As everyone has recently realized, pistachio is all the rage. Full of flavor and versatile, it can be used to enhance sweet or savory. For this recipe, it is the main attraction and it really shines! You’ll be saving this recipe to use again and again.
Ingredients for the Cake:
- 1 1/8 cup of 00 flour
- 2/3 cup of pistachio flour
- 1/8 cup of ground pistachios
- 1/2 cup of sugar
- 1/3 butter
- 4 eggs
- pinch of salt
- zest from one lemon
Ingredients for the Filling:
- 600 grams ricotta
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 80 grams pistachio paste
Additional Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup water
- extra chopped pistachios to taste (at least 1 cup)
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 in round pan. Soften the butter until melted. Use a mixer to whip the eggs, salt and sugar until they appear white and fluffy, approximately ten minutes. Then slowly add the flour and baking powder, mixing slowly with a spatula until smooth and uniform. Next add the pistachio flour and lemon zest. Lastly add the melted butter, one spoon at a time mixing slowly with the spatula until mixed well.
Pour the mixture into the greased pan and bake for 30 minutes or until cake is golden in color. Perform the toothpick test if necessary to verify the center is cooked. Once cooled, cut the cake in half across the center using a sharp knife to prepare it for the filling.
Boil the water and sugar in a saucepan until it has reduced to about half. If you’d like, you can add lemon zest to the water for flavor.
The Cream: Mix the ricotta, powdered sugar and pistachio cream until blended well.
Final Preparation:
Wet the interior of both cake halves with the water and sugar mixture. Spread about two thirds of the ricotta pistachio filling over the bottom half of the cake and then generously sprinkle the chopped pistachios over the filling. Use the top layer of the cake to cover the bottom and press together. Use the remainder of the water and sugar mixture to coat the exterior of the cake. Use the filling to spread a thin coating over the entire cake. Then use the crushed pistachios to cover the filling mixture, using a clean spatula or your hand to press the crushed pistachios into the filling. Whole pistachios can be used on the sides of the cake to speed up the process. Cake must be refrigerated until serving. Enjoy!
