Mrs P’s Pistachio and Blackberry cake

Mrs P’s Pistachio and Blackberry cake

There’s nothing I like more than coming home from work, shutting the front door and knowing that it’s just the three of us for the rest of the evening. As much as I love dinner parties and going out to see friends I definitely love it most of all when it’s just me, my husband Ports and our little bundle of diva-meow, Tilly. In the last three weeks I have hardly seen Ports due to a big project at work, he’s been leaving the house when it’s still dark and coming home well past bed time. So, as it’s just been Tilly and me, I decided what better way to bide my time but to pop my apron on and bake one of his favourite cakes. With only 5 key ingredients this cake is as close to being called healthy as you will get.

Perfect for the changing season I picked the blackberries on a walk around Richmond Park earlier in the week and all the rest of the ingredients were already in my store cupboard, so there was no added expense which is always a bonus. Light in texture, this cake is  rustic, moist and deceptively decadent.

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What you need:
To serve 12

20cm diameter cake tin

*100g pistachios
*1/2 cup coconut palm sugar
*6 eggs, separated
*Approx 125g blackberries (punnet)
*2 cups almond flour (Use any of the following too: almond meal or ground almonds)

Directions:

  • Pre-heat oven to 180°c
  • In to a blender place 3/4 of pistachio nuts and blitz until a flour like substance
  • Add in to the pistachio mixture the 6 separated egg yolks, almond flour and palm sugar. Blend for a further 20 – 30 seconds until fully combined. Transfer in to a separate mixing bowl
  • In to a separate metal bowl place the egg whites and whisk until stiff peaks
  • Gently fold the egg whites in to the pistachio/ egg yolk/ palm sugar mixture with a metal spoon until fully combined
  • Add in the blackberries and remaining pistachio nuts (I chop mine up a bit first) gently fold them all in and transfer to a greased cake tin
  • Pop in to the oven for approximately 50 minutes until a metal skewer comes out clean from the middle of the cake
  • Allow to cool fully before you put the glaze on

To glaze:

*1tsp honey
*1 tbsp coconut oil

  • Over high heat, place the honey and coconut oil in to a pan until fully melted and combined
  • Pour directly over cooled cake and spread with a flat knife until spread
  • Decorate cake with pistachio nuts and blackberries

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26 thoughts on “Mrs P’s Pistachio and Blackberry cake”

  • Hello Emi, Oh my gracious this sounds divine and a must try for me! So, happy to see you back on Tasty Kitchen!!! As for Ports well he must provide for his lovely Bride (and Tilly , too). How wonderful you picked the berries yourself! Cheryl.

    • Hi Cheryl , Thank you, such a lovely comment! Please do try it and do let me know what you think! The weeks and weekend always go so much slower when Ports isn’t around, but this has been the last one so Tilly and I will have him back to next week 🙂 I have a lot more to add to Tasty Kitchen, it’s a fabulous site. I hope you had a good weekend!

      • Hi Emi, yes, I will let you know! Glad Ports will be completing work tasks, and be home etc. Yes, I love the Tasty Kitchen site, too!!! Yes, the trip to see my friend (I had not seen in years was a very nice surprise, but I am always happiest at home!). Stay well my UK Friend! Cheryl.

  • Please could you give me a website address where I can buy almond flour? I have had trouble trying to find it. Thank you.

    • Hi Hilary, if you are UK based then you can buy “ground almonds” from any of the leading supermarkets http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/sainsburys-price-comparison/nuts_and_seeds/sainsburys_ground_almonds_200g.html You can also buy 500g bags on Amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/Buy-Whole-Foods-Ground-Almonds/dp/B007CX1GRY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1411923066&sr=8-3&keywords=ground+almonds
      Almond meal / almond flour and ground almonds are pretty much all the same thing and all work just as well as each other for a cake- you just want to ensure it’s a flour-like consistency! You could even create your own almond flour by putting a cup of almonds in a blender and blending until the right consistency. I hope that helps. 🙂

