Hey guys!
Hope you’re well and had a nice start to your week?
This weekend, for mother’s day, I combined some of my mum’s favourite flavours to create this little number:
Pistachio, rose and cardamom.
I definitely had a mad scramble at Waitrose the night before to grab the cardamom, rose water and rose petals. I never use them in my day to day cooking.
So pretty!
^ I affectionately renamed it ‘the Shrek cake.’
A moist, pistachio and cardamom flavoured cake, sandwiched together with a homemade raspberry rose jam and rose water infused whipped cream frosting.
When I cracked open the cake box, my brother inhaled and with the hugest grin, responded with “it smells like India!”
For me, it’s really going back to my roots, nostalgic of summer holidays spent visiting family in India. The flavours evoke memories of exploring the hot, dusty streets on some kind of errand and stopping for a break, slipping into an air-conditioned little cafe to indulge in a kulfi or a falooda.
Enjoy,
– Kay
Ingredients
Cake
- 165g salted butter, softened at room temperature
- 300g caster sugar
- 3 medium eggs
- 200g flour
- 3/4 tsp cardamom powder
- 85g ground unsalted pistachios (I bought them whole then whizzed them in my food processor)
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp rose water
- 1 drop green food colouring
- 180ml buttermilk
Raspberry rose jam (makes a whole jar of jam, of which you need about half, feel free to reduce the recipe if you don’t want some spare jam for your morning toast!)
- 250g raspberries
- 200g jam sugar
- 1.5 tbsp rose water
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Frosting
- 600ml double cream
- 75g mascarpone
- 50g icing sugar, sifted
- 1 drop red food colouring
- 1.5tbsp rose water
Decoration
- Edible rose petals
- Crushed pistachios
Instructions
Raspberry rose jam
- Add the raspberries to a medium saucepan. Place on a medium heat until the raspberries begin releasing their juices and use the back of a wooden spoon to help break them down.
- Once completely squashed, add the remaining ingredients and allow to gently boil for 5 mins. You can test if it’s done by placing a teaspoon of the mixture to a plate then refrigerating for 1min. If it wrinkles when you push it with your finger, it will set perfectly.
- Add the jam to a glass jar, seal and place in the fridge to cool completely. If the jar is sterilised, this will keep for a few months.
Cake
- Preheat oven to gas mark 5. Grease and line 3 x 7-inch baking tins.
- Begin by creaming together the butter and sugar.
- One by one, add the eggs, mixing well to combine each time.
- Mix together the dry ingredients – flour, cardamom, pistachios and baking soda in a bowl.
- Mix together the wet ingredients – buttermilk, green food dye and rose water.
- Add a third of the dry ingredients to the butter mix before mixing well to combine.
- Add half of the wet ingredients to the butter mix before mixing well to combine.
- Repeat until all ingredients are combined.
- Split the batter equally into the prepared baking tins and bake for 25mins or until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Remove from baking tins and cool on a wire rack.
Frosting
- Add all the ingredients to a large bowl and whisk until lightly whipped and just holds.
Assembly
- Smear a spoonful of frosting onto a cake board before topping with the first layer of cake.
- Top with a couple of tablespoons of jam. Spread evenly.
- Add a couple of spoons of frosting before spreading evenly.
- Repeat with the second layer of cake.
- Top with the final layer of cake and decorate the sides and top with frosting. Use a spatula to spread evenly. I opted for a rustic look with ‘naked sides.’
- Use a toothpick to mark out the areas of the cake you want to decorate. Use a nozzle and piping bag to decorate before sprinkling over edible rose petals and crushed pistachios.
- Store in the fridge until ready to serve.
This are looks stunning. I love the pink and green together especially when cut. Great post!
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Thank you so much, glad you like it! =)
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Wow!!! The colour and presentation on that cake is incredible!! (:
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Thank you!! =)
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Hi Kay! I made the cake today the taste was lovely but the texture was look like it’s raw. I bake exacly like the recipe said. Is it normal I mean the sponge gonna be be dry ….?
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Hey Monika,
Ah that’s a shame – sometimes ovens can be a little variable so I wonder if it needed a little longer.
The best way to check if it’s done is to use a toothpick / cake tester, poke the centre of the cake and see if it comes out clean. If it comes out with batter or crumbs, it needs to be baked out a little more.
The cake is meant to be moist and cakey but definitely not raw!
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What a beautiful cake. Great job Kay!
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Thanks Jess. Hope you’re well? =)
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Love to taste it 🙂
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Thank you! =)
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What a stunner Kay – your mum must have been over the moon, now you’ve made me feel bad for buying my Mum an M&S fruit cake!
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Haha, bless you. Don’t feel bad, it’s the thought that counts! I’m just always looking for an excuse to bake. =)
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Hi, lovely cake! Did you use plain flour or self raising flour? Thanks
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Hey Zi,
Thank you! Just plain flour – the baking soda and eggs help it rise. Happy baking! =]
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Thanks. I’ve baked this now on 3 occasions and honestly can say it’s one of the best cakes I have had and has been a massive hit with the family. I did use plain flour but I thought I’d double check! Thank you so much for this recipe.
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Thank you – your comment has made my day! So glad you and your family have been enjoying my recipe. 💜😊 x
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What a lovely colour😍. Awesome bake. Hopefully will bake it soon.
