Pistachio Cake with Honey Buttercream Frosting

I have to admit, I first bought Baked Explorations for my mom's Christmas gift, then decided she would prefer a more classic reference cookbook over these "reinvented" recipes, then gave Explorations as a gift to another friend. As I poured over the recipes with her, I realized that I had to have it - and promptly ordered one for myself. This pistachio cake, inexplicably called Aunt Sassy Cake in the book, was one that caught my friend's eye. I must have gotten cake envy at that point, because suddenly I wanted to make it.

So I did. Just because I wanted to.

A generous taster compared this cake to a fine scotch; my family called it "subtle"; another taster ate for a bit and agreed "it's subtle, and I like it." I say I LOVE it, but it may not appeal to everyone in the whole world - it's not your typical American cake, even though it comes from this cookbook, and is not super sweet nor obvious in its flavor. It does taste like pistachio, even though it is not artificially-colored bright green, and I think that's a good thing. What's more, the ever difficult-to-achieve texture of the scratch cake is rendered light and fine by the nuts and the shortening (just find a trans-fat-free version, they do exist!). I took care with the mixing of the cake batter, and was pleased with the results.

Everyone agreed that the frosting is a keeper; it is the first cooked buttercream I've ever made, and the texture is fabulously smooth and light. The honey flavor is clean but not overwhelming, and would pair very well with a banana cake. It's a little more time-consuming than uncooked buttercream, but it is not difficult to make and worth the wait.

Pistachio Cake with Honey Buttercream Frosting

aka Aunt Sassy Cake from Baked Explorations

Cake:

1 C shelled pistachios (unsalted roasted gave a good flavor)

2 1/2 C cake flour

3/4 C all-purpose flour

1 T baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 C (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 C vegetable shortening

1 3/4 C sugar

1 T pure vanilla extract

1 large egg

3 large egg whites, at room temperature*

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Honey Vanilla Buttercream:

1 1/2 C sugar

1/3 C all-purpose flour

1 1/2 C whole milk

1/3 C heavy cream**

1 1/2 C (3 sticks) unsalted butter, soft but cool, cut into small pieces

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

3 T honey

Cake:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter three 8 or 9-inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper, and butter the parchment. Dust the parchment with flour and knock out the excess flour.

In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the pistachios until they are coarsely chopped. Transfer about 2 tablespoons' worth of the coarse pistachios to a large bowl. Continue to process the rest of the pistachios until they are almost powdery - but not a superfine dust. Stir the pistachio powder into the reserved coarse pistachios. Sift the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together over the large bowl containing the pistachio mix. Stir to combine.

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and shortening on medium speed until creamy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl, add the whole egg, and beat until just combined. Turn the mixer to low.

In a measuring cup, make 1 1/2 C ice water (for a total of 1 1/2 C of liquid). Add the flour mixture to the mixer in three parts, alternating with the ice water, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. For each addition, turn the mixer to low to add ingredients, then up to medium speed for a few seconds until incorporated. Scrape down the bowl, then mix on low speed for a few more seconds.

In a medium bowl, whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form (You can do this by hand. Don't be intimidated, it should only take 2 to 3 minutes). Do not overbeat. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter.

Divide the batter among the prepared pans and smooth the tops. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean (if you use 9-inch pans, check the cake at 35 or 40 minutes). Transfer the pans to a wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes. Turn the cakes out onto the rack and let cool completely. Remove the parchment paper.

Buttercream:

In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk the sugar and flour together. Add the milk and cream and cook over medium heat, whisking occasionally, until the mixture comes to a boil and has thickened, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on high speed until cool (this takes at least 7 to 9 minutes of mixing; you can speed up the process by pressing bags of frozen berries or frozen corn against the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl). Reduce the speed to low and add the butter; mix until thoroughly incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the vanilla and honey and continue mixing until combined. If the frosting is too soft, put the bowl in the refrigerator to chill slightly, then beat again until it is the proper consistency. If the frosting is too firm, set the bowl over a pot of simmering water and beat with a wooden spoon until it is the proper consistency.

