Pistachio & Rose Water Cake

Step 1

Make the cake. Preheat oven to 180 C / 160 C fan. Grease and line a 23cm loose bottomed cake tin.

Step 2

Place cardamom seeds and pistachios in a food processor and whiz until pistachios are finely ground. Transfer pistachio mixture to a bowl with the almond flour, semolina, baking powder and salt. Stir to combine.

Step 3

Place the butter and sugar in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat until pale and fluffy - about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one by one, beating well between each addition. Fold through the pistachio mixture, orange zest, juice, rosewater and vanilla until just combined. Spoon the batter into the prepared tin and use a spoon or offset palette knife to smooth the surface. Bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Step 4

Make the Syrup. Mix together the icing sugar, lemon juice, orange juice and rosewater and set aside. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, poke it all over with a thin skewer and then drizzle the syrup over. Leave the cake to cool in it’s tin until at room temperature then remove.

Step 5

Make the Icing. Whisk together the mascarpone, Greek yoghurt, icing sugar and rosewater. Spoon over the top of the cake and with the back of a spoon, swirl the icing over the top of the cake. To finish, scatter the top with slivered pistachios, rose petals and some grated orange zest.