PISTACHIO, MATCHA, RASPBERRY CAKE

and a bonus recipe from my Grandma Pat

It’s been a while since I have shared a baking recipe here and I thought it was high time I put that right. My first love in the kitchen was always baking, for almost as long as I can remember I have been in the habit of whipping up cakes, scones, cookies and bread at any available moment. I still find it one of the most relaxing activities and it’s the first thing I go to when I want to show love and care. Whether it’s a meeting, a coffee, a new baby, dinner or a picnic, I will be arriving with a little greaseproof paper package of warm, just baked something - just try and get me to turn up without a baked good, just try. However busy life gets, I will make time to bake. Luckily for me, I have a house full of hungry friends, which means nothing hangs around too long and I can keep baking without feeling like it's going to waste. We actually have a designated cake box in the kitchen, and between me and my housemate Pier, it’s never not full.

I’m sure my love for baking isn’t coincidence, my family is full of keen and talented bakers, not least my late Grandma Pat, who to this day, is the best home baker I know (very closely followed by Auntie Rach and cousin Dan is a professional so I’m not counting him) I recently went home to visit my parents for a few days and while I was there, my mum told me she’d been saving some of my Grandma’s old church community recipe books and asked if I would like them. Obviously I bit her hand off and have been devouring these sweet homemade recipe books from 2006. My Grandma’s recipe contribution to the book was a baking recipe, of course, and a cake I remember her making well, simply titled ‘Cake Delicious’. The method is a total of two steps, the ingredients are lacking some crucial detail (I’d like to think the coconut is desiccated, but truly who knows?), but the resulting cake really is delicious. After sharing the recipe on Instagram, I’ve received messages from people who’ve made it all over the world, as far as South Africa, and it makes me want to cry that a small part of my lovely Grandma Pat has been shared so far and wide.

So now I will share it with all of you too. If you are yet to fall in love with baking, this cake as the perfect starting point. If you’re feeling a bit more adventurous, then the pistachio match raspberry situation is a wonderful option. Or just throw caution to the wind and make both ! I hope you love them as much as we do.

Sending love, Rosie x

Grandma Pat's Cake Delicious

PISTACHIO, MATCHA, RASPBERRY CAKE

This flavour combo has been living in my head rent free for some time and I finally got around to testing it. The result is a perfectly squidgy, moist, nutty cake that pairs beautifully with fresh raspberries and if you had it in the house, a dollop of creme fraiche wouldn’t go amiss. This recipe is naturally gluten free, but if you don’t need it to be, you could substitute the cornmeal for semolina and it would be equally delicious.

240g caster sugar

240g unsalted butter, softened

240g ground pistachios (I used whole pistachios and ground them in a food processor until they were the consistency of ground almonds)

120g fine cornmeal

1 heaped tsp of matcha powder

2 tsp baking powder (make sure to use gluten free baking powder to keep this cake safe for coeliacs)

4 eggs

100g raspberries

a handful of flaked almonds

icing sugar to dust

1. Preheat the oven to 180c. Line and grease a 21cm spring form tin.

2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the ground pistachios, cornmeal, matcha powder and baking powder.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the caster sugar and softened butter on a high speed until pale and creamy, for around 3 minutes.

4. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then with the mixer on slow, gradually add dry ingredients a few spoons at a time, alternating with an egg after each addition. Keep going until all the eggs and dry ingredients have been added.

5. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and give the mix one last gentle mix.

6. Pour half the batter into the lined and greased tin, smooth the batter out to the edges of the tin in an even layer and then sprinkle over half the raspberries.

7. Add the remainder of the batter and level off the top with the back of a spoon or a spatula.

8. Sprinkle the remainder of the raspberries over the top and press them slightly into the batter, so they are nestled into the cake batter.

9. Sprinkle over the flaked almonds and then bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

10. Leave to cool completely in the tin, turn out and dust with icing sugar. Serve with more fresh raspberries and a dollop of creme fraiche, if you’re feeling fancy.