Pistachio and Rosewater Cake

Recipe by Sarah Jane Ruane – Easyfood Home-cook Hero Awards 2014, Connacht Gold Butter me up category finalist.

Ingredients

8oz Plain Flour

2 tsp Baking Powder

8oz Caster Sugar

3½oz Connacht Gold Creamery Butter

3oz Pistachio Nuts (coarsely ground in a food processor)

3½ tsp Rosewater

4 Free Range Eggs

3 fl oz Milk

Juice 1 Lemon

To Decorate

3 tbsp Icing Sugar

2 oz Ground Pistachio Nuts

You  will need a 9” Spring form cake tin – bottom lined with parchment paper and sides lightly buttered.

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180c, 160 fan, 350f, gas 4.
2. Blitz the pistachios in a food processor (you will need an adult to assist with this task).
3. Mix together the softened Connacht Gold butter and sugar until light and creamy.
4. In a separate jug beat together the milk and eggs with a fork.
5. Slowly add in the eggs to the butter mixture beating all the time.
6. Next add in the lemon juice and Rosewater.
7. Sift in your dry ingredients (Flour and Baking Powder) carefully folding together.  Finally combine the pistachios with the cake mixture.
8. Transfer the mix to the lined tin and bake in the centre of the oven for 35 – 40 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.
9. Once cooked remove from the oven and cool in the tin for 10 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
10. For the finishing touches… place the cake on a decorative cake stand, sift the top with some icing sugar, scatter over the reserved chopped pistachios and top with the crystalised rose petals.

Serve with some lightly whipped mascarpone cream and bubbly pink lemonade (or pink champagne for an adult treat ) for some extra finesse!!