Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Lime and pistachio cake

This recipe appeared in my inbox from a yahoo food group to which I subscribed a long time ago - the clincher for me was the lemon icing in the recipe. I love the sharpness of fresh lemon juice toned down by the sweetness of the powdered sugar - tart and sweet, mmmmm... what a flavour combination!

It's an easy cake (as always, a major criterion when I try out a new cake recipe) although actually this time my cake sank in the middle, for whatever reason. Not that I was bothered - I just turned it upside down and iced the nice flat bottom! :) Come to think of it, though... if anybody can take an educated guess as to WHY the cake sank, please do let me know. I havent had a cake sink in a very long time and I dont really have a clue as to why this one did.



The cake tasted extremely lemony and fresh. I have to say that the pistachio nuts didnt stand out in it particularly, taste-wise... perhaps they were too mild to stand up to the lemon. Pete suggested using walnuts the next time - maybe their slight bitterness would be tempered by the lemon without the walnutty flavour being overwhelmed.

Still, nice cake!

Recipe for:
Lime and pistachio cake




Ingredients:

1-1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter or margarine
Grated zest of two limes
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup chopped pistachio nuts

For icing:

1 cup icing sugar
Juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp toasted chopped pistachio nuts

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F. Grease a 7" round baking tin and dust lightly with flour.

2. Melt the butter/margarine and set aside to cool.

3. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar till fluffy and pale.

4. Add the grated zest, lime juice and nuts and stir in.



5. Sift in the flour, baking powder and baking soda and stir till incorporated. Last of all add the lukewarm melted margarine/butter and mix well.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake till the cake tests done.



7. Remove from the pan after 10 minutes and let cool completely on a wire rack.

8. To make the icing, stir the lime juice into the powdered sugar till smooth and spreadable.

9. Cover the top of the cake with the icing and let it dribble down the sides at random. Sprinkle the toasted pistachio nuts over the top.

15 comments:

Mrs. K said...

Looks delicious shammi!!
You make lots of cakes, huh? :)
A friend of mine have told me a few reasons for cake sinking in the middle...old baking powder, overbeating, opening the oven door several times to peek while the cake is baking etc..

Krithika said...

Looks delicious ! Love pistachios. Haven't come across many cake recipes that use pistachios.

Removing the cake too soon can cause the cake to sink ... dampness basically.

Anonymous said...

Sweet and tart..yumm. There is a candy called SweetTart that I steal from the kids' stash of candy. This reminds me of that. Must have been a wonderful tasty cake.

cheers!

Shammi said...

RP: Hmmm, I might have overbeaten the cake...but my baking powder isnt old, and I certainly did open the oven door while it was cooking :) I guess the cake simply didnt rise - which is kinda different from it falling, isnt it?

Krithika: I didnt remove the cake too soon. Maybe over-beating the cake was the reason. :)

Saffron: It was a pretty yummy cake :) Although not one of the best I've come across.

Anonymous said...

Shammi,

That is just gorgeous!

Rajesh &Shankari said...

This looks yummy, anything that has fresh lime or orange makes it refreshing for me. I will try this one.

Anonymous said...

For a girl who goes to other blogs and comment on the fat content of thier recipes, you sure cook lot of sugary/oily foods. All preach, no apply, ha?

Anonymous said...

Swathi, isn't your comment a little rude? If you apply, good for you. Don't have to go about pointing fingers at others.

Sorry Shammi, i had to say it. I've always enjoyed your recipes- butter & sugar-laden or not. My baking skills have improved, thanks to you.
-Smita

Meeta K. Wolff said...

Hey we all need a bit of sugar and fat in our lives so what the hec. Even I preach less fat and sugar but once in a while I can't help myself. Shammi, I love the cake looks great and really sweet! Miss ya!

sou said...

I'm going to try this tommorrow. (Wish me luck!)

I really don't know what "Grated zest of two limes" mean though :( shall try and figure it out.

Happy Diwali!

Anonymous said...

Dear Sou,

Lemon/lemon zest = the skin of the lime or lemon. Just make sure you dont get too much of the white pith underneath the green/yellow skin, because that will be bitter.
Good luck with the cake. :)

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