Pistachio & Blood Orange Cake + Pistachio & Raspberry Brownies

A double dose of pistachios to celebrate National Pistachio Day: a one-bowl, no-machinery snacking cake with a pink blood orange icing and a lux brownie recipe.

When it comes to nuts, pistachios sit on the throne. The bright green color, complex flavor, and haunting aroma make this nut my favorite to bake with. Whether using whole pistachios, roasted pistachio oil, pistachio butter, pistachio flour, or fancy Sicilian pistachio paste, I'm in!

Pistachio gelato is my #1 flavor. That's a big deal, because I will savor almost any flavor of frozen dessert. As a kid, I would make "pistachio pie" by pouring Jell-o Instant Pistachio Pudding into a store-bought graham cracker crust. I would sit with my grandpa and eat pistachios out of the shell. (By the way, shelled pistachios are the best nut to eat in the shell. They offer themselves to you with very little effort to open. But why did they dye them red?)

My one wish: Someone please sell blanched pistachios with those thin skins removed. They make much better (and greener) pistachio butter and paste. Yes, I have blanched my own pistachios before. It's too much of a pain.

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Raspberry & Pistachio Brownies

Photo by Grant Kessler

The folks over at Bake Magazine shared my recipe for these gooey, tangy, nutty brownies. They have a double-dose of pistachios: swirled caramelized pistachio praline and topped with chopped pistachios. The fresh raspberries take on a jammy quality when baked, keeping the brownies gooey and bright. Go give these a try!

Get the recipe here.

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Pistachio & Blood Orange Cake

Pink and green!

I enjoy the process of baking, but sometimes I need a low-effort, high-reward recipe. That's where this blood orange-pistachio cake comes in. It stays crave-ably moist and tender even if you over-mix or over-bake it a bit. The bright pink icing has just enough tang and sweetness to enhance the nuttiness of the cake without making it overly sweet. And you can make the cake in one bowl without any special machinery.

One bowl cakes make me so happy. I love a no-fuss one-layer cake. Some people call these snacking cakes, but honestly, what cake isn’t for snacking? This one stuffs a ton of flavor into a small package. It's impressive, but simple. The blood orange glaze and sprinkle of pistachios looks striking at a casual party, so don't tell your guests how easy this cake was to make!

The combination of butter, flavorful pistachio oil,  ground pistachios, and yogurt keep this cake super moist. The blood orange zest, pistachio oil, and almond extract harmonize and become more than a sum of its parts.

I urge you to splurge for some toasted pistachio oil. It's one of my favorite fancy ingredients of all time. The oil gives any cake, ice cream, salad dressing, or pasta that rich, pure, toasty-nutty pistachio flavor.

Makes 1 1-layer, 9-inch square cake, 9-12 servings.

Cake

180 g sugar

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Zest of 1 blood orange *

160 g all-purpose flour

75 g pistachio flour or finely ground pistachios**

2 teaspoons baking powder

100 g (7 Tablespoons) butter, melted

30 g (3 tablespoons) roasted pistachio oil***

3 large room-temperature eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

80 grams plain whole-milk yogurt

Icing

13 g (about 1 tablespoon) butter, melted

Juice of 1 medium blood orange*

150 g powdered sugar

Pinch of salt

1/4 teaspoon citric acid powder (optional, for more tang)

About 50 g (1/4 cup) pistachios, chopped, for sprinkling

Heat the oven to 350F with a rack in the middle of the oven.

Butter a 9-inch by 9-inch square metal baking pan and line it with parchment paper.

Add the sugar and salt to a large mixing bowl. Zest the orange right into the bowl. Rub the zest into the sugar with your fingers. Add the all-purpose flour, pistachio flour, and baking powder, then whisk to combine. Add the melted butter, pistachio oil, beaten eggs, vanilla extract and almond extract, and whisk to combine. Add the yogurt and whisk to combine.

One bowl, no machinery.

Dump the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 350F for 28-30 minutes until the cake springs back when poked and a toothpick comes out just with a few crumbs attached.

Cool for at least 15 minutes in the pan, then place onto your serving platter.

Whisk together all of the ingredients for the frosting to get a thick frosting that flows just a bit. You want it to mostly hold its shape. Add more blood orange juice or water to thin out the frosting if needed, or more powdered sugar. Pour over the top of the cake and use a small offset spatula to coax it all over the cake. If some drips down, that's fine, too.

Sprinkle with chopped pistachios.

This cake lasts for at least 3 days, covered, at room temperature.

Substitutions:

* Swap the blood orange for a regular navel orange. The icing will not be as vibrant, so you may want to add a bit of food coloring or turmeric to the icing.

** You can grind your own pistachios using a food processor. Pulse whole pistachios with the all-purpose flour until they are finely ground. Don't go too far, or they will start to turn into pistachio butter. Alternatively, you can swap the ground pistachios with almond flour.

*** Roasted pistachio oil is a fabulous ingredient. It has that authentic toasty, deep pistachio flavor. You can also swap it out for olive oil, if you need to, but the cake won't be nearly as pistachio-y.

You can also make this in a loaf pan, but it will take 50-55 minutes to bake.

Happy Baking,
Martin