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