Pista Love Cake
By Effat Rahman
As part of the Bangladeshi diaspora, I have had the privilege of indulging in both American and South Asian desserts. The aromatic taste of cardamom and rosewater brings me back to my childhood when I would eat shemai (vermicelli pudding) after coming home from the masjid on Eid mornings. My mother would stand over the stove for hours, stirring boiling milk and infusing spices and sugar into a dessert she knew would be devoured in less than a day. As I found my way into the kitchen over the past few months, I admired the time-saving methods of many Western desserts, mainly the ease of baking cakes. At the same time, I admired my parents’ nonchalant disregard for the measuring cups that I so dearly clung on to, instead opting to let their intuition and instincts guide them. In this recipe, I opted to forgo the measuring spoon for some of the ingredients, opting to taste and adjust the batter as I prepped. This recipe for pistachio-cardamom cake is a love-letter to my heritage; an amalgamation of the perfumed spices and improvisation of South Asian cooking techniques with the ease of Western baking practices.
Photo by Melissa Shao
Ingredients
For the cake
½ cup unsalted butter
¾ cup sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract, or to taste
¼ tsp rosewater, or to taste
2 eggs
½ cup milk
1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
⅓ cup shelled pistachios
1 tsp baking powder
⅛ tsp salt
Cardamom seeds (or ⅛ tsp powder)
For the glaze
3 cups Powdered sugar
⅓ cup Butter
Rooh Afza (optional)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Place the pistachios in a food processor/blender to crush them into a fine powder.
Peel the cardamom seeds to release the aromatic seeds inside, and crush using a mortar & pestle.
Whisk the ground pistachios, all-purpose flour, cardamom, baking powder, and salt together.
Beat the butter in a separate bowl and add sugar gradually. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in vanilla extract and rosewater into the butter and sugar mixture.
Beat the eggs into the butter mixture one by one until well mixed.
Add one-third of the flour mix into the butter. Once that is fully mixed, add half of the milk. Alternate between the flour and milk into the butter mixture until it's just combined. Be sure not to over mix or the cake will be tough.
Pour the batter into a greased and floured 9-inch round pan.
Bake the cake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
For the frosting, cream together the butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Rooh Afza is a red rose-flavored syrup that is a staple during Ramadan, but it is optional. I added it into the frosting for a slight tint and flavor.
Let the cake cool before icing it. Decorate with leftover crushed pistachios, almonds, or even dried rose petals. Enjoy!