This is a fantastic cake with warm spicy flavour of cardamom and orange blossom, moist and tender, studded with tangy rhubarb and pistachios.
The recipe is adapted from Eat In magazine (April, 2016).
Ingredients:
150 g light brown sugar
250 ml sunflower oil
3 eggs
1 tbsp orange flower water
zest of 1 orange
1 tsp ground green cardamom (or the seeds from 12 pods)
1 tsp ginger powder (or 1/2 tsp ground fresh ginger)
300 g self-raising flour
350 g rhubarb
80 g ground or finely chopped pistachio kernels
For the cream:
250 g mascarpone
2 tbsp orange blossom honey (I used the one with orange peels, but you can add some fresh orange peel to the cream if desired)
1 tbsp lemon juice (optional)
chopped pistachio kernels for sprinkling
Method:
Preheat oven to 180 C (fan 160 C). Grease and line 20 cm baking tin.
Trim and chop the rhubarb into 1 cm pieces.
In a large bowl, beat together the eggs and sugar until pale and foamy.
Beat in the oil and orange flower water.
Fold in the cardamom, orange zest, then add the flour and pistachios.
Stir in the rhubarb.
Spoon into the tin and level the surface.
Bake for 1 hour or 1 hour 15 minutes until golden brown and an inserted skewer comes out clean.
Beat together the mascarpone, honey, orange peel and lemon juice.
Spread over the top of the cake (or if prefer, slice the cake into 2 layers and spread half of the cream in between).
Sprinkle with chopped pistachio kernels.
Serve and enjoy!
Bon Appetit!
