Pistachio and rosewater layer cake
Honey muscat syrup cake
SERVES 10 PREP AND COOK TIME 1 HOUR 15 MINUTES 250g butter, softened
½ cup (110g) caster sugar
½ cup (175g) honey
3 eggs
2 cups (300g) self-raising flour ½ cup (125ml) muscat
½ cup (140g) Greek-style yogurt ½ medium (160g) pomegranate, seeds removed
75g raspberries
1 medium (240g) orange, peeled, halved, sliced thinly ORANGE SYRUP ⅔ cup (160ml) freshly squeezed orange juice
½ cup (125ml) water
¾ cup (165g) caster sugar 1 tablespoon muscat YOGURT TOPPING 2 cups (320g) icing sugar
¼ cup (70g) Greek-style yogurt 2 tablespoons reserved Orange Syrup
1 Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Grease a 24cm bundt pan well; sprinkle with flour to coat pan, tap out excess flour.
2 Beat butter and sugar in a small bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in honey, then eggs, one at a time. Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Stir in sifted flour, muscat and yogurt in two batches. Spread mixture into pan.
3 Bake cake for 45 minutes or until skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean; turn onto a wire rack over a shallow tray.
4 ORANGE SYRUP Meanwhile, combine all ingredients in a small saucepan; stir over high heat, without boiling, until sugar dissolves. Bring to boil; remove from heat. Reserve 2 tablespoons syrup for the Yogurt Topping.
5 YOGURT TOPPING Combine sifted icing sugar with yogurt and the reserved syrup in a small bowl; beat until smooth.
6 Pour hot syrup over hot cake. Serve cake drizzled with Yogurt Topping and topped with fruit. Suitable to freeze without Yogurt Topping. Not suitable to microwave.
Pistachio and rosewater layer cake
SERVES 12 PREP AND COOK TIME 2 HOURS (+ COOLING TIME) Add rosewater a little at a time, because different brands vary in strength. Cake is best made on day of serving. 200g roasted unsalted pistachios
250g butter, softened
1½ cups (330g) caster sugar
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind 4 eggs
1 cup (150g) plain flour
½ cup (75g) self-raising flour
¾ cup (200g) Greek-style yogurt
150g Turkish delight, chopped coarsely, optional ROSEWATER BUTTER CREAM 250g butter, softened
2 teaspoons rosewater
3 cups (480g) icing sugar 1 tablespoon milk, approximately
1 Preheat oven to 170°C (150°C fan-forced). Grease a deep 22cm round cake pan; line base and side with three layers of baking paper, extending papers 5cm above edge.
2 Blend or process 1 cup of the pistachios until finely ground. Coarsely chop the remaining pistachios.
3 Beat butter, sugar and rind in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until light and creamy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Stir in sifted flours, yogurt and ground pistachios. Spread mixture into pan.
4 Bake cake for 1¼ hours or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cover with foil if overbrowning. Leave cake in pan for 5 minutes before turning, top-side up, onto a wire rack to cool.
5 ROSEWATER BUTTER CREAM Beat butter and rosewater in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until as white as possible. Gradually beat in sifted icing sugar until smooth. Add enough of the milk to make the butter cream a spreadable consistency.
6 Split cake in half. Place base cake layer, cut-side up, onto a cake plate. Spread with one-third of the butter cream; top with remaining cake layer. Spread remaining butter cream over top and side of cake. Decorate top of cake with Turkish delight and chopped pistachios, if desired. Suitable to freeze. Not suitable to microwave.
Postre chajá was created by the owner of a family restaurant in Uruguay. “Chajá” is the name of an indigenous bird, whose abundant white plumage reminded him of the meringue.