Parisa's Persian Kitchen: orange pistachio cake

one-bowl, quick and easy cake with only 5 major ingredients

prep: 10'

bake: 50'

8 large slices

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Some time ago, with a number of guests on their way and no plan for dessert, I hastily baked this take on a butter cake. Adding a little Persian zing to the batter elevated it to a new level: doused in orange syrup and topped with orange zest and pistachio nuts, this impromptu dessert was a massive hit - and it has been my go-to last-minute dessert ever since.

ingredients for the cake

225g (1 and 3⁄4 cups) plain flour

juice and zest of an orange - approximately 60ml (4 tbsp)

5g (1 and 1⁄4 tsp) baking powder

4 eggs

225g (8 oz) unsalted butter, softened

225g (1 cup and 2 tbsp) caster sugar

a pinch of salt

ingredients for the syrup

juice and rind of 4 oranges approximately 250ml (1 cup) orange juice

60g (1⁄2 cup) chopped pistachios

125ml (1⁄2 cup) water

150g (3⁄4 cup) caster sugar

preparation

grease or line a 23 cm (9 inch) cake tin

preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F

for the sponge, pour all the ingredients into a large bowl

beat for 4 minutes using an electric mixer

transfer into the tin

bake for 50 minutes or until it springs back to the touch and is lightly golden

to make the syrup, cut thin pieces of orange peel using an orange zester or a knife

try to cut it so as to have as little pith as possible, as this will impart a bitter flavour

boil the rinds for two minutes and strain

soak in cold water for 5 minutes

strain a second time and reserve

on a medium heat, simmer the sugar, orange juice and water for 5 minutes

turn off the heat

add the rind and the crushed pistachio nuts

set aside to cool

while the cake is hot and still in the tin, pour the cooled syrup on top, placing it in a dish to make sure the syrup doesn’t leak

set aside for 30 minutes for the syrup to soak in

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