      • Oh thank you. I feel silly now – didn’t realise it was the same as ground almonds! I have tried other almond-based cakes recently which had fruit (plums) and the recipe included baking soda or baking powder – these cakes were horrible (it was no doubt partly due to me not getting the US measurements converted properly into grams etc) and the areas around the fruit went green in the oven! Yucky! I looked it up and it is, as far as I could find out, a reaction between the acid in the fruit and the baking powder/soda. It means the pH levels needed tweaking which could mean further experimenting and wasting a lot of precious ingredients again! The green is harmless but just so unappetising ! I am very glad your blackberry cake doesn’t need the baking powder! Hopefully I can now make a cake fit for someone other than the Incredible Hulk!

      • Haha, oh Hillary, Thank YOU! – that really made me laugh a lot! Well, I hope this recipe turns out to be of greater success! There’s no need for the baking soda or powder because the stiff egg whites and the careful folding in of them- is the key to success as it keeps it fluffy and light! Then you can really add any flavours you want so long as you have the eggs, almond flour and sugar 🙂 Happy baking!

  • I have just made your blackberry cake! It doesn’t look as pretty as yours because I over-whizzed the ingredients and they became a bit “claggy” ( I would like to blame my not-so-powerful food processor instead of my incompetence!) so I had to use the food mixer whisks to break it down again in order to fold in the egg whites and subsequently , the cake has turned out a bit flat! A forgiving recipe though thankfully. I couldn’t wait for it to cool as I was dying to see how it looked inside……..luckily the only “green” bits are from the pistachios . Phew! No weird Hulk-like chemical reactions this time. Hurrah! I will glaze the rest and try and make it look a bit more presentable but I have just scoffed a lovely warm piece smeared in a little honey. Yum! Do you think raspberries and pecans might go nicely as an alternative? I will have to perfect my food processing skills first or else find a better machine that will actually combine things properly without having to whizz everything for seemingly ages , ending up with a big old eggy, nutty blob! Nice recipe – thank you so much!

    • Oh Hillary! Well, at least it’s turned out better than the previous Green Hulk cakes! 😉
      I definitely think the pecan and rasberry would work- you could even add in 1 tbsp of raw cacao and make it a chocolate cake! That would be delicious.
      My best purchase was my KitchenAid food processor, I use it at least once a day and it does EVERYTHING- well, other than bake the cake!
      Do keep in touch and let me know how the next trial of cake goes! 🙂

  • The recipe turned out delicious but both times it stuck horribly to the pan to the extent I had to serve t from the an. First time I used a spray, second time Crisco. Using an aluminum pan. Any deals?

    • Hi Carol – thank you for your comment and sorry to hear that the cake’s sticking! How frustrating! Is your pan ‘non stick’? I am glad you have enjoyed it though. Perhaps try some grease proof paper on the bottom and just grease the sides heavily with something like coconut oil? I have started using silicon for almost all my baking now as I find this the best material to work with, as nothing ever sticks, its heatproof and holds shape well. I hope this helps and do let me know how you get on! 🙂

  • Hi, this cake has become a big hit with my friends. I’d like to make it more like a breakfast bread for a visiting houseguest. I’m guessing add a bit more almond meal and baking it in a loaf pan instead of a round cake pan. Any tips? I am not a skilled baker so I am guessing here.

    FYI last week I was brain dead and looked at my almond meal package which said 16 oz, which to me is 2 cups, and without thinking much used the whole package. Well that cake was super dense – turns out that was a liquid measure. But that’s what has given me the idea that more almond meal will give it a dense texture.

    • So happy to hear. To make it more dense and bread like I would add 2 TBSP coconut flour. Coconut flour is far heavier than ground almonds and will soak up a lot of the moisture. It’s certainly going to be a bit of a trial but I don’t see that not working! Definitely bake in a loaf pan on a lower heat for 10-15 minutes longer. Good luck! Let me know how it works!
      Emma X

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