Brown Butter, Cardamom and Pistachio Loaf with Rose Water Orange Icing
This summery loaf cake is my version of a Persian Love Cake traditionally flavoured with rose and pistachio. I saw a recipe from Baked by Benji which used yoghurt and brown butter and knew I had to try it. The brown butter adds such a lovely nutty, golden caramel flavour to the sponge while natural yoghurt keeps it lovely and light while adding a slightly sour, tangy flavour. I added some cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg for a little bit of warming spice and some orange zest and juice for citrus zing. A little rose water in the icing helps add a slight floral note but be careful how much you use, as a little goes a long way. Some fruity pomegranates and chopped pistachio add texture, crunch and colour to finish it all off. This is such a lovely summery bake and is one of my favourite cake recipes so far.
(£0.86 per portion - serves 6 to 8)
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan and grease and line a loaf tin.
2. First, make the brown butter. Heat 150g unsalted butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat for 10 mins or so, stirring occasionally. Once the colour has changed to a deep golden brown and starts to smell nutty, pour it into a bowl (along with the brown bits) and allow to cool.
3. Blitz 50g of pistachio kernels in a small food processor until it resembles fine crumbs.
4. In a large bowl sift together 200g self-raising flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp of cardamom, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp of nutmeg and a pinch of salt. Add 185g golden caster sugar, stir well and set aside.
5. In another bowl, whisk together 150g of full-fat natural yoghurt, with 2 large eggs, 50g olive oil and 1 tsp of vanilla extract.
6. Add the cooled brown butter, whisk again and pour into the dry ingredients. Add the zest of an orange and the ground pistachios and mix until just combined.
7. Pour into the loaf tin and bake for 55-60 minutes until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Make the drizzle by mixing 1 tbsp rose water with the juice of an orange and 1 tbsp of sugar. Pour over the cake while it is still warm from the oven and allow to cool.
8. Meanwhile, mix 150g icing sugar with 1 tbsp of rose water and the juice of an orange. Add more rose water to taste and if too thick, add a little water until you have a thick, drizzling consistency.
9. Pour over the cake and top with pomegranates and chopped pistachios.