Pistachio Cake with Sweet Pistachio-Butter Glaze

Oh my.  We love pistachio anything and this cake was delicious. I must admit I needed a cake recipe  with some ingredients I needed to use up here in Florida - yogurt, eggs and some frozen pistachios. I googled those terms (recipe, cake, yogurt, pistachios, and pistachio creme) and voila! A perfect recipe on The Mediterranean Dish. I made some adjustments you will read about below. 

Here are the original ingredients for the cake and my substitutions in italics in the parentheses:

1/2 cup (60 grams) raw shelled pistachios, plus extra for garnish (1/2 cup for garnish and 1/2 cup for bottom of the cake)
Extra virgin olive oil for greasing the pan
1 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups (150 grams) all-purpose flour (1 cup flour AND 1 cup pistachio flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup (170 grams) plain Greek yogurt
2 large eggs (plus 1/2 egg)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (1/2 tsp. vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp. almond extract)

The glaze: 

• 1/4 cup (68 grams) pistachio butter 
• 3/4 cup (85 grams) powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons of water

Note: I pick up pistachio butter from the shelves of TJ Maxx stores or speciality stores. It's delicious. I had 1/4 of a jar to use up. I had bought pistachio flour online for some other cake so had it on hand. 

Now, for making the cake:

First, prepare a pan. I used a 9 inch deep-rimmed scalloped quiche or tart pan with a removable bottom. I greased the sides and placed a large circle of parchment in the pan to come up the sides, patting it into the pan. This was necessary only because I realized the batter was like cake batter (not thick) and I didn't want it to ooze out the bottom of the pan. 

Next, toast the 1 cup of pistachios. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread the pistachios in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Let cool slightly. Take 1/2 cup of the toasted pistachios and place them on the parchment in the pan. Chop the other 1/2 cup to use to top the cake.

(The recipe calls for grinding 1/2 cup of toasted pistachios with 1 T sugar and using this as the pistachio flour. I instead used 1 cup pistachio flour and 1 cup of all-purpose flour.)

Now mix the dry ingredients by whisking together both flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Mix the wet ingredients in a separate bowl by whisking together the Greek yogurt, the remaining sugar, eggs, olive oil, and vanilla extract until thoroughly combined.

Make the combined batter. Add the flour mixture to the yogurt mixture and use the whisk to stir gently just until no streaks of dry flour remain.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan in the 350 degree oven. Bake for 30 to 32 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Cool the cake. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Then, move it onto a wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.

Make the Pistachio Butter Glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together the pistachio butter, powdered sugar, and water until smooth. The glaze should be thick but pourable. Add extra water, a teaspoon at a time, to thin to your preferred consistency.

Glaze the cake. When the cake has cooled completely, transfer it to a cake stand or serving plate. Pour the glaze on top of the cake and use an offset spatula or the back of a spoon to coax the glaze to the edges. As it sets, the glaze will slowly drip down the sides of the cake, and the top of the glaze will level and become smooth. Sprinkle the top with chopped pistachios. For clean slices, let the glaze set for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving

Swedish Sticky Cake

I found this recipe how I usually do these days - on Facebook. They come every day like Love Bugs in May, (You may have to live in the southeastern US to get this reference.)

Anyway, I needed to try it right away so that it didn't become one of those recipe images that crowd the photos on my phone. This one is from the cooking blog, 12tomatoes.com.

It was sweet. And it stuck to Gerry's teeth so it was sticky! He's not a chocolate freak and he did love it. I covered it around the edge with cut strawberries. I thought about covering the cake with pistachio cream before the ganache and topping it with crushed pistachios. But that would have been Dubai Sticky Cake.

I used a scalloped quiche pan with a removable bottom. I thought it would be a bit too big at 10 inches but it was perfect. You can see the scallops in the photo - I frosted the cake out of the pan and bought it to the edge, but not over the edge.

