The search for the perfect wedding cake continues. Today I introduce to you, Aunt Sassy, the pluckiest pistachio cake you’ll ever meet, flavored with real pistachios (as opposed to pistachio extract, which a recipe my sister found called for) that impart the barest of green to four dreamy layers of cake. She’s wearing her Sunday’s finest, a lush buttercream laced with glossy honey (that I sort of butchered because I lack cake decorating skills. Sorry Aunt Sassy.)
In truth, the cake is not as forwardly pistachio-tasting as you might think. What it really reminds me of is a nut bread, dense yet moist, and textured in that whole-grainy way. This may, in part, be due to the fact that I hand-ground, using a mortar and pestle, the pistachios, an imprecise process that yielded not the fine grain that the recipe called for, but something a little coarser, more similar to sand. But no matter. I liked it, a lot. Chris did too, and I gave him all the cake tops to take to work so I wouldn’t end up snacking on them throughout the day.
But the true gem was the honey buttercream. It was superb, absolutely superb! It was wistfully velvety with the slight aftertaste of honey (meaning, not too sweet) and a lightness kind of sort of like whipped cream. I found ample excuses to conduct multiple taste tests: while scraping down the bowl, while filling the cake, while frosting the crumb layer (which I liberally applied for that very purpose), while cleaning out the bowl that I used to hold the crumb-filled frosting. And all the while, my brain kept saying ‘no, no, no, put down the spatula, Linda!’ because, being the sensible organ that it is, you can’t get past it the fact that the frosting is made almost completely of butter(!).
Other thoughts. It reminded me of a Swiss meringue buttercream, but did not turn stale-buttery or yellow over time. This is valuable information. Also, it’s egg-less. Actually, this is where I wish I could talk food history, because the method of making this frosting seems quite unusual. At its base, it’s a mixture of sugar, milk/cream, and flour that’s cooked over a low heat until it thickens. Is flour a common frosting ingredient? What is its history? Is it an old-fashioned Southern technique? That would excite me greatly.
Finally, regarding the cake as a whole, I’m thinking a three-layer cake, two of pistachio, one of chocolate, with this very buttercream frosting might be just the ticket.
PISTACHIO LAYER CAKE WITH HONEY BUTTERCREAM
Adapted from Baked Explorations, via Oprah
Makes 1 six-inch 4-layer cake
Note: The original recipe called for vegetable shortening, which I decided not to use, because anything with the word ‘shortening’ in it sounds highly suspect to me. If you do decide to use it, replace half of the butter (1/2 cup) with 1/2 cup of vegetable shortening.
Ingredients:
For the pistachio cake:
1 cup shelled pistachios
2-1/2 cups cake flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
1-3/4 cups sugar, divided
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1-1/2 cups ice water
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
For the frosting:
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups whole milk
1/3 cup heavy cream
3 sticks unsalted butter, softened, and cut into small pieces
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 Tbsp good honey
Directions:
For the cake:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter four 6″ cake pans (or however many you have, but you’ll have to work in batches). Line the bottoms with circles of parchment paper, dust the pans with flour and knock out the excess.
In a food processor, pulse the pistachios into a coarse grind, remove 2 Tbsp, and set them aside in a medium bowl. Process remaining pistachios just until finely ground to a powder. Sift cake flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda into the same bowl with the 2 Tbsp chopped pistachios. Stir in pistachio powder.
In a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, beat butter on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add 1-1/2 cups sugar and vanilla and beat until fluffy, 4 minutes. Scrape down the bowl, and with mixer on low speed, beat in eggs one at a time until well blended. Beat in the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the cold water, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat until blended, scraping bowl; then beat batter 15 more seconds. Scrape into a large bowl.
With a clean bowl and using the whisk attachment, beat egg whites and cream of tartar on medium speed until foamy. With mixer on medium-high speed, add remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat just until soft peaks form, taking care not to over beat. (For some reason, I did this by hand. It took some serious arm power, and I’m not sure I attained the foaminess that the recipe called for. Use your mixer if you can.). Gently fold whites into batter just until no white streaks remain.
Divide batter between prepared pans (or about an inch into each pan) and spread evenly. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of cakes comes out clean. Transfer pans to wire racks and let cool 20 minutes. Turn cakes out onto racks, remove parchment paper, flip them over, and let cool completely.
Cake rounds can now be covered in plastic wrap and stored in the fridge overnight.
For the frosting:
In a heavy, medium saucepan, whisk sugar and flour until well blended. Add milk and cream and cook over medium heat until mixture thickens and comes to a boil, about 10 minutes. (This is where the quality of your pan comes through. Using a sub-standard saucepan like I did? Keep the heat on low and stir constantly.) Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring, for 2 more minutes.
Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer. With the paddle attachment, beat the mixture on high speed until it cools completely, about 10 minutes. On medium speed, beat in the butter. It’ll gradually start incorporating into the mix and look more and more like frosting; it takes about 5 minutes. Increase the speed to medium-high until the frosting is fluffy and smooth, about 1 minute. Beat in honey and vanilla until incorporated. Taste for the honey and add more if necessary.
The frosting can now be refrigerated, covered, but before you use it, let it come to room temperature and mix it until it regains its fluffiness.
