fragrant pistachio, cardamom & lime cake

Ever since our trip to Venice I've been tantalized by pistachios; those beautiful lurid green nuggets have bewitched me! So, I decided to appease my craving by baking them into my own version of a play on a lemon drizzle cake. This cake is packed full of pistachios, and fragrant with lime and cardamom. It also has yoghurt to keep it moist, and is topped by a crunchy, zingy layer of lime juice and sugar.

I've always loved pistachios anyway, but you know how it is when you develop a fascination for something foodie, you've just got to find some way of making something with it, right?. For me that usually ends up with baking, since I've got a real weakness for anything sweet and baked! How could I resist?..............they're just so enticing!



And..............even better, they're good for you too; in a nutshell, Pennsylvania State University has found in research that pistachios significantly reduced levels of 'bad' cholesterol, and also concluded that pistachios may calm acute stress reaction! Sounds good to me!

So, if you're feeling a little worse for wear, bake yourself some pistachio cake, sit down with a cup of coffee and..........relax!


fragrant pistachio, cardamom & lime cake

150g unsalted pistachios

half a teaspoon ground cardamom

zest of 1 lime

150g unsalted butter

200g self-raising flour

200g caster sugar

3 eggs

125g plain yoghurt

Topping:

juice of 1 lime

100g sugar

Pre-heat your oven to 180C / 350F / gas 4, and grease and base line a 20cm round cake tin.

Place all of the cake ingredients into a bowl and mix with an electric whisk until pale and fluffy.

Meanwhile, mix the lime juice and sugar together to make a lovely crunchy syrup. The type of sugar you use will determine how crunchy your topping will be. Granulated for very crunchy, and caster for a less grainy texture.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. It does tend to brown a lot so keep an eye on this! Leave in the tin to cool. Pierce the top of the cake with a skewer while it's still warm, and drizzle the lime syrup onto the cake a little at a time to allow it soak in.

To serve - top off with some thick and creamy Greek yoghurt and some more crushed pistachio nuts.