Pistachio, rose & honey cakes
Evoking flavours of the Middle East, these nutty, syrup-soaked cakes are the perfect bite-sized treat to take to a party. To make them even more special, decorate with edible rose petals – look for unsprayed flowers or pick them from your garden to ensure they’re safe to eat.
MAKES 12 PREP 25 mins COOK 20 mins EASY
V ❄ cakes only
100g shelled pistachios
150g butter, softened, plus extra
for the tins
150g golden caster sugar 3 medium eggs
100g self-raising lour
50g honey, plus extra for drizzling 1/4 tsp rosewater
250g mascarpone
1 tbsp icing sugar edible rose petals, to
decorate (optional)
1 Tip the pistachios into a food processor and blitz to fine crumbs. Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Generously butter the holes of a 12-hole mun tin. If the tin doesn’t have a non-stick surface, line it with paper cases.
2 Weigh 25g of the pistachio crumbs into a small bowl and set aside. Tip the butter, caster sugar, eggs, flour and a pinch of salt into the food processor with the rest of the pistachio crumbs and blitz until smooth and creamy. Divide the mixture evenly between the holes of the tin and bake for 20 mins until golden and springy to the touch and a skewer inserted into the middles comes out clean. If any wet batter remains, return the cakes to the oven for 5 mins, then check again. Once cooked, run a knife around each cake to loosen from the tin (if not using paper cases), then leave to cool in the tin for 5 mins. Carefully turn out the cakes and transfer to a wire rack to cool until just warm. Once fully cooled, the cakes will keep in an airtight container for up to two days or frozen for up to two months.
3 Pour the honey and 2 tbsp water into a small pan over a low heat and bubble for a few minutes until you have a loose syrup. Remove from the heat and stir in the rosewater. While the cakes are still warm, brush over the syrup, letting it soak in. Leave to cool completely.
4 Mix the mascarpone with the icing sugar, then spoon a little of this over each cake, swirling it with the back of the spoon. Drizzle with a little extra honey, then scatter over the reserved pistachio crumbs and decorate with rose petals, if you like. Best eaten within a few hours, but will keep chilled for two days.
PER SERVING 347 kcals • fat 25g • saturates 14g • carbs 26g • sugars 18g • ibre 1g • protein 5g • salt 0.4g