Coffee and Cardamom Cake with Pistachios

25 minutes
to cook

A friend of a friend of mine always grinds cardamom seeds and adds them when she drinks coffee.

It has to be said the two flavours together are sublime. So here they are combined in a very luscious cake topped with roasted pistachios.

The Delia Online Cookery School: Watch how to make other kinds of sponge cakes in our video. Just click the recipe image to play.

This recipe is from Delia's Cakes. Scroll to the bottom of the page to see questions Lindsey has answered about this recipe

Method

First of all, when the oven is pre-heated you need to roast all the pistachios (for the cake and the topping) – just spread them out on a tray and pop them into the oven near the centre for 8 minutes – use a timer to help you remember.

You can watch how to toast nuts in our Online Cookery School Video on this page.  While that’s happening, place the 10 cardamom pods for the cake in a mortar, bash them about to split the pods open, then remove the seeds to a saucer. Now do the same with the 10 pods for the syrup, using a separate saucer. Next discard all the pods and grind each lot of seeds, keeping them separate, to a fine powder. When the nuts are ready, chop half of them finely and keep the rest on one side for the topping.

Now to make the cake. First of all, sift the flour and baking powder into a roomy mixing bowl, lifting the sieve quite high to give the flour a good airing as it goes down. Then add the butter, eggs, caster sugar, instant espresso and one saucer of cardamom powder, and using an electric hand whisk, mix to a smooth, creamy consistency for about 1 minute. After that fold the chopped nuts into the mixture with a tablespoon. Now divide the mixture between the two prepared tins, level off using the back of a tablespoon and bake near the centre of the oven for about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile you can make up the syrup and the topping. Place the coffee powder, the other saucer of crushed cardamom and sugar in a heatproof bowl, then measure the boiling water into it and whisk for about one minute until the coffee and sugar have dissolved. For the filling and topping, whisk all the ingredients except the pistachios together in another bowl. The cakes are cooked when you press lightly with your little finger and the centre springs back.

Remove them from the oven but leave them in their tins. Prick them all over with a skewer while they are still hot and sprinkle the syrup as evenly as possible over each one, leaving them to soak up the liquid as they cool in their tins.

When they are absolutely cold, loosen the edges with a palette knife, then place each one on an upturned bowl and carefully slide the outer edge of the tin downwards. Choose a serving plate and, using a palette knife, gently slide one cake off its liner onto the plate. Then spread half the filling mixture over the first cake. Then (as above) slide the other cake carefully on top, and spread with the other half of the mixture.

To finish, scatter the roasted pistachios all over just before serving. Store in a polythene box in the fridge until needed.

Ingredients

For the syrup:
1 slightly rounded dessertspoon instant espresso coffee powder
25ml boiling water
For the filling and topping:

Additional

Pre-heat the oven to 170°C, gas mark 3

Using a fan-assisted oven? Click here

Equipment

You will need two Delia Online 18cm by 4cm Sponge Tins (or similar), lightly buttered and bases lined. Also a pestle and mortar.

The Delia Online bakeware range is now available online, and you can buy our 18cm Loose-based Sponge Tins and washable and reusable Liners direct from Silverwood.
Click here for the tins
Click here for the liners


 

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