From time to time I get rather bored of all my cake recipes and seriously hanker for something new and a bit more interesting. It was on one of these occasions that I came up with my super easy Pistachio cake recipe. I had looked around for a similar recipe but they all called for ingredients I just didn’t have and seemed overly complicated for what I had in mind. With this in mind I created this lovely sweet treat, it’s a wonderful moist cake with a denser texture than a simple sponge. The flavour is then truly highlighted by a Cardamom cream topping.

What You’ll Need for the cake

100g/4oz Pistachios (shelled)

4 Eggs

225g/8oz Self Raising Flour

225g/8oz Butter

170g/6oz Caster Sugar

55g/2oz Soft Brown Sugar

Cardamom Cream Topping

Seeds from 6 cardamom pods

100g/4oz Butter

200g/7oz Icing Sugar

200ml/7 fl oz Double Cream

Method

Cream together the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl.

Sieve the flour into the mixing bowl and then add the rest of the ingredients and whisk to form a cake batter.

Chop the pistachios (not too finely, we want a bit of texture in the cake) and fold into the mixture.

Scoop the batter into a prepared cake tin and bake in an oven 180C/ 350F / Gas Mark 4 for 55 minutes – 1hour or until the cake is cooked all the way through. Cool on a wire rack.

Topping

Once the cake has cooled begin making the topping. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Grind the cardamom seeds in a pestle and mortar and add to the mixture. Pour in the cream and whisk until the topping is light and fluffy and easy to spread.

Spread onto the top of your cake and then admire your handiwork.

Finally grab a cup of tea and enjoy a slice!