The Greek island of Aegina is famous for its pistachio nuts and this cake is a fabulous combination of pistachio nuts and honey, perfect with coffee, tea, or milk.Use a standard loaf pan to make this cake, and set aside some shelled pistachios to garnish the top. The taste of thyme honey is ideal for this recipe, but if not available, look for a honey at the low end of the sweetness scale.
Greek Pistachio Honey Cake
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup of thyme honey
- 2/3 cup of sugar
- 1 tablespoon of brandy
- 1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 cup LESS 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 2 eggs
- 2 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1/4 pound of shelled unsalted pistachios, coarsely chopped
- 1/3 pound of anthotyro cheese, softened and mashed (subst. cream cheese or ricotta)
- 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg + 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, mixed
- a pinch of sea salt
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- .
- FOR THE GARNISH (optional)
- 2-3 tablespoons of shelled unsalted pistachio nuts
Preparation:
In a saucepan, combine honey, sugar, brandy, and lemon juice stir to dissolve sugar and honey. Bring to a boil, stirring, and cook for 5-6 minutes. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes before continuing.
Using a mixer, beat together oil and eggs. Add flour, pistachio nuts, cheese, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove mixture, salt, and baking powder. Add the cooled honey and sugar mixture and beat until thorougly combined.
Preheat oven to 390°F (200°C).
Oil a loaf pan with a little olive oil and dust with flour. Transfer the batter to the pan and bake at 390°F (200°C) for about 50 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake should come out dry when done.
Remove cake from the oven and immediately turn the cake out upside down onto a rack to cool. Turn back over when cooled and serve.
Optional: When cooled, turn the cake over, garnish the top with whole shelled pistachio nuts before serving.
