Pistachio Cakes with Raspberries and Rosewater Cream

There's nothing like cleaning out your pantry to make you realise that you really don't need another bottle of pomegranate molasses to accompany the two unopened ones. Or another packet of caraway seeds to get lost behind the mountain of spice bottles (including one that is full of caraway seeds). Or another bag of rye flour to sit, getting stale with the one that's Best Before Date was April.... 2010. I'm not a collector or hoarder of anything other than food... and cook books... and kitchen gadgets... and funky crockery... Okay, I'm a hoarder. If I'm out shopping and I think we need Himalayan pink salt, because lord knows what would happen if I ran out of that, I buy it. Then, when I unload the shopping, I usually find I already have an ample supply, plus extra just-in-case. If I see something a bit exotic OR unusual OR usually-hard-to-find OR new in the market OR something in a pretty packet/box/jar/bottle, BAM, it's in my shopping basket faster than you can say "compulsive shopper". I live in a place where I can shop all day and all night. If I run out of something, I'm minutes away from being able to purchase it. But why would I when my pantry is like my own personal supermarket?

These little cakes were made because I had  some pistachios that  needed a home in a cake before their Best Before Date expired. No doubt I'll be out tomorrow buying another packet (or two) to replace these ones. You never know when the urge to make these cakes might strike and I'd hate to be out of the essential ingredient... Are you seeing how my mind works?


Pistachio Cakes with Raspberries and Rosewater Cream
from Donna Hay's Simple Dinners

90g ground almonds
45g unsalted shelled pistachios
270g icing sugar, sifted
75g plain flour, sifted
1/2 tsp baking powder, sifted
5 egg whites
125g unsalted butter, melted
200g frozen or fresh raspberries (I used golden raspberries because that's what I had.)
2 tablespoons finely chopped pistachios, extra
250g cream, whipped
1 tablespoon icing sugar, sifted extra
1/2 teaspoon rosewater

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease a 12-hole muffin pan well. And when I say well, I mean really well.

Place the ground almonds and pistachios in a food processor and process until finely chopped. Add the sugar, flour, baking powder, egg whites and butter and process until smooth.

Spoon the mixture evenly into the muffin holes.

Top with raspberries and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden and cooked through.

Let the cakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes before using a pallet knife to loosen the edges and turning them out to cool on a wire rack.

Fold the icing sugar and rosewater through the whipped cream.

Serve the cakes with a dollop of the sweetened rosewater cream and a sprinkling of chopped pistachios on top.