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Pistachio Cake
Welcome to another day of giveaways, my friends! Today I’m sharing with you this gorgeous recipe for Pistachio Cream Cake with Chocolate Ganache. It’s from Jessica Merchant’s new cookbook SERIOUSLY DELISH… and let me tell you something – this cake 100% lives up to that title claim. Jessica is my go-to girl when I need a recipe I know is going to work, and her brilliant food brain never ceases to amaze me. I plan on cooking pretty much everything in this book, and since sharing is caring, I’m giving you guys a chance to win a copy so you can do the same! In addition to this fabulous book, I’ll be giving away a Simply Calphalon Nonstick 6-Piece Bakeware Set
Alright, let’s talk about the cake on today’s menu! Two layers of rich, buttery pistachio cake; dreamy mascarpone filling; a luxurious robe of chocolate ganache; and an extra handful of chopped pistachios because they’re salty, pretty, and delicious. Yes. All of those things in one cake! It’s money.
The dry cake ingredients are made up of simple pantry items like flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. The two ingredients you may need to pick up ahead of time are the pistachios and cake flour. After shelling almost two cups of pistachios for this cake, I highly suggest seeking out pistachio kernels that have already been shelled for you. Not only will you save about 30 minutes of prep time, but you’ll save your fingers and nails a whole lot of hassle. I need a manicure like whoa!
The wet ingredients are super simple and basic, too. Milk, butter, eggs, and vanilla. I bet you have all of those in your kitchen right now…. don’t you!?
The batter for the cakes comes together very quickly, and just so you’re prepared, it will be quite thick. This is a denser cake (but not dry!), so don’t panic if the batter is a little thicker than what you’re use to. I promise it’s going to bake up like a champ!
Now that we’ve covered the cake details, let’s move onto the filling. This filling is incredibly creamy, light, and flavorful, without being cloyingly sweet. I love that. It calls for mascarpone cheese, which can easily be found at most major grocery stores. Wanna know a little trick in case you can’t find mascarpone cheese in your location? Mix together a VERY soft 8 oz block of cream cream and a 1/4 cup of heavy cream and beat the heck out of it until it’s completely combined and viola – you’ve got a passable stand-in.
The pistachio cream gets spread on top of one cake, then topped with the second cake. Oh and the second cake? That one gets drenched in a gorgeous robe of chocolate ganache. It’s like heaven.
I topped our cake with tons of chopped pistachios and a few fresh raspberries because, well —> pretty! I had no issue polishing off my photo shoot slice in 2 minutes flat, and I’m already dreaming of dessert later tonight. I think this cake would be just gorgeous on your dessert table for Easter… or Mother’s Day… or um, just because you love cake!
So friends, do you want to know how you can enter for a chance to win the Seriously Delish Cookbook and the Simply Calphalon Nonstick 6-Piece Bakeware Set
More Cake Recipes:
- The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake
- Raspberry Surprise Coconut Snowball Cake
- Ultimate Funfetti Cake
- Mile-High Black Forest Cake
- White Chocolate Almond Raspberry Cake
Pistachio Cream Cake with Chocolate Ganache
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1 1/3 cups unsalted pistachios, shelled
- 1 1/3 cups cake flour
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole milk
For the Filling:
- 2/3 cup mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, very soft
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons whole milk
For the Chocolate Ganache:
- 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F). Generously spray two 9" cake pans with non-stick spray. Cut two rounds of parchment paper and place them on the bottom of each pan; spray again with non-stick spray; set aside.
- Add 1 cup of the shelled pistachios to a food processor or high-power blender; pulse until only very small crumbs remain.
- Measure out 1/4 of the pistachio crumbs and set them aside for the filling.
- Place the remaining crumbs in a small bowl.
- In a large bowl combine the flours, baking powder, and salt; mix well.
- In the body of an electric mixer or in a large bowl using a handheld mixer, beat the butter and sugar on high-speed until light and fluffy; about 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium, then add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add in the vanilla and pistachio crumbs; beat until incorporated. Reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually add in half of the dry ingredients. Add in the milk, mixing until combined. Add in remaining dry ingredients and beat just until the batter comes together, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Divide the batter into the prepared pans. Bake the cakes until the tops are lightly golden and set; about 25-28 minutes. Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 20 minutes, then carefully invert the pans and remove the cakes; transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- In the meantime, make your filling!
For the filling:
- In the bowl of a mixer or in a large bowl using a handheld mixer, beat the mascarpone cheese and butter together on high-speed until nice and creamy. Add in the reserved crushed pistachios; beat until combined. Gradually beat in the sugar, then add in the milk. Once all of the ingredients have been combined, turn the mixer speed up to high and beat for 2 minutes, scraping down the sides as needed.
- When the cakes have cooled, place on layer on a large plate or cake stand. Spread the filling over the top of the cake, then place the other cake on top of the filling. Set aside and make your ganache.
For the ganache:
- Add the chocolate to a large, heatproof bowl; set aside.
- Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium-heat just until it begins to bubble around the edges; about 2 minutes. Remove the cream from heat and pour it over the chopped chocolate. Let the chocolate and warm cream stand untouched for 1 minute, then whisk it together until the chocolate melts and a smooth ganache forms; about 2 minutes. Pour the warm ganache over the cake. Chop the remaining pistachios and sprinkle them on top of the wet chocolate ganache.
- *This cake will stay fresh for 1-2 days, if kept at room temperature and wrapped in plastic wrap or covered with a cake dome. You can also store this in the fridge, and it will keep for 3-4 days.
