Sicilian Pistachio Cake

Rose's Heavenly Cakes, Page 65:  Sicilian Pistachio Cake

I didn't intend to bake this cake because i was tired after baking and decorating the Alice in Wonderland Cake on Saturday.  However, after reading what great reviews by fellow HCB's Mendy, Monica, Vicki & Marie had of this cake, i just knew i had to bake it even if it means baking after work.  

So i got home after work around 8pm and got ready all my ingredients by 830pm. I had to blanched pistachios since i can't find already blanched ones.  Since i had only limited time before bedtime, i did the shortcut way, ie, i microwaved the pistachios in water for 1 min and transferred to a bowl of cold water and removed all the skin quite quickly. :)  Yup, only 1min in microwave and the water was really hot and the pistachio skin peeling off. Then i continued the recipe from there....process the blanched pistachios with sugar etc...  The batter was quite easy to make and in no time it was in the oven already.  

Next was the buttercream which requires heating of the sugar syrup. I did the shortcut way again and microwaved the sugar syrup..:p  I put all the ingredients in the measuring glass then microwave it on a spurt of 30secs x 3 (stir after 30secs so the sugar will dissolve) and then after 3rd 30secs, the sugar should be all dissolved and i microwaved it for a further 1min. And by that time the sugar is all thick and ready to be added into the egg yolks.   I like how the yolk sugar mixture thickens after it cool down. :)   I didn't have pistachio essence, so i added pistachio paste i had in the fridge.

I was a bit alarmed when i saw my cake domed quite badly in the oven and i did put on the cake strip you know. However the dome subsided a fair bit (it's still there, you can see above photo) after cooling so it wasn't that bad anymore.  I blasted a fan to cool the cake down so i can quickly frost the cake asap. :S  I have never frosted & decorated a cake so quickly before..but for this, i did it in like 5mins or less and I'm at amazed at myself too..hahaha..not my best but i think not too bad for last min job.  By the time i'm done it was still slightly before 12am..:)

Oh..and i forgot to add that the nuts on top are toasted pistachio nuts since i ran out of blanched nuts, i decided to just toast it instead of having to blanched again (er..i blanched only 1/2 packet of nuts earlier since i was only testing if blanching works in microwave..). Quite good cos it gives the crunchy effect when eaten with the cake. lol!  And i suspect that my cake domed a little in the centre because i didn't dry the blanched nuts enough while i processed it with sugar. :S 

VERDICT:  Normally i don't eat supper at all, for this post i just had to sacrifice my waistline a bit to taste it so i can write what i think about this cake right? I took a slice and oh my, it was without doubt, DELICIOUS! No wonder Marie said she couldn't stop eating the cake and took 3 slices! LOL! My daughter, my husband and even my domestic helper all took a slice (they all don't eat supper too!) and they all loved it - said the pistachio blends very well in the butter cake, paired with the buttercream it was pure heavenly! :)  I didn't regret baking it but i think i would very much have regretted if i didn't bake it...yes, it is that good!   

PS: Since i'm typing this at 1235am, half asleep already, i think what i just wrote made sense..if not, it'll be corrected the next day when i'm more awake..lol! And i'm really quite tired of my flowery plates..always using the same plate to take photo..