Recipes

Olive oil pistachio and lemon snack cake

Posted on March 25 2023 at 08:46

Not being much of a baker I totally buy into the 'one tin bake' idea especially when the recipe comes from the wonderful Edd Kimber. This is from his recent book One Tin Bakes Easy and I absolutely love the combination of flavours.

OLIVE OIL PISTACHIO AND LEMON SNACK CAKE
Serves 12-15

This simple pistachio cake is made in a food processor, so it takes just minutes to prepare and the machine does all the heavy lifting for you. I like to serve it with a simple lemon and sugar glaze, and sprinkled with a few roughly chopped pistachios.

200ml (7fl oz/¾ cup + 1 tablespoon)

olive oil, plus extra for greasing

140g (5oz/1 cup) shelled pistachios, plus a few extra for decoration

65g (2½oz/â…” cup) ground almonds

65g (2½oz/½ cup) gluten-free plain (all-purpose) flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

200g (7oz/1 cup) caster (superfine) sugar

4 large eggs

Zest of 1 lemon

FOR THE GLAZE

200g (7oz/1â…” cups) icing (powdered) sugar

2–3 tablespoons lemon juice

Pinch of fine sea salt

Preheat the oven to 180ºC (160ºC Fan) 350ºF, Gas Mark 4.

Lightly grease your 23 x 33cm (9 x 13in) baking tin and line with a strip of parchment paper that overhangs the long sides, securing it in place with metal clips.

Place the pistachios in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment and pulse until they are finely ground. Tip into a large bowl along with the ground almonds, flour, baking powder and salt and mix together.

Put the sugar, eggs and lemon zest in the processor bowl and process for about 1 minute. With the machine still running, slowly pour in the oil. Once fully combined, add the mixed dry ingredients and process for a second or two until evenly incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and spread evenly.

Bake for 35–40 minutes, or until lightly browned and the cake is set in the middle. Set aside to cool completely in the tin before using the parchment paper to lift it out.

For the glaze, mix the icing sugar, lemon juice and salt in a bowl until you have a thick but pourable paste. Pour it over the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides. Sprinkle with a few extra chopped pistachios to decorate.

If stored in a sealed container, the cake should keep for 3–4 days.

What to drink: I'm not sure you'll be drinking wine with this but I wouldn't be averse to a glass of prosecco or even a shot of ice cold limoncello

From One Tin Bakes Easy by Edd Kimber is published by Kyle Books. Photography: Edd Kimber

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