Sour Cream Cake With Cardamom And Pistachios Recipes

CARDAMOM CREAM CAKE

Steps:

• Drain the ricotta in a fine mesh sieve placed in a large bowl for 1 to 2 hours until very thick. If you've bought very thick, very freshly made ricotta from a specialty shop (not the kind from the supermarket), you can skip this step.
• Meanwhile, make the milk syrup: In a small saucepan, combine the milk and cardamom pods. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer the milk until it reduces by half, 30 to 45 minutes. Stir in the sugar until it dissolves, then continue to simmer until the mixture thickens to the texture of half and half, about 10 minutes longer. Let cool, strain the mixture to get rid of the cardamom and any coagulated milk, then stir in the rose water. (Syrup can be prepared up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated.)
• Make the cake: Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9-inch cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper, then grease the parchment. Flour the entire pan and parchment, tapping out any excess.
• In a medium bowl, lightly whisk together the egg whites, milk, vanilla and rose water.
• Using an electric mixer, combine the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, cardamom and salt, and mix on low speed for 30 seconds to blend. Add the butter and about a third of the milk-egg white mixture. Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Increase to medium speed and beat for a minute or so until everything is very smooth. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
• Add the remaining milk mixture in 3 batches, beating well between additions. Scrape down the sides.
• Transfer the batter to the prepared pans and smooth the surface with a spatula. Bake until a tester inserted near the center comes out clean and the cake springs back when pressed lightly in the center, 25 to 35 minutes. The cakes should start to shrink from the sides of the pans only after removal from the oven. Let the cakes cool in the pans on racks for 20 minutes, then unmold and cool completely.
• Make the ricotta filling: Using an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the ricotta, cream and confectioners' sugar until quite smooth, about 30 seconds. Beat in rose water to taste. Beat on medium-high speed for about 30 seconds to 1 minute. The mixture will thicken.
• Make the mascarpone frosting: Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, confectioners' sugar, rose water and cardamom until fluffy, about 2 minutes. On low speed, beat in mascarpone and yogurt until the mixture is just combined and looks smooth. Do not overbeat or the mixture may curdle.
• When the cakes have cooled, use a long serrated knife to trim the tops of the cakes, so the tops are flat and even. Then cut each cake in half into 2 layers, to make a 4-layer cake. Brush cake layers on all sides with milk syrup. Place one cake round on a cake stand or serving platter, then top with one third of the ricotta filling, leaving a small border around the edge of the cake. Repeat with the remaining cake layers and ricotta filling.
• Frost top and sides of the cake with the mascarpone frosting. Top with chopped pistachios and candied rose petals, if using; chill until ready to serve.

CRUMB CAKE WITH COCONUT-PISTACHIO TOPPING

Steps:

• Make the topping: In a small skillet, melt together butter and coconut oil. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, salt, cardamom, ginger, and cloves. Pour in melted butter mixture, and stir with a fork until well mixed and crumbly. (Do not overmix, or it will turn to paste.) Use your fingers to mix in coconut and pistachios.
• Spread on a rimmed baking sheet and let dry overnight or in the oven (see Note).
• Make the cake: Heat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with nonstick spray.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix together sugar and butter on medium speed until the color lightens. Mix in eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated and homogenous. Mix in sour cream and vanilla until light and creamy.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to creamed butter mixture and mix until smooth.
• Scrape into prepared cake pan and smooth the top. Evenly distribute topping over cake batter, making sure to put topping along the edge. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 55 to 65 minutes. Cool to room temperature before serving.

SOUR CREAM CAKE WITH CARDAMOM AND PISTACHIOS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 8-inch-diameter cake pan with 2-inch-high sides. Dust with flour; tap out excess. Sift 2 cups flour, ground cardamom, baking soda, salt and ground cinnamon into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat 1 cup sugar and 6 tablespoons butter in large bowl until well blended. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Mix in vanilla extract. Fold in dry ingredients alternately with sour cream in 3 additions each. Transfer batter to prepared cake pan. Sprinkle with chopped pistachios, then remaining 2 teaspoons sugar.
• Bake cake until top begins to crack and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool cake in pan on rack 30 minutes. Turn cake out onto rack and cool completely. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature.) Cut cake into wedges and serve.

