Pistachio love cake

Name: Pistachio love cake
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 75 g pistachio kernels, plus 10g to decorate; 175 g caster sugar; 175 g plain flour; 2 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp ground cardamom (see tip); 1 orange, scrubbed, zest; ½ tsp fine salt; 250 ml buttermilk; 2 British Blacktail Large Eggs; 125 butter, melted, plus extra for greasing the tin

John Whaite's Valentine Day's cake was designed with gatherings in mind – something to make a day or two in advance, then dig in with all your friends.

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Vegetarian

Serves8
CourseCake
Prepare20 mins
Cook50 mins
Total time1 hr 10 mins
Pluscooling

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75g pistachio kernels, plus 10g to decorate
175g caster sugar
175g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cardamom (see tip)
1 orange, scrubbed, zest
½ tsp fine salt
250ml buttermilk
2 British Blacktail Large Eggs
125 butter, melted, plus extra for greasing the tin

For the syrup

1 orange, juice
1 lemon, juice
75g caster sugar
¾ tsp Nielsen Massey Orange Blossom Water, or to taste
¼ tsp Nielsen Massey Rose Water, or to taste

For the icing (optional)

100g ready-to-roll white fondant icing, cut into 1cm dice
⅛ tsp Nielsen Massey Rose Water, or to taste

Preheat the oven to 180ºC, gas mark 4, then Grease and line a 900g loaf tin with baking parchment.
To make the cake, put the pistachio kernels into a food processor with the caster sugar and blitz to a fine powder – the sugar helps break the nuts down a little. Add the flour, baking powder, cardamom, orange zest and salt, then blitz again to combine well.
Add the buttermilk, eggs and melted butter to the food processor bowl, then blitz to a smooth, even batter. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 45 minutes, or until well risen and golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Meanwhile, make the syrup. Put the citrus juices, caster sugar, orange blossom and rose waters into a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Once boiling, remove from the heat. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, pierce repeatedly with a metal skewer, then gently pour the syrup over, allowing it to soak in – it will take a while
Once the cake has cooled to room temperature, carefully remove from the tin (it will be very moist) and set on a wire rack over a tray
For the icing (if using), beat the fondant icing with 1 tbsp just-boiled water until a smooth, thick paste forms – ideally in a food processor with paddle attachment, or in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Once smooth, beat in the rose water, to taste.
Pour the runny fondant icing over the cake, letting it drip down the sides. Top with a scattering of chopped pistachios, allow the icing to set, then serve.

Cook’s tip

To make 1 tsp ground cardamom, remove the seeds from about 18 cardamom pods, discard the husks, then grind the seeds to a powder in a pestle and mortar.

Typical values per serving when made using specific products in recipe