There’s Also Brown Butter. Need I Say More?
I’ve been wanting to make a pistachio cake for awhile. None of the recipes I could find were exactly what I had in mind, so once again, I came up with my own and it’s a beauty. First and foremost, I wanted it to be full of pistachios. 1 1/2 cups did the trick. I also wanted it to contain olive oil because I love both the flavor and the texture. But I also thought some brown butter would enhance the pistachio flavor, so I used both. Why not? Right?
I chose to add some orange zest, orange blossom water, and orange oil to the cake. I’m always careful with orange blossom water. Too much and it can taste awful. Too little and it’s not at all discernible. I wanted just enough to be able to faintly taste the floral notes. I started with half a teaspoon and decided it needed another half teaspoon. The full teaspoon ended up being perfect. A teaspoon of vanilla rounded it out nicely.
As to the spices, I wanted plenty of cardamom, but felt it needed the balance of a little cinnamon. I was hoping all this would work well together in the end.
Before I ever begin baking a bundt cake I prep my pan. I spray it liberally with Baker’s Joy and dust it with almond flour. I never have any problem with it sticking. It releases from the pan easily. And the almond flour leaves a tasty fine coat of baked crumbs. The only time I change it up is if I’m making a chocolate cake and then I dust the pan with cocoa.
After the cake baked, I let it cool for 15 minutes before removing it from the pan and glazing it.
At a friend’s suggestion, I first made the sugar crackle glaze from David Lebovitz’s blog a couple years ago and it immediately became my favorite. I greatly prefer it to thick glazes. It contains granulated sugar, which never fully dissolves and it dries to a crunchy crackly finish. There’s plenty of citrus juice in it, so it’s sweet/tart and is the perfect counterpoint to my rich and nut filled cake.
The end result is a beautifully moist, warmly spiced, but vibrantly flavored cake. It’s exactly what I was hoping for when I set out to make it. Yep, I’m happy. Very happy.
Pistachio Olive Oil Cake with Crackle Glaze
12-15
servingsA beautifully moist bundt cake filled with pistachios, olive oil, brown butter, warm spices, orange zest, and orange blossom water. The bright lemon and orange glaze crackles and crunches when you bite into it. Simply splendid!
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Ingredients
Baker’s Joy baking spray
Almond flour, approximately 1/4 cup
1 1/2 cups (180g) toasted lightly salted pistachios, plus 2 tablespoons (18g)for garnish
1 1/2 cups (214g)all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon table salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 3/4 cups (350g) granulated sugar
1/2 cup , plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 ounces , 1 stick salted butter
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon orange blossom water
1/2 teaspoon orange oil
3/4 cup whole milk, room temperature
- Crackle Glaze
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
1/3 cup (65g) granulated sugar
1 cup (140g) powdered sugar
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350° with a rack in the center. Spray a 10 cup bundt pan with Baker’s Joy. Don’t be shy about this. Spray the heck out of the pan. Dust it with almond flour and set aside.
- In either a small skillet or saucepan, cook the stick of butter until the solids are golden brown. You can also do this in a bowl in the microwave. Set aside to cool.
- Grind 1 1/2 cups, plus an additional 2 tablespoons pistachios in a food processor until they are finely ground, but stop before they turn into paste. Remove 2 tablespoons that you will use for garnishing.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cardamom, and cinnamon.
- In a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs, sugar, olive oil, cooled brown butter, and orange zest for 3 minutes on medium speed, adding the vanilla, orange blossom water, and orange oil during the last 30 seconds.
- Turn the speed down to low and add 1/3 of the flour, followed by half of the milk. Repeat, ending with the flour. Beat on lowest speed for 30 seconds. Stir in the ground pistachios. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean and the cake has pulled away from the sides of the pan. Let cool on a rack for 15 minutes while you make the crackle glaze. Whisk together the lemon juice, orange juice, granulated sugar, and powdered sugar.
- Invert the cake onto a cooling rack and brush with the glaze. Sprinkle with the reserved ground pistachios. Let cool completely before slicing and serving. Enjoy!
Equipment
- 10 cup Bundt Pan
24 Responses
This recipe sounds amazing! After reading the comments, I’m going to substitute the orange oil for a quality almond extract. Only because covid ruined my taste for all citrus, so anything citrus I’m trying to admit. Do you have any suggestions for what I can use as an alternative for the orange and lemon citrus juices in the glaze that would pair well with the almond extract that will be used inside the cake itself?
