A piece of jewelry Cake! The kind you give your loved ones on Valentine’s Day or any other day of the year when you want to express your love.
Green and pink, the heart chakra colors, which are starring in Michal Negrin’s designs, inspired me to create this Pistachio cake.
I made this recipe last summer. However, I held back and saved it, especially for Valentine’s day. Well, I forgot that General Covid-19 is the one who sets the rules in the recent two years. And so, instead of publishing the post yesterday, The After Effects were the ones who dictated the last word!
Nevertheless, although I published the post on February 15, I selected February 14. After all, such a festive love cake deserves the proper honor!
This pistachio sponge cake is easy to make, especially if you have peeled and roasted pistachios at hand (although roasting is easy and detailed at the end of the recipe).
The ganache icing is also easy to prepare: melt vegan white chocolate chips with coconut cream, refrigerate, and coat the cake.
Garnish with colorful chocolate hearts (preparation instructions attached), roasted pistachios, and fragrant dried pink rosebuds (If you made the vegan kebab and the Ras El Hanut seasoning mix, you probably have a nice amount of rosebuds left in the freezer).
This vegan pistachio sponge cake will open your heart chakra on the first bite!
Happy Valentine’s day❤️🌹
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups white spelt flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1½ cups un-sweetened plant based milk or water
- ¾ cup white sugar see notes
- 150 gram pealed toasted pistachios roast instructions – in the notes
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup mild oil
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon rose water
- ½ teaspoon pistachio extract optional
- ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Ganache
- 100 gram vegan white chocolate chips
- ¼ cup Coconut milk 18% fat
Garnish
- dried pink rosebuds
- pealed toasted pistachios
- 3 Chocolate hearts in pink, green, and red colors 2.5 cm (1 inch) wide see instructions in the notes
- (Turn on the oven at 170 degrees Celsius (330 F
Early Preparation
- Line with baking paper the bottom of a springform pan 20 cm (8 inches) in diameter, leaving edges outside the pan about 5 cm wide.
- Grease the pan (baking paper and sides) with vegan butter or coconut oil.
- Transfer the pistachios to a food processor; Add the salt and grind for a few minutes until you get a sticky mixture.
- Sift the flour into a bowl, add the rest of the dry ingredients, and mix.
- Mix pistachios, oil, and sugar well in a separate bowl until you get a uniform mixture. Next, add milk or water, vinegar, rose water, vanilla extract, and pistachio extract and mix well.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until the mixture is uniform.
- Immediately transfer the batter to the greased pan and bake in the center of the oven for 50-55 minutes until a toothpick or wooden skewer stuck in the center of the cake comes out clean and dry.
- Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.
Ganache
- Heat the coconut milk and white chocolate chips in a small saucepan and mix with a wooden spoon until the chocolate melts and the mixture is uniform. You can also melt the chocolate and coconut milk in the microwave. Cool the mixture to room temperature. Refrigerate for at least an hour (to make it easier to spread).
- Turn the cake over a plate so that the flat side (without bumps) faces up. Next, remove the bottom of the pan; carefully remove the baking paper as well.
- Remove the ganache cream from the refrigerator and cover the cake, top, and sides. Refrigerate for an hour or two to allow the chocolate ganache to set.
Garnish
- Place the colored chocolate hearts in the center of the cake; decorate the edges of the cake with dried pink rosebuds and roasted pistachios.
- The cake is mildly sweet. If you want a sweeter cake, add one cup of sugar instead of 3/4 cup.
- Roast the pistachios: Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (356 F); Sprinkle the peeled pistachios on a baking sheet; Bake for about ten minutes until the pistachios begin to turn golden. Remove and cool slightly.
- Colored Chocolate Hearts: Melt white chocolate chips in the microwave. Mix about a tablespoon of white chocolate with a natural pink food coloring. Mix another tablespoon of white chocolate with a natural green food coloring and another tablespoon with a natural red food coloring. Transfer to a silicone heart mold and place in the fridge to set. Instead of food coloring, you can play with beetroot powder and alfalfa powder until you get the desired hue.
- Tip – Rose Fusion: Put 3-5 dried pink rosebuds in a cup, pour boiling water, wait a few minutes, and you get a fragrant and delicious rose drink; If you add coconut milk, you will get a kind of Sahlab 🙂 Delicious hot or cold.
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