Make the cake:

• 2/3 cup melted butter
• 1-1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (I used vanilla paste)
• 3/4 flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 salt

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and grease a 8" springform pan or tart pan with removable bottom.
2. In a large bowl, add sugar and melted butter and mix until smooth. Mix in the eggs and vanilla until well combined. Add the flour, salt and cocoa and mix until just combined.
3. Spoon this batter into the prepared pan and spread a thin layer, using all the batter. 
4. Bake 17-20 minutes until it is set in the center. It should all be consistently cakelike and not shiny and wet.
5. Allow the cake to cool. (I put it in the fridge.)

Make the icing:

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1-1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract or paste

There was a lot of icing! That's why the larger cake was better. With a smaller cake, you might save half.

1. Add the cream to a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute. Add the chocolate chips and vanilla and allow the chocolate to melt into the cream for five minutes. Then blend until smooth with a mixer or immersion blender.
2. You can remove the cake from the pan or keep it in. Pour the topping over the cake and allow it to sit at room temperature for an hour before refrigerating until you serve. 

Remove from pan if you haven't already. Slice and serve. 

Flat Pasta Types and Differences

 

Flat pasta, often referred to as ribbon pasta, ranges from narrow, slightly flattened strands to very broad sheets, ordered generally from narrowest to widest as: 
Linguine (~1/8"), Fettuccine (~1/4"), Tagliatelle (~1/4"–3/8"), Mafaldine (~1/2", wavy), Pappardelle (5/8"–1"), and Lasagna (up to 2").
Flat pasta widths range from narrow, 1/8-inch ribbons like linguine to 3-inch wide lasagna sheets. Common medium-wide options include tagliatelle (approx. 6mm or 1/4 inch) and fettuccine (about 1/4 inch), while wide pappardelle ranges from 2 to 3 cm (3/4 to 1 inch). These, along with mafaldine and trenette, offer varied surfaces for sauces. 

Common Flat Pasta Widths:

• Linguine: ~1/8 inch (3mm), oval-shaped/flat.

• Tagliolini: ~1/8 inch (3mm).

• Tagliatelle: ~6mm (about 1/4 inch), often egg-based.

• Fettuccine: ~1/4 inch (6-7mm), "little ribbons".

• Mafaldine/Reginette: ~1/2 inch (variable), flat with ruffled edges.

• Pappardelle: 2-3 cm (3/4 to 1 inch), very wide.

• Lasagna Sheets: Generally 2-3 inches wide (5-7.5 cm.)

Key Differences:

• Linguine vs. Fettuccine: Linguine is thinner and narrower, resembling flattened spaghetti, while fettuccine is wider and more ribbon-like.

• Tagliatelle vs. Pappardelle: Both are ribbon pasta, but pappardelle is significantly wider than tagliatelle.

• Fresh vs. Dry: Fresh egg pasta (like tagliatelle) is often cut wider than its dried counterparts.

4th Annual Verandah Gourmet Lunar New Year Dinner

 

What a lot of fun this  annual Lunar New Year dinner was! Attendees included co-hostess Mary Ellen T.,  and dinner contributors Sue S., Julie O., Sandy F.,  Kathy A., Sue B., Linda R., and Linda and Donna P. 

The dinner started with conversation, introductions, and Gerry's Midori Martinis and Mary Ellen's Asian Lettuce Wraps and Linda's Sweet and Sour Dip with Rice Crackers.

We moved to the dining room table and first had Julie's Coconut Curry Soup (with chicken) accompanied by white wine, water and teas in glasses and cups. The main courses and sides were Linda P.'s BowTie Pasta with Asian Vinaigrette, Kathy's Hot Cabbage and Chicken (Shanghai Noodles, Sandy's Shrimp Fried Rice (quadrupled for ten) and my Asian Cucumbers. After MUCH eating and conversation and talk, we ended the dinner with Sue S.'s HOMEMADE, delicious fortune cookies, Donna's plum wine, and my trio of ice creams - the same as last year: Green Tea with a candied almond, Ginger-Ginger, and Star Anise. 