Hi, Allison. So happy to hear you’ll be making my cake! As to a substitution for the citrus juices in the glaze, how about using apple juice? I think it would pair well with the almond extract. I happen to keep a can of apple juice concentrate in my freezer and pull it out when I only need a small amount of apple juice, as you’ll need here. It comes in handy. Please let me know how you like it. Thanks!
I can’t wait to make this for company tomorrow. For the orange blossom water and orange oil, can I substitute more vanilla in the same amount? I saw the recommendation for almond extract, but I don’t have that either. Willing to buy orange or almond extract but curious what you think of more vanilla. Thanks so much.
Hi, Karen. The orange blossom water and orange oil both serve to oomph up the orange flavor element of the cake, although they serve different purposes. The orange blossom water is very floral, whereas the orange oil is profoundly orange in flavor. As you’ve seen I’ve used quite a bit of orange zest, too. So, while you can certainly eliminate the orange flavorings and increase the vanilla, you’ll have a different flavor in the end. Will it still be good? Yes, it will. One word of advice, don’t buy orange extract. It tastes fake and pretty awful. Use only vanilla if that’s your only option, rather than orange extract. As to the almond extract, it actually enhances the flavor of the pistachios, so yes, I’d go ahead and use that if you had it, but seeing as you don’t, then just stick with a couple teaspoons of vanilla. So, go ahead and make the cake and let me know how you enjoy it!!
I’ve made this cake about 6 times now and it always comes out beautifully! The warm spices and brightness from the citrus crunch glaze is PERFECTION. I have used it on other cakes as well as it’s really versatile. I agree with one of your other commenters about how good the cake is days later. It also freezes beautifully. I’ve made this in mini bundt sizes too (halved the recipe and it was just perfect for 6 mini bundt cakes). I could eat it everyday! Delicious. Thanks for the recipe!
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I am so happy to hear this, Kelly! It makes my day to know that one of my recipes is being enjoyed. And thank you so much for letting me know about the different ways you’ve baked it.
This cake is outstanding, and tasted even better a week later than it did when I made it. The only changes I made were to omit the orange blossom water and orange oil and substitute a little almond extract. Full of warm flavors, fluffy in texture but crunchy on the outside, and deeply satisfying with the roasted pistachios, this cake is a winner and will be repeated next year at our New Year’s dinner along with French onion soup, citrus salad, and champagne.
Thank you so much for letting me know you enjoyed it, Lauren!! I’m sure it was great with the almond extract. 😊
Is there a way to make this dairy free?
Hi, Pearl. Seeing as how this cake uses browned butter I did a little research and found a vegan butter that they say actually browns well. It’s called Miyokos brand European Style Cultured Butter. So, it seems this should solve that particular issue. You could then substitute oat milk for the regular milk and be good to go. Please let me know how you like it!
I don’t have a stand mixer. Would a hand mixer work?
Sophia, thanks for your question. A hand mixer will work perfectly fine for this cake. It’s not a thick batter. It’s very loose. It won’t be difficult to mix with a hand mixer at all. I hope you make it. Please let me know what you think!
Sounds like something I’d love to try when I return. Funny because we’ve been given little olive oil cookies on our short flights through the Greek Islands that are just perfect. Do you have anything up your sleeve for that? Not anxious to get home to hurricanes other than to try this recipe, lol
Claire, your vacation has looked heavenly!! I need to know more about those little olive oil cookies. They sound wonderful. And yes, hurricane season dealt a severe blow to most of Florida yesterday. It’s devastating and heartbreaking. Here on our coast we’re all just fine. But many many others aren’t. We still have 2 months to go. Ugh. Hope you’re enjoying every minute of your lovely vacation.
Thanks for inventing this amazing sounding cake. Unfortunately my September trip had to be moved until the spring. So I will have to add this to my list of Renee’s dishes that I must make for my family. Also, what a beauty that bundt pan is!
Thank you, Janet. Sorry to hear you had to postpone your trip, but the recipes will be there waiting for you. You’re so very welcome.
This sounds outrageously delicious!
Thanks so much, Marty! It’s such a delicious cake. I hope you try it!
OMG! Bundt cakes are my weakness. I will DEFINITELY be trying this one. I’ve got a bag of shelled pistachios in my pantry. Thanks, Renee!
I’m with you, Liz. There’s nothing like a really good bundt cake, is there? I can’t wait to here how you like it!!
Oooh yum! I need to make this. Thanks so much!
I hope you do make it, Indira. You’re very welcome!
I’m drooling reading the recipe. Yes, I am making this soon!
Yay!!!