Toasted Pistachio Cake

Somehow my brother Quinton always gets the best birthday cakes from me. One year I made him the fanciest cake I've ever made—or at least the most laborious—a chocolate cake with salted caramel drizzled between the layers, and topped with a salted chocolate ganache. I think perhaps the reason that he has gotten these cakes is because he is so easy going, and has absolutely no demands regarding his birthday cake, so I have been able to use his birthday as an excuse to make whatever cake I'd been eyeing up in a recipe book, and had not yet had an occasion to make.

Not all people are so easy going. I remember one year my (lovely) sister requested a very specific birthday cake. It was a layered marble cake with cinnamon-chocolate buttercream. I made it, and decorated it nice and fancy as I like to do with layer cakes. Then the time for cake rolled around at her birthday party. We sang Happy Birthday, cleared off the candles, and she took a bite right out of the side of of the cake. She said she'd always wanted to do that. Go figure. Every one of her friends was then implored to take a bite out of the edge of the cake as well, and soon enough the cake had a circle of great toothy bites taken from its round edge. She may have even licked the icing off the top—I can't remember. And then it was covered in plastic wrap and placed in the fridge in case anyone wanted to cut a piece for themselves later. (I doubt anyone did).

I can't say I was thrilled at the fate of this cake, though I have, of course, made her many more birthday cakes since then. I thought I'd share that story to illustrate something my brother has never done—request a specific birthday cake, and then take bites out all around the edge of it so it could sit in the fridge looking like a dog got at it. And for that, I made him a toasted pistachio cake with honey vanilla buttercream for his birthday last January.

This cake is light and fluffy, and has just a subtle pistachio flavour. The old-fashioned boiled icing is not too sweet, and very rich, which compliments the cake very well. Mmmm.

Toasted Pistachio Cake with Honey Vanilla Buttercream

(adapted from BAKED's Aunt Sassy Cake, Baked Explorations)

Ingredients:

For the Cake:

• 1 cup shelled pistachios
• 3 1/4 c flour
• 1 tbsp bkp
• 1 tsp bks
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1c butter, softened
• 1 3/4 c sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 1 egg
• 3 large egg whites, at room temp.
• 1 1/2 c ice cold water
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar

For the Buttercream:

• 3 c sugar
• 2/3 c flour
• 3 c milk
• 2/3 c heavy cream
• 3 c butter, soft but cool, chopped
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 6 tbsp honey

Directions:

For the Cake:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and line two or three 8-inch round cake pans.
• Pulse the pistachios in a food processor or blender until coarsely chopped. Remove 2 tbsp of the pistachios in a separate bowl, and grind the rest until almost a powder. 
• In a large bowl, combine the coarse and finely  ground pistachios, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and whisk together to mix evenly.
• In another mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Add vanilla and whole eggs (not the egg whites), and beat until just combined. 
• In a measuring cup, make 1 1/2 cups ice water. Add the dry mixture to the creamed mixture in three parts, alternating with the ice water, and beginning and ending with the drys.
• In a clean, dry bowl, whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar to soft peaks form, but do not overbeat. Gently fold into the batter.
• Divide the batter among the prepared pans, and smooth the tops. Bake for 40-45 minutes, rotating and swapping the pans around halfway through the baking times. The cakes are done when a toothpick comes out clean, or when the cake is springy to the touch (in the middle!).
• Turn the cakes out and let cool completely.

For the buttercream:

• In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, or dutch oven, whisk the sugar and flour together. Add the milk and cream and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture comes to the boil and thickens—about 10-15 minutes.
• Pour the mixture into a large mixing bowl, and whisk or beat until cool—about 7-9 minutes. Use an ice bath if you like. The mixture must cool completely before proceeding, or the butter will melt when you add it. Once cooled, beat in the butter, and mix until thoroughly incorporated, and whisk the mixture further until light and fluffy.
• Add the vanilla and honey and mix until combined. If the icing is too soft, chill it slightly in the refrigerator, and beat again to gain the proper consistency.

To Assemble:

• Have fun, and assemble the cake as you wish! If you are feeling more ambitious than I was that day, you can slice the cake to make additional layers. Decorate the cake with icing rosettes and chopped, grounded, and/or whole pistachios.