Assembling the cake:
I found that there was just enough frosting to frost the entire cake. Use about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of frosting in between layers.
Omg yes! Flour frosting!! This recipe is pretty similar to my favorite frosting ever: http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/desserts/thate28099s-the-best-frosting-ie28099ve-ever-had/ (which I found my googling “the best frosting ever,” I’m not ashamed to admit!)
I was using it for just cupcakes for a while, but I finally decided to be brave and try it out on layer cakes, and I was so pleased with how well it stood up. It’s such an unusual technique, and it totally has that old-fashioned-method feel to it. (I’ve had people—including my mom—watch me make this and be like, “Flour in frosting? Are you sure??” Then they get to taste it, and that shuts them up real fast!) The other thing I love about these recipes is the fact that they use milk/heavy cream, which opens up lots of options for infusions (chai is my favorite, but I’ve been wanting to try a hibiscus infusion lately, especially since it would probably turn it such a pretty shade of pink). I can imagine how good this is with that hint of honey coming through!
OK, now I will talk about the whole cake, not just the frosting. It sounds delicious, and props to you for grinding those pistachios by hand! I also love the idea of throwing a chocolate layer into the middle—I bet that would be amazing!
Okay, why aren’t more people on to this? This recipe is such a breakthrough for me! (And there is no shame in Googling ‘best xx ever.’ Whenever I’m trying to figure out the answer to a question, I enter the entire question into Google. Does anyone else do that?)
And you’re right! Infusions!!! Oh my gosh, total game changer. I’ve been dreaming about Earl Grey frosting recently, but it would probably turn the frosting an icky shade of… brownish-grey. You think? Pink hibiscus frosting, on the other hand, would be so pretty!
Earl Grey frosting! Yum! You know, I bet it probably wouldn’t be too bad of a color. When I make the chai frosting, it turns a glorious, rich pinky tan color. It makes it look like a “vintage” cake, for lack of a better adjective. (:
Awesome sounding frosting. I have never heard of adding flour to it, crazy! But it looks and sounds beautiful, so no need to doubt it.
Did you use toasted pistachios? I can’t tell but I’m thinking that if they are indeed toasted, if you used raw pistachios next time you might get a slightly more tinged green cake and a stronger flavor.
Your lucky guests for getting a homemade pistachio-chocolate wedding cake !! They’re always so disappointing and commercial tasting.
I definitely want to bring out more green (just because it’s so pretty), which I can definitely see raw pistachios adding. I used roasted unsalted pistachios, by the way, which worked out well on the whole in terms of flavor. But the green! Man, feeling slightly wistful.
Ooh, I’ve never heard of or made frosting with flour – definitely something I need to try! And as for honey flavour? Yum. What an absolutely dreamy wedding cake
I know, right? But it is seriously dreamy. And it holds up really well sitting out at room temperature.
OMG. This cake looks amazing, but I CAN’T WAIT to try that frosting. Game changer.
lol, thanks Meghan. You know, maybe I’m making too big a fuss over this frosting… but another part of me thinks not! Give it a try if you can and let me know what you think!
this is unbelievably beautiful. bookmarking!
It’s a beauty!! The flavors sound delicious too!
Haha, I’m sure it beats the cake you made last weekend. I’m sorry it didn’t work out so well!
Such a strikingly beautiful cake! Kudos on this stunning creation! And it sounds incredible, I am a big fan of pistachio desserts. Need to make this soon!
Thanks miss!
I have been on quite the layer cake kick lately, so when I saw this, I was too too excited. I love pistachio anything, and I imagine it’s wonderful in a cake. I agree that adding a chocolate cake layer to the mix would be stellar. I have never tried a flour frosting, but I am so intrigued now! It looks wonderfully light and creamy, and any comparison to swiss meringue butter cream is a win in my book!
Thanks Natasha! It’s nice to expand outside of chocolate and vanilla, which are the flavors I usually gravitate towards. Pistachio… yum.
This cake looks delicious (I’m a huge fan of pistachio-flavored desserts and I haven’t been able to find a pistachio cake recipe I like.) I have trouble decorating cakes too but yours looks gorgeous even though you say you lack the skills. Aunt Sassy would be proud! Hmm I wish there a bit more of the green color in the cake but great post!
-Sally
I love layer cakes. This is so beautiful! The flavors sound incredible too!
This looks so heavenly! I can’t wait to try this recipe out sometime! I’m dying to know what flour frosting tastes like…
The frosting is so intriguing – I am curious to know what it tastes like. The recipe almost looks like a fortified creme patissiere (what with all that butter), yet it contains no egg. Definitely curious as to where that came from.
And kudos to you for hand-grinding the pistachios, what dedication! And I hear you on the subtle pistachio flavour – I think our palate expects a stronger pistachio taste (probably as a result of tasting cakes/pastries/ice cream etc. flavoured with artificial extracts) yet pistachios are quite subtle in flavour. One way to amp up the pistachio flavour (if you would like to do that) is to make your own pistachio paste using roasted pistachios (traditionally made with sugar syrup and even a touch of bitter almond extract but I am sure you could use honey as well). I make mine in a foot processor just like other nut butters, adding about 1 tablespoon of the paste to a regular cake recipe.