PISTACHIO CREAM CAKE

Steps:

• Cake:.
• Butter and flour two 9-inch round cake pans. Line bottoms with waxed paper cut to fit; butter paper and dust with flour.
• In a small bowl, mix 1 1/2 cups cake flour, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder, 1/2 cup chopped pistachios (wrap remaining airtight), poppy seeds, lemon peel, orange peel, and cardamom.
• In a glass measure or small microwave-safe bowl, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a microwave oven on full power (100%), 1/2 to 1 minute. Add milk and vanilla.
• In a deep bowl, with a mixer on high speed, beat eggs with remaining 1 cup sugar until thick enough to hold mounds briefly when you lift the beater, 4 to 5 minutes. Add flour mixture and milk mixture. Stir or mix gently until well blended. Scrape batter equally into prepared pans.
• Bake cake layers on center rack in a 325° regular or convection oven until edges are browned and begin to pull from pan sides and centers spring back when lightly pressed, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Cool layers in pans on a rack for about 10 minutes. Invert cakes from pans onto rack and carefully pull off and discard waxed paper.
• When layers are cool to touch, place one, bottom side up, on a flat plate (10 to 12 inches wide). Mound about 2 cups of the Cream Frosting on cake; with a long, flexible metal spatula, spread frosting level out to cake rim. Place remaining cake layer, bottom side down, on frosting. Scrape remaining frosting on top of cake and, with the spatula, push enough over the sides to frost thickly, then swirl evenly over top of cake. Cover (a large bowl inverted over the cake works best) and chill at least 2 hours or up to 1 day.
• Uncover cake and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup pistachios. On each dessert plate, spoon 3 to 4 tablespoons Sesame Custard Sauce. Cut cake into wedges and set in sauce on plates.
• Cream Frosting:.
• In a chilled large bowl, with a mixer on high speed, beat 1 1/2 cups whipping cream until it holds soft, distinct peaks. Add 1/2 cup sour cream, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon each almond extract and vanilla. Beat on high speed until mixture is thick enough to hold soft, distinct peaks.
• Sesame Custard Sauce:.
• In a large metal bowl, combine egg yolks and sesame oil; whisk just enough to blend.
• In a 10- to 12-inch frying pan over medium heat, stir and shake sesame seeds until pale golden brown, about 3 minutes. Pour into a blender with the sugar and whirl until seeds are coarsely ground. Return mixture to frying pan; add whipping cream and milk. Stir over medium-high heat until scalding (bubbles form at pan rim but mixture does not boil), about 5 minutes.
• Whisk cream mixture into egg yolk mixture, then scrape back into frying pan. Stir over medium-low heat with a flexible (silicone or heat-resistant plastic) spatula, scraping pan bottom and sides, until custard is thick enough to coat a metal spoon with a velvety layer, about 15 minutes. Immediately pour mixture back into metal bowl and nest in ice or ice water; stir often until cool, about 15 minutes. Pour custard through a fine strainer into another bowl, pressing moisture from seeds; discard seeds. Serve custard or cover and chill.

FINNISH CARDAMOM SOUR CREAM CAKE

Steps:

• Combine eggs, sour cream, sugar and almond extract.
• add mixed dry ingredients gradually.
• pour into a buttered bundt pan that has been dusted with granulated sugar or cookie crumbs.
• bake at 350F for about 1 hour.
• cool 5 - 10 minutes before turning out of pan.
• sprinkle with icing sugar before serving.

BLUEBERRY & PISTACHIO CAKE WITH CARDAMOM CREAM

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Lightly grease and line the base of 2 x 20cm sandwich tins with baking parchment. Grease the tins again, dust with a little caster sugar and a little flour, then tap out any excess.
• Put the eggs and sugar in a heatproof bowl and, using an electric whisk, mix briefly to combine. Place the bowl over a pan of steaming water and continue to whisk until the mixture is pale and thick - when the whisk is lifted, the mixture should leave a trail on the surface lasting about 5 secs. Remove the bowl from the pan and continue beating for 2 mins.
• Continue to whisk the mixture while trickling the melted butter around the edge of the bowl. Sift in the flour and ground pistachios, very gently give the mixture 2-3 folds, then add the blueberries and fold again, being careful not to knock out all the air. Divide the mixture between the tins and bake for 25-30 mins, until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
• To make the filling, beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add the cardamom, then drizzle in the cream. Continue to beat until light and airy.
• Cool cakes in their tins for 10 mins, then turn out onto a wire rack. Remove lining paper when completely cooled. Sandwich the cakes together with the cardamom cream, top with some more, then decorate with pistachios and blueberries.