elderflower pistachio and lemon cake
CAKE
○ 125g butter, at room temperature
○ 125g Greek yoghurt
○ 250g sugar
○ 250g pistachio nuts
○ 200g plain flour
○ 1 teaspoon baking powder
○ zest and juice of 1 unwaxed lemon
○ 3 eggs
ELDERFLOWER AND LEMON DRIZZLE
○ 150ml elderflower cordial (recipe here)
○ 2 lemons
○ 50g caster sugar
ELDERFLOWER ICING
○ 100g thick Greek yoghurt or cream cheese
○ 4 tablespoons honey
○ 1 tablespoon elderflower cordial
○ a handful of pistachio nuts, crushed
○ elderflowers for topping
Preheat your oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/gas 6. Grease and line the base of a 20cm cake tin.
Put the butter, yoghurt and sugar into a bowl and cream together until light and fluffy.
Blitz the pistachios in a food processor. Add the blitzed pistachios, flour, baking powder and lemon zest and juice to the butter mixture and mix well. Then crack in the eggs, one by one, and mix in.
Pour into the cake tin and bake for 45–50 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin.
Make a few holes in the warm cake with a skewer, then gently pour the elderflower and lemon drizzle slowly over the cake, allowing it time to seep in. Leave the cake in the tin until cool enough to transfer to a cooling rack.
For the icing, mix the yoghurt, icing sugar or honey and elderflower cordial until smooth. Spread over the cooled cake and top with the pistachios and elderflowers.