INGREDIENTS
2 cups all purpose flour
¾ cup ground raw pistachios
2 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¾ cup granulated sugar
1½ tablespoons orange or mandarin zest
3 large eggs room temp
¾ cup olive oil
½ cup greek yogurt room temp
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon demerara sugar
4 oz baking chocolate, chopped
½ cup cream
How to make the pistachio olive oil cake:
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. To start in a food processor, pulse the pistachios until they are down to small crumbs (though a few larger chunks will still be tasty distributed throughout this cake). In a bowl mix pistachios, flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, rub together sugar and orange zest until you can smell the scent of the orange zest throughout the sugar. Add in and mix the sugar, eggs, olive oil, greek yogurt, and vanilla extract.
- Lightly mix together dry ingredients into the wet.
- Depending on how tall you want your cake to be, use a lined and oiled 6 inch or 8 inch cake pan and pour in your cake batter.
- Bake the cake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes.
How to make the dark chocolate ganache drizzle:
- While your cake cools, using a double boiler, melt the chocolate and cream together until fully melted. Mix until fully integrated.
- Top cooled cake with a sprinkle of demerara sugar, orange zest, and crumbled pistachio.
- Drizzle the dark chocolate ganache over slices of your cake.
- Note: If you need to serve the cake at a later time, you can reheat the ganache over very low heat.
- To make a vegan sauce: Substitute 1:1 Táche Pistachio Milk for the cream. The sauce will be more delicate than a ganache but will be equally delicious drizzled over a slice of warm olive oil cake.
A Note From the Chef
What I aim for in any cake is an experience of texture and flavor contrast. This is not always possible, but with this cake you can have it all: a moist crumb and a crisp, almost crackling exterior, bright flavors of citrus matched with the grounding nuttiness of pistachio. I wanted this olive oil cake to be extra moist, which the addition of greek yogurt helps add, as well as the base of pistachio in the batter. This cake is made extra decadent with warm ganache (which isn’t necessary and is a step you can skip, but why would you? It’s so good!).
This cake keeps well too, and the flavor improves with time. Just be sure that you wrap it tightly in something to keep it’s freshness.
About Cady Watts
Cady is a recipe developer, food stylist, gardener, farmer, among many other things. She grew up in kitchens and loves to be in them and in the gardens that fuel them with produce. Catch her cooking and dreaming in the kitchen or among her tomato plants. See what Cady is cooking up next
@shallweshallot.