Cake Assembly:

Place one cake layer on a serving platter. Trim the top to create a flat surface, and evenly spread about 1 1/4 C frosting on top. Add the next layer, trim and frost it, then add the third layer. Spread a very thin layer of frosting over the sides and top of the cake and put it in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to firm up (This is known as crumb coating and will help to keep loose cake crumbs under control when you frost the outside of the cake). Spread the sides and top of the cake with the remaining frosting. Garnish the cake with crushed pistachios and refrigerate it for 15 minutes to firm it up before serving.

This cake will keep beautifully in a cake saver at room temperature for up to 3 days, if the weather is cool and humidity free. Otherwise, put it in a cake saver and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Let the cake sit at room temperature for at least 2 hours before serving.

*if you only have extra large eggs, use the one whole egg, but reduce the egg whites to two.

**I didn't have whole milk, so I used 1 C of 1% milk, and increased the heavy cream to 1/2 + 1/3 C (don't make me add fractions!).

Handmade Marzipan

Introducing the recipe that has won me over to the cause of rose water-flavored sweets: Handmade Marzipan.

These pretty almond goodies are not the über-sweet marzipan you buy in a tube in the baking aisle, used to fashion colorful decorations for Yule logs or rolled out thin to cover Princess cakes - they are a fresh, lightly-flavored delicacy of almonds you grind yourself, and simply mix with sugar, water, and rose water to make a mold-able paste. This is a unique dessert that will add great variety to any dessert platter since it's not a cake, not a cookie, not candy...people may not know what it is, and you'll get to tell them the story of how you made it!

I discovered this recipe while helping friends out with a Syrian seder meal (also the inspiration for my kosher marshmallow attempts), and have since made these pastries several more times. My friends had the cookbook Aromas of Aleppo, which produced fabulous dishes of tamarind meatballs and a very cheesy spinach frittata in addition to this marzipan. I love the simplicity of the ingredients and the physicality of rolling them and pressing them into the mold. The one difficulty in preparing for this recipe was finding a good source for blanched almonds and pistachios, so you'll want to search out a store with good Middle Eastern ingredients in stock, or at least a Whole Foods with a good selection of nuts.

I was lucky enough to have a friend who already had an appropriate wooden mold, but I wouldn't be surprised if you could find similar cookie molds in any cooking store. And if you can't, why not just make the balls and flatten them into shapes, even add your own impression on top?

Here we go:

Handmade Marzipan

2 C almonds, blanched, peeled (and finely ground if possible)
1 C sugar (substitute up to half with Splenda if desired)
1 tsp rose water
1 C pistachios, shelled, blanched, peeled, and finely chopped
powdered sugar to dust cookie mold and surfaces

1. Grind almonds in food processor if not already ground.
2. Stir together the ground almonds, sugar, 1/4 C water, and rose water in a medium bowl. Transfer to a food processor and process until the mixture forms a paste.
3. Take one teaspoon of this paste and form into a walnut-sized ball. Repeat with the remainder of the paste, placing each ball on a sheet of parchment paper dusted well with powdered sugar (the paste will be quite sticky; should make about 25 pastries). Press down on the center of each ball with your finger, making a 1/2 inch indentation. Fill the indentations with a pinch of pistachios. Close the pastries with your thumb and forefinger. Dust a fancy cookie mold liberally with powdered sugar and then press a pastry into the mold. Tap it gently out of the mold and set on a baking sheet sprinkled with powdered sugar to dry.

Bulgarini Gelato: Altadena's Best-Kept Secret

All the reviews will tell you the same thing: Bulgarini Gelato is as out-of-the-way as an ice cream store can get, but also the best gelato you can get in L.A.!

Since it seems that I'm making my way there about once a week, I figured I should write about it, although I could just keep the secret to myself...but I'm not feeling that cruel today.

As you can see on their website, they use the real, old-world method of making gelato, resulting in thick, creamy confection with the freshest of flavors. The first time I went there, there were Italians sitting at the next table over who said that this stuff is better than what you often get in Italy, since gelato places there are even starting to use mixes.

While the shopping center in which Bulgarini is located appears to be somewhat run-down, the corner with the gelato shop is set back from the parking lot, cozy and comfortable. The shop is just big enough to serve the ice cream to the steady stream of customers, and out front there are rustic wooden tables and chairs under quaint umbrellas.

