CARDAMOM, PISTACHIO & SEMOLINA CAKE, WITH A ZESTY CASHEW CREAM FROSTING
Healthy, delicious, filling, yet airy, light and soooo moreish – this cake won’t last long!
Pre-preparation tips – make the frosting in advance if you can and keep in the fridge, it will keep for up to five days. Note, you will also need a few hours for the cashews to soak if using this option.
Ingredients for the cake:
4 green cardamoms, shells discarded and seeds crushed
150g shelled pistachios
70g almond meal
200g fine semolina
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
Zest of 1 lemon, and 3 tbsp of the juice
4 eggs, lightly beaten (or equivalent if vegan)
225g olive oil, or use butter if you’re happy with dairy – just be sure to use more of it as the oil to butter ratio is roughly 1:1.3
250g honey, or you can substitute with malt rice or agave syrup, or date paste for a vegan alternative – just be sure to use about 10% less of these substitutes; you can of course also use caster sugar if you don’t have any dietary restrictions to it, but you will need to use a little more – the sugar to honey ratio is about 1:0.7 but it comes down to testing and tasting
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 1/2 tbsp rosewater
Small handful of roughly crushed pistachios and dried, edible rose petals to garnish
Ingredients for the cashew cream frosting:
This recipe will make plenty for the cake topping, with a couple of tablespoons left for smearing on some warming pancakes, a crispy croissant or rolled into a crêpe for breakfast!
120g cashews, soaked in water for a few hours and drained – retain some of the water to help with the blending
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp honey, or equivalent (malt rice, maple or agave syrup would work just the same)
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp lemon juice
A pinch of salt
Method:
Cake
1- Pre-heat the oven to 180C, and grease and line a springform cake pan
2- Blitz together the pistachios and cardamoms until it forms a crumbly texture, set aside
2- In a bowl combine the almond meal, semolina, baking powder, lemon zest and thrown in the blitzed pistachios
3- In another bowl whisk lightly the olive oil (or butter if using) with the honey (or whichever substitute you use), then slowly pour in and combine the lightly beaten eggs
4- Add the rosewater, vanilla and lemon juice to the liquid mixture, and mix through
5- Next, carefully fold in the dry ingredients
6- Once the dry and liquid ingredients are combined, pour the mixture into the lined cake pan and place in the oven for between 50 to 60 minutes – all ovens are different so be sure to check the cake intermittently to ensure the top doesn’t burn but browns and crisps perfectly, in preparation for the frosting.
In the meantime, you can get on with the frosting.
Cashew cream frosting
Using cashew cream is your choice – you can go with this delicious healthy version, or you could do a typical cream cheese frosting with créme fraîche and icing sugar, but the cashews are a healthier choice which perfectly complement those zesty, nutty, and floral tones in the cake.
1- Place all ingredients in a blender, except the retained water, and blitz to a smooth paste
2- Push the mixture down from the sides of the blender as you go, and add a drizzle of water at a time – only if needed
Final steps
Once the cake has cooled down, carefully remove it from the springform cake pan, then scoop and spread the cashew cream equally across the top of the cake. Remove the lining and place on your serving tray or cake stand, then garnish with the crushed pistachios and rose petals.
Serve with a warming cup of masala chai.