt– 1 ⅓ cups buttermilk at room temperature (320 ml)– 2 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
INGREDIENTS
– ½ teaspoon almond extract– 3 to 4 drops green liquid food coloring optional, but recommended– 1 cup unsalted butter softened (2 sticks; 230 grams)– 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar (350 grams)– 5 large egg whites at room temperature
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Spray three 8-inch round cake pans non-stick. Pans with parchment. Make fine crumbs from peeled pistachios. Do not overprocess pistachios! See a high-speed blender crush pistachios. Quickly make peanut butter from crumbs.
1
Mix pistachio crumbs, cake flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside. In another bowl, mix buttermilk, vanilla, almond, and green food colouring. Set aside.
2
Beat the butter in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a large bowl with a handheld mixer on low speed until smooth, then slowly add the granulated sugar. After adding all the sugar, mix on medium speed for 4–5 minutes until light and fluffy.
3
Add dry ingredients to creamed butter and sugar three times on low speed, alternating with buttermilk. Mix each addition just until combined to avoid overmixing the batter. Beat egg whites on medium speed in a clean bowl until stiff peaks form (lift beaters). Half the egg whites should be gently folded into the batter, then the rest until just combined.
4
Use a spoon or spatula to evenly distribute the cake batter between the prepared cake pans. Bake the cakes for 23–28 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. After baking, let pans cool for 20–30 minutes until handleable. Remove cakes from pans and cool on wire racks.