To me, the perfect cake is all about texture, flavor and dimension. I like my desserts to have both subtle and bold flavors that go beyond just sweet and sugary. As far as texture, it’s the balance of a fluffy with a bite.
Most importantly, this cake- like all my favorite desserts- strikes the perfect balance between familiar yet new. It draws on traditional methods and flavors you’d see a cake, like creaming butter and sugar, but has a few surprises in there that will make you go “wait…what is that flavor?”
Pistachio Rhubarb Cake
- 2/3 cup pistachios
- 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature (reserve 1/2 tablespoon to butter the pan)
- 1/4 cup white sugar, 50g
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, 50g
- 2/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour or AP flour, 82g
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1/3 cup 2% or higher fat content greek yogurt or skyr, 75g
- 3 stalks rhubarb for top
- 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar or white sugar, ,for sprinkling on top
- Preheat oven to 375. Place pistachios on a baking sheet. Bake until fragrant and toasted, about 7 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool.
- Place cooled pistachios in food processor and grind into a coarse flour. Add whole wheat pastry flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cardamom and pulse to combine.
- In standing mixer or large bowl, cream butter with white sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add in eggs, one at a time. Use spatula to get any excess butter on the sides of the bowl to help make sure the eggs are well incorporated into the mixture.
- Add in vanilla extract, lemon zest, and yogurt. Mix to combine.
- Add in flour. mixture in two increments, mixing after each one to combine.
- Pour batter into 8” cake pan- it will be quite thick.
- Place rhubarb gently on top and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
- Bake 25-30 minutes at 375, until a toothpick comes out clean.
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