Miss Trixie’s Pistachio Cake With Edible Flowers Is the Dessert of Your Dreams

Method

For the cake

• Preheat the oven to 290°F, fan forced.
• Line and grease three 6-inch round tins with greaseproof paper.
• Place pistachios in a food processor and pulse until finely ground, but small chunks of pistachio still remain.
• In a separate bowl, sift and whisk together your flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, caster sugar and vanilla. Mix until the colour of the butter has lightened to a creamy colour.
• Add in the eggs one at a time and mix after each addition.
• Add alternative batches of your flour mix and buttermilk into the butter, mixing on low speed until the cake batter is well combined, but not overmixed.
• Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as required.
• Gently fold in the ground pistachios.
• Evenly spoon the batter into your three tins.
• Bake the cakes for 40-45 minutes (baking time may vary depending on your oven!), or until a skewer comes out clean from the centre. Wait 15 minutes before turning the cakes out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

For the whipped ricotta

• Add your ricotta and butter to a food processor and pulse until the ricotta is smooth and there are no lumps.
• Add your icing sugar in small batches, and blitz until smooth.
• Mix in the vanilla extract and lemon zest.
• Store the whipped ricotta in an airtight container until you are ready to assemble your cake.

For the lemon curd

• Start by grating the lemon rind into a bowl and then slowly add the juice of all the lemons.
• Cut the butter into small cubes and add to the lemon juice/rind mix, along with the sugar. Whisk together.
• Strain the eggs into the bowl.
• Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water, then whisk until the sugar has dissolved and the butter has melted.
• Continue to cook, whisking constantly until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.
• Pour into a clean airtight container and immediately pop a layer of clingfilm ON the curd to prevent a skin from forming.

To assemble

• Trim your cakes to ensure they are even and flat.
• Add some whipped ricotta to the base of a plate or cake board and stick one layer of cake onto the ricotta.
• Spread the whipped ricotta onto your cake and dam in your lemon curd – you essentially want a ring of ricotta around the edges of your cake and your lemon curd to sit in the middle.
• Add berries and add the next layer of cake.
• Repeat this process until all cake layers are stacked. Pop in the fridge to stabilise.
• Next, spread the whipped ricotta around the outside of the cake to crumb coat your cake.
• Pop back in the fridge for 15 minutes before adding the final layer of whipped ricotta.
• It is at this point that you may like to add a touch of food dye to the ricotta to add some colour to your cake.
• Pipe the edge of your cake using an open star tip.
• Add pressed flowers to the sides of the cake and maraschino cherries on top.

For more from Alice, follow her at @misstrixiedrinkstea

Photography by Rachel Brown Photography.