Spiced Carrot Pistachio Almond Cake Recipes

SAVORY SPICED CARROT CAKE

Steps:

• Position a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 425 degrees.
• In a mixing bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, salt, white sesame seeds, turmeric, cayenne, baking powder and baking soda.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, feta, carrots and scallions. Lightly butter a 9-inch cake pan.
• Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and beat well to make a thick batter.
• Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat. When butter is hot, add cumin seeds and mustard seeds and cook until fragrant (seeds will begin to pop a bit). Adjust heat so butter does not burn; it's O.K. if butter browns a little.
• Whisk hot butter mixture into batter and beat well to combine. Scrape batter into prepared cake pan and smooth top with a spatula.
• Bake on the middle rack for 25 to 30 minutes or until a skewer or paring knife inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a rack, then invert onto a plate. (Cake may be baked several hours or up to a day in advance.)
• To finish cake, beat crème fraîche with a fork to loosen, then spread with a metal spatula or knife to coat top and sides. Decorate with cilantro sprigs and reserved scallions. Sprinkle with black sesame seeds, if desired, and crushed red pepper. Cut into wedges and serve.

ALMOND CAKE WITH CARDAMOM AND PISTACHIO

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Oil a 9-inch round or square pan and set aside. Using a stand mixer, whisk egg whites until stiff but not dry, and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, combine egg yolks and sugar, and whisk to blend. Whisk in almond extract and oil. Add almond flour and cardamom. Gently stir a third of the whites into the batter, then gently fold in the rest until just incorporated.
• Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and finish cooling on a rack. To decorate, dust with confectioners' sugar and chopped pistachios.

SPICED CARROTS WITH PISTACHIOS

Steps:

• Place carrots in a large saucepan; add 1 in. of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and set aside. , In the same pan, combine the butter, brown sugar, pie spice, salt and pepper; cook and stir until butter is melted. Add carrots, raisins and pistachios; cook and stir over medium heat for 5 minutes or until glazed.

CARDAMOM-PISTACHIO CARROT CAKE

Steps:

• Cake:
• Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 350°F. Lightly coat bottom and sides of a 9"-diameter cake pan with oil. Line bottom of pan with a round of parchment paper and smooth to eliminate any air bubbles.
• Grate carrots on the large holes of a box grater. Measure out 2½ cups (lightly packed; 250 g); reserve remaining carrots for another use (like raita!).
• Set a fine-mesh sieve over a measuring glass and place next to stove. Heat butter in a medium saucepan over medium until foaming, about 2 minutes. Add pistachios and cook, stirring often, until butter browns and nuts smell toasty, about 5 minutes. (Butter will get very foamy and it will be hard to see what's going on, so once the foam is golden brown, remove pan from heat every 10 seconds to check how the nuts are browning.) Pour mixture through prepared sieve, scraping in all of the browned bits; set nuts and butter aside.
• Crack eggs into a large bowl; add brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom, cinnamon, and salt. Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat 3 minutes (mixture should be thick, pale, and increased in volume). Decrease speed to medium-high and gradually stream in reserved brown butter (including browned bits); beat until combined. Coarsely chop reserved pistachios. Using a rubber spatula, fold in flour until almost completely combined, then add nuts and carrots and continue to fold until everything is incorporated. Scrape batter into prepared pan; smooth surface. Place pan on a clean smooth surface and give it a fast 360-degree spin (this pushes the batter up the sides of the pan and minimizes doming during baking).
• Bake cake until deeply browned and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 50-55 minutes. Let cake cool in pan. Run a small offset spatula or butter knife around perimeter of cake to loosen. Place a plate upside down over cake and invert cake onto plate (leave flat side up). Remove parchment paper.
• Do Ahead: Cake can be baked 1 day ahead. Store tightly wrapped at room temperature.
• Glaze and assembly:
• Place a small plate in the freezer. Cook carrot juice, cream, granulated sugar, and salt in a small saucepan over high heat (do not stir) until thick like lava, 8-10 minutes. Mixture will initially bubble and foam vigorously and look like it's going to boil over, but it won't! Don't be tempted to reduce the heat; the bubbling will subside and mixture will thicken. You want it to be thick enough to stick to the cake, but do not let it brown. Test glaze by putting a small dollop onto the cold plate: When you run your finger through the glaze, it should leave a defined trail.
• Once the glaze is thick enough, remove pan from heat and stir in butter. Let cool until you can comfortably hold your finger in it (if it's too hot, it will run right off the cake), about 15 minutes.
• Stir glaze well and pour over center of cake, nudging to the edges with offset spatula or butter knife. Pop any air bubbles with a toothpick. Let glaze cool at least 10 minutes before slicing cake.