Pistachio Cake with Warm Honey Sauce
Ground pistachios give this tall, tender cake its green-gold crumb, while a warm cream and honey sauce is poured over each slice at the table.
- Total
- 1 hr 20 min
- Prep
- 25 min
- Bake
- 55 min
- Level
- Medium
- Serves
- 10
- Tin
- 20 cm springform
Finely ground pistachios sit alongside the flour rather than replacing it, so the crumb stays soft but still has enough structure for a tall single cake.
Watch the centre during the final part of the bake. The top can look set before the deep middle has finished cooking.
Ingredients
For one 20 cm springform, serves 10
For the cake
For the honey sauce
You will need
- 20 cm round springform tin
- baking parchment
- food processor
- large mixing bowl
- balloon whisk
- silicone spatula
- small saucepan
- wire rack
Oven
175°C fan 155°C 345°F
Method
Oven 175°C · fan 155°C · 345°F
Prepare the tin and pistachios
Heat the oven to 175C, 155C fan. Grease the springform tin and line the base and sides with baking parchment. Grind the pistachios in a food processor until they look like fine green crumbs with a few tiny sandy pieces, stopping before they become oily or start clumping.
Whisk the eggs, sugar and oil
Put the caster sugar and eggs in a large bowl and whisk until the mixture looks paler, slightly thickened and falls from the whisk in a broad ribbon. Whisk in the olive oil until the surface is glossy and there are no oily streaks.
Finish the batter
Add the milk, orange juice, vanilla extract and almond extract, then whisk briefly until the mixture is smooth. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and ground pistachios. Fold with a spatula until no dry flour remains and the batter is thick, green-gold and evenly speckled with pistachio.
Fill the tin
Scrape the batter into the prepared tin and spread it level right to the sides. The surface should be smooth and thick enough to hold faint marks from the spatula before settling.
Bake the cake
Put the tin on the middle shelf. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a skewer pushed into the middle comes out with a few damp crumbs, and the top springs back. The cake should be risen, lightly browned around the edge and smell strongly of toasted pistachio.
Cool and release
Leave the cake for 20 minutes in the tin, then loosen the edge and remove the springform ring. Transfer the cake to a wire rack and leave it to cool. The outside should feel set and dry while the cake still feels slightly warm through the centre.
Make the honey sauce
While the cake cools, put the honey, double cream, butter and salt in a small saucepan. Warm gently, stirring until the butter has melted and the sauce looks smooth, glossy and slightly thicker than cream. Take it off the heat before it bubbles hard.
Slice and serve
When the cake has cooled enough to cut cleanly, use a sharp knife to lift out a wedge. The crumb should be moist, close textured and green-gold with fine pistachio flecks. Warm the sauce gently if needed and pour it over each slice at the table.
Baker's notes
- Use unsalted pistachios so the salt level stays controlled. Roasted pistachios give a darker crumb and a stronger toasted flavour.
- Light olive oil gives the cake a softer olive flavour than a peppery extra virgin oil, while keeping the oil based texture used in the source formula.
- Fresh orange juice brings a mild citrus note without turning the cake into an orange cake.
- Allergens: contains dairy, egg, gluten and pistachios. The almond extract may also be unsuitable for people avoiding tree nuts, depending on the product used.
Keeping it Keep the cooled cake covered at room temperature for up to two days, or refrigerate it for longer storage and bring slices back towards room temperature before serving. Keep the honey sauce covered in the fridge and warm it gently before pouring.
Questions, answered
Can I use ready ground pistachios?
Yes, provided they are finely ground, unsalted and still smell fresh. Very coarse pistachio meal will give the crumb a rougher texture.
Can I leave out the almond extract?
Yes. The cake will still taste clearly of pistachio, with the vanilla and orange carrying more of the aroma.
Can I make the cake a day ahead?
Yes. Let it cool fully, keep it well covered, then make or rewarm the sauce before serving.
Can the honey sauce be served cold?
It can, but chilling makes it thicker. A little gentle heat restores its smooth, pourable texture.
If it goes wrong
- It sank in the middleSeven causes, told apart by the shape of the crater.
- It came out raw in the centreBrown outside, wet inside, and how to rescue the one you are holding.
- The caramel seizedIt is almost always fixable. The lump re-melts.
