Orange and Pistachio Cake

Pistachios, orange and cardamom are an incredible combination for desserts. Since it contains no flour, it’s quite dense.
Poached orange
- 1 orange
- 1½ cup sugar
Cake
- ¾ cup blanched, sliced almonds
- ½ cup pistachios
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1¼ cup almond powder
- 4 cardamom pods, ground
- 1 large pinch salt
- 6 eggs
- Butter and flour for the mold
- 2 Tbsp chopped pistachios
Pistachio cream
- ½ cup pistachios
- ¼ cup icing sugar
- ¼ lb unsalted butter, softened
Syrup
- ½ cup poached orange cooking water
- 4 Tbsp Grand Marnier
- 2 tsp orange blossom water or rose water
Garnish
- ¼ cup icing sugar
- Dried rose petals (opt.)
Method
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1
The day before, place orange in a small pot with enough water to cover it. Boil for 5 minutes on high heat to remove the bitterness. Discard water.
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2
Pour sugar in a pot, add orange and enough water to allow the orange to float. Bring to a boil, cover, then simmer on very low heat for around 2 hours. Let rest, covered, overnight, at room temperature.
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3
The next day, remove orange from the pot. Slice in half and remove seeds if needed. Place orange, flesh side down, in a colander placed over a bowl to drain it.
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4
Set a half cup syrup aside for the Grand Marnier syrup. The rest can be used for another use (a lemonade or fruit salad, for example).
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5
Preheat oven to 325° F. Butter and flour a 9-inch springform pan.
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6
Place almonds, pistachios, and sugar in a food processor and reduce to a fine powder. Add almond powder, ground cardamom and salt, then mix well.
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7
Add orange and reduce to a fine paste, adding the eggs one at a time.
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8
Pour the mixture into the buttered, floured pan. Place chopped pistachios on top.
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9
Bake for 30 minutes. Rotate cake halfway during cooking, then check its doneness with a toothpick. Continue cooking until the toothpick comes out clean (around 20 minutes). Remove from oven and let rest 3-24 hours.
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10
Mix remaining syrup ingredients in a bowl.
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11
To make the pistachio cream, place pistachios and icing sugar in a food processor and reduce to a fine paste. Incorporate butter.
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12
Remove cake from pan and slice in half horizontally.
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13
Drizzle the two halves of the cake with the syrup. Spread the pistachio cream on the bottom half. Place the other half on top.
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14
Sprinkle with icing sugar and garnish with rose petals.