Sometimes you meet a new person and you think, “This just might work.”
I met Alison, new to Pittsburgh from New Orleans, at a mutual friend’s party, and told her about the casual but crucial for my sanity moms group I put together. She has two girls; I have two boys; we both stopped doing artistic performance to be moms to them. Seemed like we should hang out.
When they came to our back door I noticed the following: Ruthie was beaming, in pigtails and red cowboy boots. Alison was beaming, in braids and silver high top sneakers. And between the two of them they carried an aromatic pistachio rose water loaf cake, still warm.
I’m not sure what made me happiest: the shoes, the hairs, or the cake. But it was a friendship and baked goods win. The pistachio cake reappeared at our infamous Easter party, where someone had the foresight to cut it into thin slices, and then those slices in half again. Everyone who tasted it swooned.
Alison is also the only person I have ever met who casually refers to baking disasters of a similar quantity and magnitude that I experience in my own kitchen.
The first time I went to Alison’s house, her cookbooks were all the right kind and her kitchen wasn’t so clean that I felt bad about mine. Alison also made me a soft boiled egg on avocado toast.
“You’re sure talking a lot about this Alison”, said the Hubs. “Is she your new best friend or something?”
“Alison”, I said, “made five different kinds of granola for the moms group she hosted. And some other women brought their granola too. And there were three kinds of yogurt, and she made homemade jelly rolls plus a frittata.”
“Wow”, he said. I think this may be the only time he was seriously disappointed to not be a stay at home mom.
Alison has been tweaking the pistachio cake recipe recently, and this weekend told me she didn’t realize she was out of milk until half way through the last round. “So I subbed fresh squeezed clementine juice!”
If you’re wondering “Who on earth doesn’t have milk but has fresh squeezed clementine juice?!” – well, that’s just my new friend Alison.
What Junior Can Do:
– This is a food processor recipe, so Junior can perform his usual fit of terror over the noise until he’s overcome by the desire to pour things into the bowl and watch them get obliterated.
– Small people can usually work a microplane style zester without too much bloodshed.
– If you’re really brave, you’ll let your Junior rub the orange zest into the sugar by hand, and then s/he’ll probably lick their fingers a whole lot which will give you a chance to reread the recipe for the ninth time.
What Can Go Wrong:
– I am working hard to overcome baked good anxiety and this cake wasn’t too bad for me. But it does involve a lot of steps and ingredients, so don’t even THINK about trying it while distracted or tired… ha. Ha ha.
– I baked this version in two small loaf pans and set the timer to check every 5 minutes after 30 minutes. It was a lot of checking, I’ll get the timing more accurate in a post update later.
Recipe Notes:
– If you like a stickier, cakier treat, you’ll want to glaze or ice the loaf and enjoy it a day later. If you’re more into crumbly perfect-with-tea slices, you may not need it.
– Rose water, according to Google, is a beautiful skin tonic. It’s not expensive, and most Middle Eastern grocery stores carry it – worth picking up a bottle for the unique favor and you can see what it might do for your complexion!
Pistachio Rose Water Cake
AuthorMegan LindseyCategoryBaked Goods
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Butter a loaf pan, two miniature loaf pans, or an 8x8" pan on bottom and sides. For easier cleanup, use parchment paper and butter it as well.
Measure sugar into the bowl of a food processor. Zest your orange into the sugar, using a microplane or grater. Pulse until sugar and zest are evenly distributed.
Add pistachios and salt, chopping until grainy, uniform texture is reached - it will look almost like grits or polenta. Stop as soon as the mixture gets pasty.
Cut butter into 1/2" chunks. Blend butter and olive oil into the nut mixture, pulsing until the texture is smooth like batter.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, citrus juice, and rose water. Add gradually to the food processor while it is running.
In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom, and black pepper. Add gradually to the food processor while it is running, stopping as soon as dry ingredients disappear.
Pour the batter into prepared pans and bake at 325 F for 45-65 minutes, depending on depth and size of pan, until a cake tester comes out clean from the center.
Cool 10 minutes and release from pans. Try to keep your hands off of it while it cools some more.
SERVING NOTES:
Drizzle with honey while hot and sprinkle on extra pistachios for a stickier, sweeter finish.
For a fancy celebration, the cake is delicious served with fresh berries and fresh whipped cream, or dusted with powdered sugar.
As a tangy breakfast treat, top with plain yogurt and pistachios.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Butter a loaf pan, two miniature loaf pans, or an 8x8" pan on bottom and sides. For easier cleanup, use parchment paper and butter it as well.
Measure sugar into the bowl of a food processor. Zest your orange into the sugar, using a microplane or grater. Pulse until sugar and zest are evenly distributed.
Add pistachios and salt, chopping until grainy, uniform texture is reached - it will look almost like grits or polenta. Stop as soon as the mixture gets pasty.
Cut butter into 1/2" chunks. Blend butter and olive oil into the nut mixture, pulsing until the texture is smooth like batter.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, citrus juice, and rose water. Add gradually to the food processor while it is running.
In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom, and black pepper. Add gradually to the food processor while it is running, stopping as soon as dry ingredients disappear.
Pour the batter into prepared pans and bake at 325 F for 45-65 minutes, depending on depth and size of pan, until a cake tester comes out clean from the center.
Cool 10 minutes and release from pans. Try to keep your hands off of it while it cools some more.
SERVING NOTES:
Drizzle with honey while hot and sprinkle on extra pistachios for a stickier, sweeter finish.
For a fancy celebration, the cake is delicious served with fresh berries and fresh whipped cream, or dusted with powdered sugar.
As a tangy breakfast treat, top with plain yogurt and pistachios.
