Candied pistachio cake difficulty *** #85

Cuts into 8

Preparing time: 25 minutes, plus cooling 

Cooking time: 55 minutes

Ingredients: 

• 2 teaspoons egg white 
• 150 g shelled pistachio nuts 
• 2 tablespoons vanilla sugar 
• 125 g slightly salted butter, softened 
• 100 g caster sugar 
• finely grated rind of 1 lemon 
• 2 eggs, separated 
• 75 g plain flour 
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• sifted icing sugar, for dusting 

1. Whisk the 2 teaspoons egg white in a bowl to break it up 
2. Add the pistachio nuts and coat thinly in the egg white 
3. Sprinkle in the vanilla sugar, turning the nuts to coat, then spread out on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment 
4. Bake in a preheated oven, 160 C( 325 F),Gas Mark 3, for 10 minutes
5. Leave to cool, then roughly chop
6. Beat together the butter, 75 g of caster sugar and the lemon rind in a bowl until very pale and fluffy 
7. Beat in the egg yolks
8. Sift in the flour and baking powder, then stir in the nuts, reserving 3 tablespoons 
9. Whisk the egg whites in a clean bowl with the hand-held electric whisk until peaking 
10. Gradually whisk in the remaining sugar, a spoonful at a time 
11. Stir a third of the mixture into the creamed mixture using a large metal spoon 
12. Gently stir in the remaining egg whites 
13. Spoon the mixture into a greased and lined 1 kg or 1.3 liter loaf tin and level the surface 
14. Scatter with reserved nuts and bake in the oven for about 45 minutes or until firm to touch and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean 
15. Loosen the cake at the ends and transfer to a wire rack to cool 
16. Peel off the lining paper and dust with sifted icing sugar 
17. Enjoy! :-)