I’m going to have to make the cinnamon sugar sourdough french toast bake with whipped greek yogurt cream. That looks divine!
That is a gorgeous cake!
You had me at Marscapone Filling. This cake is gorgeous. It’s almost too good to eat…almost. I love Jessica’s recipes especially her pizzas and salads. 🙂
Noooo…I live in Australia….not fair. I’ll just pin her site and pick up the recipes there. This cake looks amazing, I’m going to try it, but not with the choc ganache – I have a little problem with chocolate called “Migraine”. I think I’ll do a lemon curd with crumbled meringues and blueberries…..
I’d like to make her Kahlua and Cream Double Chocolate Chunk Cupcakes!
Every since she posted this recipe in January, I’ve been dying to make it: peanut butter cheesecake with whipped marshmallow and bananas. So many wonderful things in one delightful dessert!
I love HSE (actually found your cute blog after she liked your pic on insta!) and use her recipes all the time-often use her taco and pizza recipes but this cake will be on our table for Easter now!
I’m drooling over her Peanut Butter and Jelly Crumb Muffins!! I’ve also been dying to make her toasted marshmallow ice cream!
So many wonderful recipes! I’d love to try the our Cream Coffee Cake with Brown Butter Glaze.
Supposed to be *Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Brown Butter Glaze. 🙂
I want to make the Sweet Corn + Roasted Jalapeño Hummus! Yum!
This cake is killer! I’ve made so many of Jessica’s recipes and they are always spot on! I’m planning on making her new PB+J crumb muffins this weekend!
I always love Jessica’s recipe. I think the next one I’ll be making is her Garlic Kale and Cashew Fried Rice!
I love Jess-sooo hard to pick just one of her millions of amazing recipes (like omgeee the ganache-y goodness of this cake!)
Buttt today she posted french onion dip. and it is fresh on my mind of WANT
I think that I’d make the butter-toasted oat breakfast bowls!
I’d like to make the Garlic Kale and Cashew Fried Rice. Sounds very good!
Should I have left my e-mail in the comment? Here it is.
Digicats {at} Sbcglobal {dot} Net
I’d love to make the chocolate pound cake with bacon bourbon frosting
I have seriously been thinking about her pb&j muffins ever since she posted the recipe this week. They look so good!
What a gorgeous post! The first post of Jessica’s that I’d make is her upside down caramelized banana bread skillet cake.
I’ve been a follower of Jessica’s for quite awhile…she’s awesome and her recipes always sound perfect. I’ve saved SO many to try…but I’ll say this is the one I want to try next:
http://www.howsweeteats.com/2015/02/creamy-chicken-and-buttermilk-dumplings/
Roasted strawberry brown butter pancakes. Seriously. I might have to make these for brunch tomorrow!
I’d start with the nutella oatmeal cookie shake – looks delish!
I would love to try her recipe for chocolate-cream-pie-with-vanilla-whipped-cream/
Her Thai Steak Salad looks right up my alley. I have to try it soon! Thanks for the giveaway!
I’d like to try the toasted sesame ginger salmon. I’m always looking for new and creative ways to make fish for dinner, and this recipe looks tasty and not too complicated.
Holy Moly! Drooling over here! Can’t wait to try some of Jessica’s recipes! Everything looks so good and I love all the pics… I will have to make this cake for Easter!
The first recipe of hers that I’d like to make is, “creamy caramelized leek soup with maple glazed bacon.” I love leeks and am always looking for a new way to prepare them.
I’m going to make this cake tomorrow for my birthday.
Her carrot cake cinnamon roll with mascara one icing would be first on my list to try
I love this recipe but I went ¼ cup less sugar with the cake and it was perfect. Also the cream I had a bit of an issue; it requires granulated sugar which gives the cream a grainy texture should it have been powered sugar instead?
Ah rats, Alitia! I wish I had seen your comment before I baked this cake yesterday! I, too, had a granular filling and wondered if it should have been powdered sugar. You’re right, though, the cake itself was perfect!
I made this cake for my birthday and while the cake portion itself is absolutely divine (would be great as a naked cake with cream cheese frosting), I didn’t enjoy the mascarpone filling as much as I had anticipated. The sugar didn’t dissolve and so the filling is very granular. I can’t imagine it’s supposed to be that way, but I am an experienced baker and can’t figure what didn’t go right there. Anyone have any idea why the sugar didn’t dissolve?
Agreed on the granulated sugar, I might use fine sugar next time. I didn’t mind the texture but it seemed like it could be less crunchy.
This cake was magical. It was really easy, didn’t require anything difficult to find, although I do keep a big bag of good quality shelled pistachios in my freezer because I love all things pistachio. I’m not usually a cake baker but I was determined to make an interesting from-scratch cake for my husband’s bday, and this looked too good to pass up. All three parts whipped up so easily, there wasn’t any egg separation or fussy egg whites to whip into soft peaks like other cake recipes I was finding. You pretty much just pour the ingredients for the cake one by one into the stand mixer, and then while the cake is baking whip up the filling. The ganache was the simplest way to make ganache I’ve ever seen, just heat the milk and pour it over the chocolate, wait, and stir! I’ll be doing it that way in the future! The whole family loved it, even the picky eaters who swore the cake was not going to be “their thing”… Everyone licked their plate!
One thing I’ll add the next time I make it is to add a layer of ganache into the center before the cream layer. A little extra chocolate wouldn’t hurt!
I’m so happy you enjoyed this, FK! And I appreciate the detailed comments – so helpful 🙂