Pistachio Delight

​Pistachio Delight 

Feeds 8
I love anything and everything with pistachios, and especially my light and creamy Pistachio Delight - it's one cake I go back to time and time again. A gorgeous, green nutty sponge, topped with fluffy pistachio cream cheese, every bite is heaven in a mouthful. The two parts to this recipe may be little time-consuming, but the result is to die for. This cheese cake can be made well in advance and is ideal for any dinner party. Sooooo good, your guests will refuse to leave unless you share the recipe. 
If you are like me and love pistachios, level the cake and remember to leave the scraps for tea-time; they are just beautiful. 
And if you love lemons, do check out my light and creamy Lemon Cheesecake recipe here .

Ingredients
​

​Cake:
130g unsalted pistachio kernels
125g sifted cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
85g unsalted butter, at room temperature
175g caster sugar
2.5 large egg whites, at room temperature
60g sour cream, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
120ml whole milk, at room temperature
​Pistachio Cream Cheese:
1 cup unsalted pistachio kernels
1 tablespoon powdered gelatin
350g cream cheese
200g caster sugar
300ml whipping cream
​For garnish:
a few blueberries and blackberries ​
young mint leaves
1 tablespoon roughly chopped pistachios 
​9-inch round springform cake tin

Recipe
​

Make the cake

1Preheat your oven to 180ºC. Grease and line a 9-inch springform cake tin with parchment paper in the base. Grease the sides well with butter.

2Pulse the pistachios in a food processor until finely ground. Make sure not to grind for too long or the nuts might turn into pistachio butter.

3Place pistachio crumbs in a large bowl. Whisk in the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

4Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3-4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat well.

5Beat in the egg whites on high speed until combined, about 2 minutes. Beat in the sour cream, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat well.

6Reduce speed to low, add the dry ingredients and beat until just incorporated. With the mixer still running on low, pour in the milk and mix until combined. Whisk together by hand if you see lumps in the batter.

7Pour batter into the cake pan. Bake for around 30 minutes or until the cake is baked through or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely on a wire rack.

8Using a serrated knife, level by starting at the edge of the cake dome, not the side of the cake. This way you waste as little cake as possible during the leveling process; save extra cake scraps for snack. Once you have leveled the cake, place it back into the cake tin.

Make the cream cheese

1Pulse the pistachios in a food processor until finely ground. Make sure not to grind for too long or the nuts might turn into pistachio butter.

2Mix gelatin powder with 2 tablespoons water in a bowl. Set the bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir for a few minutes until the gelatin has completely dissolved in the liquid. Remove from heat and let it cool for 5 minutes.

3With an electric whisk, beat together cream cheese, and caster sugar until smooth, making sure there are no lumps.

4Clean and dry the whisk attachments, then whisk the whipping cream in a bowl until it forms soft peaks.

5Whisk the gelatin into the cream cheese mixture until well combined, then gently fold in the whipped cream into this mix.

6Next, fold in ground pistachios until well combined.

7Spoon this filling on top of the leveled cake and into the cake tin, smoothing the surface so it is flat and even.

8Garnish to you liking, with blueberries, blackberries, young mint leaves and a sprinkling of chopped pistachios.

9Cover with cling wrap and chill for 4 hours or overnight until firm.

10Run a knife around the edge of the cheesecake before releasing it from the tin and cutting into 8 or more wedges, before serving.

For more delicious recipes, check out our upcoming hands-on cooking classes in Downtown Singapore.​
​Click here for more details.