Pistachio, Orange & Ricotta Cake

a very nutty, casual cake for the weekend

Hello friends,

Welcome back to Sweet Things!

I’ve been in a particularly cakey mood this week. Which isn’t unusual for me. There’s such a pleasing joy knowing you’re coming home and there’s a good slice of cake waiting for you. Something to tuck into whilst on the sofa catching up with Real Housewives. Absolutely dreamy. I had loads of pistachios leftover from a shoot and decided to put them to good use in a little cake. More of that in a bit but just a few updates first.

Some of you may have missed it in the last newsletter but I’ll now be sending out Sweet Things fortnightly instead of weekly. You’ll still get recipes in each one but it’s just a much better pace for me to manage, especially during this very busy cookbook promo season!

Speaking of cookbook, ‘I’ll Bring Dessert’ comes out in exactly one week in the UK! And in under two weeks for the US & Canada (18th and 23rd April respectively). There’s lots going on in the run up and if you’re not following me Instagram, you might have missed a competition I’m running with KitchenAid where you can win a brand new stand mixer in the colour of your choice! All you need to do is pre-order a copy of my book from any retailer and then head to my Instagram post to enter.

For those of you based in the US, here’s a handy little graphic of my tour dates and locations! I’m so so excited to be heading over and I can’t wait to chat about all things dessert and meet lots of you. There are so many more cities I would’ve loved to visit so hopefully I’ll be able to come back and do some more. But if you’re based in or near these cities, come down!

In this weeks newsletter, I’ve got a lovely pistachio, orange & ricotta cake. I’ve said before how much I LOVE one layer cakes. They’ve got such a cool, casual, understated vibe. Being able to go from raw ingredients to decorated cake within a few hours is a major win and this cake hits the spot. For paid subscribers, we’ve also got doughnuts! I had such an intense craving for them this week, I had to make it happen. And I’m very glad I did.

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PISTACHIO, ORANGE & RICOTTA CAKE

Ricotta in cakes is always something I’ll love. It gives such a soft, plush crumb that you just want to bury your face in. This is a super nutty cake with plenty of pistachios - my absolute favourite nut. I love the almost creamy, buttery flavour they bring and I never find them too overpowering. Plus they bring such a beautiful colour. I’ve used ground pistachios in the sponge for some texture and pistachio paste in the frosting.

Pistachio paste (or pistachio cream) is a bit of a secret weapon ingredient that I strongly recommend having in the cupboard at all times. It’s an intensely pistachio flavoured spread that comes sweetened and is a fabulous way of easily injecting a nutty hit. Think of it as a pistachio nutella! I found a gigantic jar in costco that I’ve been steadily working my way through but you can find it in most Italian delis or online.

The orange scented cake uses a straightforward method and is then topped with a good swoop of cream cheese frosting and more pistachios. You could definitely have this cake without the frosting if you wanted something even more low key. Just dust with a little icing sugar and you’re good to go.

RECIPE

serves 8-10
equipment : one 8 inch /20cm cake tin

1 large orange, grated zest
150g unsalted butter, softened
175g caster sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
160g plain flour
80g unsalted pistachios
2 ½ teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
125g ricotta

For the frosting:
60g unsalted butter, softened
60g icing sugar
70g pistachio paste
150g cream cheese, room temp

Preheat the oven to 160C fan/180C. Grease and line an 8 inch/20cm cake tin.

Grind the pistachios in a food processor until mostly fine. It doesn’t need to a powder, more like very finely chopped. Set aside 1 tablespoon of this to use for the topping.

Add the sugar and orange zest to a large bowl and use your fingertips to rub the zest into the sugar until it’s fragrant and the sugar looks like wet sand. Add in the butter and vanilla and cream everything together with a stand mixer or electric whisk for 3-4 minutes until pale and fluffy.

Add in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add in the flour, ground pistachios, baking powder and salt and mix well until smooth. Mix in the ricotta until just combined. Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 40-45 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Let the cake cool completely whilst you make the frosting.

Add the softened butter and icing sugar to a bowl and beat together with a stand mixer or electric whisk until smooth and pale. Add in the pistachio paste and beat briefly to combine. Add in the cream cheese and beat well until the frosting is smooth and silky.

Top the cooled cake with frosting and sprinkle extra ground pistachios on top before serving.