Now, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m pretty fed up of the same gluten free cakes, the same flavours, the same damn recipes. Life’s too short to eat chocolate brownies and another dry muffin. That’s why one of my goals for 2018 is to experiment with more flavours, and expand my knowledge of what goes well with what.

I used to do it all of the time with regards to fragrance, when I worked for LUSH Cosmetics. I still have 2 amazing  baths mixing and matching the products every week. So while I was reflecting on my year, and how I used to use that skill (if you can call smelling things together a skill) I decided I should keep it, and transfer it to one of my favourite things in life, FOOD.  I used to never have the confidence to do anything, and everything I ever achieved, I was really shy and almost embarrassed about, because I felt like I wasn’t achieving the same things as everyone else. So I’m really going to spend my 2018 being ME, trying new things, being proud of the things I do and just DOING THE THING, YAY!

So what better thing to start off my year, than to make this Pistachio and Rosewater cake. This is dead moist, and the flavours work so well together. I imagine this would be perfect over a cuppa with family and friends, or as a gift for a birthday, or special event (Valentines day and Mothers Day will be coming around sooner than you think).

I love rose as a fragrance, I love the benefits of rose on your skin and mood. I don’t however love pistachios, but it’s okay if you don’t either, because what I’ve done with them in this recipe, is toast them for a while in the oven, and made a flour with them (with that food processor you probably got for Christmas that won’t really get much use after January finishes). You could also chop some up and sprinkle on top of the cake. I reckon the green from them against the rose petals will look instagram-worthy. Also, about the rose petals, I found mine in the herbs & Spices aisle of ASDA, if you’re wanting to make sure they’re edible.

I’ve added the buttercream to the top of the cake, but if you want, you can just use half the quantities I use in the buttercream recipe, and sandwich the cakes together with that, and just finish the cake off with sprinkling a dust of sifted icing sugar on the top.

So here we go, here’s my recipe!

Pistachio & Rosewater Cake (Gluten & Dairy Free)

• Servings: 12
• Time: 2 hours (inc cooling time)
• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

A nutty, floral and moist cake. The perfect mini-showstopper for afternoon tea.

Credit: thecoeliacsloth.com

Ingredients

For the cake

• 125g Caster Sugar
• 125g Margarine
• 3 Medium Free Range Eggs
• 4tsp Rosewater
• Juice of 1/2 a lime
• 150g Pistachios
• 150g Gluten Free Self-raising flour
• 1tsp Xanthan gum
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 2tbsp Dairy Free Milk

 

For the frosting and topping

• 100g Dairy Free Margarine
• 400g Icing sugar
• 1/2tsp Rosewater
• Pink Gel Food Colouring
• Rose Petals for decoration

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 170°c and line two 20cm Cake tins with baking parchment.
2. Lightly roast the pistachios in the oven for 5/10 minutes, leave to cool, and then blitz in a food processor until they become a flour-like texture
3. In a bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until well combined, then beat in the eggs, one at a time.
4. Mix in the lime juice and rosewater.
5. Next, mix in the rest of the dry ingredients and the dairy free milk, until you get a smooth batter, be careful not to over-mix as the xanthan gum can make the batter seize up a little. If the mixture seems too thick, add in more dairy free milk.
6. Divide the cake mix across the two cake tins, and spread the batter until even.
7. Bake the cake in the oven for approximately 20 minutes, until a skewer inserted comes out clean, or if pressed gently, it springs back.
8. Leave on a wire rack to cool completely.
9. For the icing, cream together the butter, pink gel food colouring, rosewater and icing sugar, being careful to mix in little bits of the icing sugar at a time.
10. Spread the icing over one cake, and place the other cake on top to sandwich it together. Spread more icing over the top layer, and sprinkle some edible rose petals around the cake.
11. Put the kettle on, and your is ready to enjoy with a cuppa!