Please let me know i hav rose marmalade and i would like to use it. Is there a way i can use it in this recipe.
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Hey Zainab,
Thanks for your comment! =]
I don’t think I’ve tried rose marmalade before! I reckon you could substitute out the raspberry rose jam with your jar though. =]
Happy baking!
– Kay
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Hey Kay
Thank u for ur response. Will update once i bake it.😊
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Hey Kay
I baked this cake yesterday. It tasted delicious…😋
I used rose marmalade n rasberry jam combined it n added lemon juice as u mentioned n adjusted according to my taste buds…..
It was a perfect combination….
Its a must keep recipe.
I wish i had baked more.
Hope to bake it soon….
Zainab
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Hey Zainab,
I’m so glad you enjoyed baking & eating my cake recipe so much!! ❤
Sounds like that rose marmalade & raspberry jam combo was a perfect accompaniment too.
Hope it's even more delicious the next time around! X
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This is a beauty ❤
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Thank you!! =]
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Hi! I’m wondering if it’s possible to make this gluten free and just sub the flour for almond meal??
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Hi Stevie,
I’d recommend using a gluten-free plain flour. If you’re using both almonds and pistachios in the batter, you’ll probably end up with a dense, heavy cake and it’ll might even be quite oily.
Let me know how you get on!
Happy baking!
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Cake is in the oven, jam is set nicely. Tomorrow will be the assembling day. Can’t wait, it smells divine. I’ll show off tomorrow for the high tea with friends… Thanks for a nice recipe…
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Hey Daisy,
Thank you for your comment. Hope the cake turned out delicious-ly! =]
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Hello can I please know why haven’t you, used baking powder? Will the cake still rise?
Thanks
N
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Hi N,
The recipe calls for baking soda which is the main raising agent. It reacts perfectly with the slight acidity in the buttermilk to form a fluffy cake.
Happy baking! =]
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Hi 😊
What temperate must the oven be in Celsius?
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Hey Lasila,
Gas mark 5 converts over as 190 degrees celsius.
Happy baking! =]
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Thank you for sharing the recipe. I made it the other day for a party but I reduced the sugar amount by 25%.
It turned out lovely.
My husband said it is his new favourite and our friends loved it too.
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Hey Nikki!
I’m so glad it worked out so well for you and everyone enjoyed it. ❤ Appreciate you taking the time to let me know too. Happy new year in advance. X
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Hi Kay. Thank you for posting this recipe, I will be trying this for my birthday. Your recipe calls for three 7“ tins but I only have two 10“tins. Apologies for the silly question but will this be OK or will I need to tweak the recipe?
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Hey Shaishta,
Excited for you to give this a go! Oh,, that’s a good question, and the honest answer is, I don’t know!
I’ve done a little Googling for you to try and figure the answer out. This site (https://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html) suggests that :
-1 x 7 inch tin would hold 4 cups of batter.
– 4 cups of batter x 3 tins = 12 cups of batter in total.
– A 10 inch tin takes 11 cups of batter so you might not have enough for two tins.
Based on this, I would suggest of the following options:
1) Make a single layer and reduce the frosting.
2) Double the recipe and make two layers.
Hope that helps & happy birthday in advance!
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Wonderful cake. What a great taste. I agree that the sugar can be reduced. Icing was more than enough. the batter totalled 4 1/2 cups. I really liked using the 7″ cake pan. Would make it again.
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Hey Carmela,
Thanks for your comment! Really glad to hear you enjoyed it and would consider it again too! 😊
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Hey, it’s a wonderful flavor combination. Normally I stick with chocolate cake due to having many picky eaters in my family, but I’m willing to give them a little push and try this lovely flavor this time. Any suggestions for eggless version of this?
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Hey Tulsi,
Thank you! ❤
I'm with you, there's a time and a place for classics like chocolate cake but it's also fun to try new combos.
I've not really experimented with eggless bakes but perhaps you could try something like this:
https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/free-and-easy-egg-replacer/894803-730062-730063
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Hi Kay, Thank you for sharing this recipe. I made this cake for our wedding anniversary just a few days ago. This is the best cake I have ever made. Flavour combination is sooo great everyone at home loved it. My husband and I fought for the last piece ha ha! Planning to bake this again tomorrow. Love love love this recipe. Bless you and stay safe.
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Hey Nay,
Thank you so much for getting in touch to let me know that you and your husband enjoyed it! ❤ Sounds like it really went down a treat!
Hope it serves you well for years and years to come! =]
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Could I use unsalted butter instead?
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Hi Shon,
Yup – you can do. I’d add in about 0.5 tsp of salt to the dry ingredients to make up for it.
Happy baking!
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Hi, I noted your recipe calls for baking in 3 x 7 inch tins.
I only have 3 x 6 inch or 3 x 8inch. Which ones in your opinion I should use 6 inch ones or 8 inch ones?
Thank you, Maria
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Hi Maria,
Personally, I would go for the 6 inch – 8 inch might make the cake too thin and hard to handle without breaking.
Just be mindful that you might need to leave the cakes in the oven a little longer to fully cook through – you can test them by poking with a cake tester / toothpick and if it comes out clean, it’s done.
Happy baking! X
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