Pistachio is by far their most popular flavor, as I confirmed when I found that they had run out of it the first time I was there. The flavors vary by what is freshly available that day, which makes it fun to sample new things each time (generously given out with smiles) before settling on one's selection. If you get a small, you can choose up to 3 flavors in your cup, and up to 4 in a medium, so they happily accommodate the indecisive and the combination-lover. Come to think of it, I am both of those - I never want to limit myself by choosing just one out of many fabulous options, and I revel in trying flavors together, so this works well for me!

This last time, strawberry and pistachio hit it off together in my mouth (new marshmallow flavor, perhaps?) as the softly sweet berry sang in harmony with the ultra-nutty pistachio. I had also gotten almond (see, I had to get 3 flavors), which was so packed full of almonds that I almost felt like I was eating almond butter. Between the natural flavors and reusable cups (remember to throw them in the cup bin inside), this is a somewhat green option, too. Not your average ice cream joint!



Bulgarini Gelato
749 E. Altadena Drive
Altadena, CA 91001
626.791.6174

Cupcake Playdate

Three weeks of cooking nothing but s'mores + birthday in the office = time to get creative!

After traveling for so long, my cupboards were pretty bare, but my cooking fervor motivated me to scrounge up enough goodies to make 6 different flavors of cupcakes for this week's birthday party. I found a white cake mix on the shelf and decided to use that as a launching point for fun in the kitchen.

With the cake mix made according to the box instructions (I prefer Duncan Hines brand), I then divided the batter into 6 equal parts and began playing. I flavored the batters and spooned up 4 cupcakes of each flavor (one box mix makes 24 cupcakes). While they were baking I prepared a double batch of firm buttercream frosting, half of which I reserved as is, and half of which I made into chocolate buttercream by adding unsweetened cocoa powder to taste (I had planned that half of my flavors would take chocolate icing). These are very generously frosted. Once the cupcakes were cooled I customized the icing; some of them took straight chocolate or vanilla icing, but for others I added flavoring to the chocolate or vanilla base.

Hope you can use these ideas for your own kitchen playdate!

Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes

Batter: Mix in 6 frozen sweet cherries, chopped and defrosted with juice, and 1 or 2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

Decoration: Chocolate buttercream icing: Pipe with a large round tip in a spiral and then bury the tip in the middle and squeeze tube to form icing cherry. Top with red sprinkles and cherry stem (fished from jar of maraschino cherries!)

Almond Cupcakes

Batter: Mix in pure almond extract to taste and dish into cupcake pan; in small bowl in microwave heat 1 Tbsp. butter with 4 tsp. almond paste, then mix the butter and paste thoroughly and press 1/4 of mixture into the middle of each cupcake before baking.

Decoration: Vanilla buttercream icing: Mix in a splash of almond extract. Pipe with a medium star tip in a spiral around the top, weaving tip back and forth to create waves and building up with concentric spiral layers to create a dome. Top with sliced almonds (roasted if desired).

Chocolate Cupcakes

Batter: Mix in 2 or 3 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder to taste and dish into cupcake pan; press a square of chocolate into the middle of each cupcake prior to baking. Squares of Hershey's would work.

Decoration: Chocolate buttercream icing: Pipe with medium star tip in a spiral around the top, building up with concentric spiral layers. Top with a broken piece of chocolate.

Pistachio Cupcakes

Batter: Mix in several teaspoons of finely chopped pistachios, 1/2 tsp. honey, and a drop of green food coloring.

Decoration: Vanilla buttercream frosting: Mix in 1 tsp. honey and then pipe onto cupcake with petal tip in a spiral on top, then create sweet pea petals in a circle in the middle and then in groups concentrically around the edge. Top with whole shelled pistachio.

Mocha Cupcakes

Batter: Combine 1 1/2 tsp. instant coffee with just enough boiling water to cover granules; stir until dissolved. Mix dissolved coffee and 1 or 2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder into batter.

Decoration: Chocolate buttercream icing: Prepare instant coffee as for batter and mix into icing. Pipe with petal tip in spiral on top, building up in center with layers of concentric spirals. Add coffee-bean-like form on top with petal tip wide end up.

Sprinkle Cupcakes

Batter: Mix in sprinkles as desired; solid thick sprinkles last better than non pareilles (pictured on top of this cupcake), which dissolve in the batter.

Decoration: Vanilla buttercream icing: Pipe with middle round tip in spirals on top, building up with layers of concentric spirals. Top with desired sprinkles.

Create your own cupcake playtime and let me know what flavors your kitchen produces!