Orange and Pistachio Cake

Wonderful orange flavours run through the cake and syrup, with pistachios delivering amazing colour and texture, making this a summery dessert with a distinctly Middle Eastern character.

Tom Kerridge

Ingredients

For the Cake

• 4 large free-range eggs
• 200g butter, softened
• 200g golden caster sugar, plus 1 extra tbsp
• 1 vanilla pod
• 3 tbsp whole milk
• 200g pistachios
• 100g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Zest of 2 large oranges

For the Orange Syrup

• 1 small orange, thinly sliced
• Juice from 3 oranges
• 100g golden caster sugar
• 1/2 tsp orange blossom water
• 3 tbsp orange liqueur
• 4 tbsp water

To Serve

• 30g pistachios, finely chopped
• 300g greek yoghurt
• 2 tbsp honey

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160C fan. Grease and line a 24cm round springform cake tin.
2. Blitz the pistachios in a food processor until finely ground. 
3. Separate the eggs, adding the whites to the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a whisk attachment. Place the yolks in a small bowl and set to one side. Whisk the egg whites until soft and add a tablespoon of sugar. Continue to whisk until stiff peaks form. Transfer the egg whites to a separate bowl and set aside. 
4. Clean the mixing bowl out with a paper towel and swap the whisk attachment on the stand mixer for the paddle.  Add the butter and sugar, and then scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod and add to the bowl. Beat well until smooth. Scrape down the sides and continue to beat until light and fluffy.
5. Add the egg yolks and the milk and beat to mix. Add the ground pistachios, flour, baking powder and orange zest and mix one more time until combined. 
6. Add a third of the beaten egg whites and beat into the cake mixture. Add half of the remaining egg whites and fold in gently until incorporated. Finally, gently fold in the remaining egg whites. 
7. Pour the cake batter into the prepared tin and place onto an oven tray. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 45 minutes. 
8. Meanwhile, place all the syrup ingredients into a sauté pan and bring up to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. When the orange slices have turned translucent and tender and the sauce has thickened into a syrup, remove from the heat.
9. Once the cake has been cooking for 45 minutes, the surface should be light brown. Test with a skewer to check if the cake is cooked in the middle, then remove from oven and leave to cool in the tin on a wire rack for a few minutes.
10. Using a cocktail stick, poke the top of the cake with multiple holes. Spoon half the syrup over the cake and then lay the orange slices on top. Spoon over the remaining syrup and leave this to soak in for around 10 minutes.
11. Remove the cake from the tin and transfer to a serving plate and then sprinkle with pistachios to garnish.