Recipes are linked!

Bow-Tie Pasta Salad with Asian Vinaigrette

 From Karen Lee’s The Occasional Vegetarian (1995)

This recipe makes three main servings. Double or triple as you wish for a crowd.

• 1 carrot, scrubbed but not peeled, cut on a slant
• 1-1/2 cups snow peas or sugar snap peas, strung and left whole
• ½ pound bow-tie pasta or other dried or short pasta
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ T sesame oil
• 2 T roasted pine nuts
• 1 T roasted sesame seeds
• 1-1/2 T peanut oil
• 1 clove garlic, chopped (or more to taste
• 1 T pickled or fresh ginger, or more to taste, cut into thin strips (scrubbed but not peeled)
• 1/2cup red or yellow pepper in strips
• 2 whole scallions cut into ¼ inch rounds

Dressing: 2 T sherry vinegar, 2 T soy sauce, ½ T peanut oil, ½ T sesame oil, ¼ tsp. black pepper

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

1. Blanch or steam the carrots for 3 minutes, then add snow peas and cook 2 minutes longer. Remove the vegetables from the steamer and place in a bowl of ice-cold water for 1-2 minutes until cool.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and add the bow ties and salt and cook until al dente. Drain the pasta and plunge it into ice water. Drain again and then toss with ½ T sesame oil.
3. While pasta is cooking, roast the pine nuts in the oven for 10 minutes, or until light brown. Place wok or iron skillet over high heat for one minute. Turn the heat to low and add sesame seeds. Dry-roast for a few minutes or until they turn brown. Set sesame seeds and pine nuts aside.
4. Heat ½ T peanut oil in the work or skillet for one minute. Add garlic and let it sizzle a few seconds. Add ginger and stir with chopsticks or a wooden spoon for another minute. Set aside.
5. Combine the pasta, ginger, garlic, peppers, scallions, carrots and snow peas in a large bowl. Mix the dressing, add to the bowl and toss well.  

Garnish with the reserved sesame seeds and pine nuts. Serve.

Hot Cabbage and Chicken and Noodles (Shanghai Noodles)

• 3 T oil
• 4 oz chicken breast meat
• 1 lb thick Shanghai noodles
• 4 oz Chinese cabbage
• 4 green onion, thinly sliced
• 2 T soy sauce
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Dash of sesame oil

1. Heat the oil in a wok or skillet and add the chicken cut into thin shreds. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes
2. Meanwhile, cook the noodles in boiling salted water until just tender – about 6-8 minutes. Drain them in a colander and rinse under hot water. Toss in the colander to drain and leave to dry.
3. Add the shredded Chinese cabbage and green onion to the chicken in the wok or skillet along with the soy sauce, pepper and sesame oil.  Cook about 1 minute and toss in the cooked noodles. Stir well and heat through and serve!

Asian Cucumbers

I found this recipe on JoyfulHealthyEats and modified it (see below note).

4 cups Persian or English cucumbers (with minimal seeds compared to our regular cucs) The recipe calls for thinly slicing the cucumbers thin and draining them on paper towels. I did not drain them.

Make the dressing with 1/4 c rice wine vinegar, 1 tsp honey, 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil, 1/4 red pepper flakes and 1/4 tsp sea salt.  Add to the dressing 1/4 cup of finely sliced red onion and 1/4 cup finely diced red bell pepper. Add 1 tsp. of sesame seeds. 

Cover the cucumbers with the dressing, mixing well. I use a plastic bag and toss them well, turning the contents over to make sure everything is covered in dressing. 

To this recipe, I added another 1/8 cup of rice vinegar and 1/8 cup of Lemon Cucumber White Balsamic (from the Fort Myers Olive Oil store near the downtown Costco.) I also added 1/4 chopped fresh cilantro.