EGGLESS PISTACHIO CAKE WITH ORANGE SAUCE

"When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, and then throw it in the face of the person who gave you the lemons until they give you the oranges you originally asked for." — Cassandra Clare

I know I said more savoury less baking and here I am with what looks like a pista muffin but the cooking (with salt) is happening and the posts will come soon. I swear. All this eggless/ flourless/ increasingly-odd-ingredient-filled cake baking is a result of my Vienna visit I suspect. Seeing the amazing things people are doing with cake has made me very condescending towards the usual chocolate confectionary.

This is a lovely and really unusual combination of flavours and the cakes rise beautifully (even without egg). It doesn't store very well though so try serve it straight out of the oven with ice cream and be generous with the orange sauce.

What you need:

For the cakes:

 

1 cup butter

1 cup pistachios (ground to a coarse powder)

2 ½ cups condensed milk (I just used a whole can of Amul’s condensed milk)

1 ½ cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

For the orange sauce:

1 cup orange juice

½ cup caster sugar

Zest of 1 orange

Cream and chopped pistachios to serve

How to:

1. Preheat your oven to 150°C and brush down your cupcake moulds with butter/oil.

2. Toast the pistachios - pop them in a dry saucepan and heat them for a bit on the stove. Keep stirring so they don’t burn and stick to the pan. Let cool and then grind them in your mixer.

Note: The gorgeous green of ground pistachio is such a happy revelation after you seek the icky mottled nuts you pour into the mixer. =)

3. Try to keep your paws out of the can of condensed milk and in a large bowl mix it in with the butter. Add about a cup and a half of water. Stir some more. Add everything else. Stir some more.

Yup. That’s it.

4. The batter is going to be pretty thick and you’re not going to be able to pour it into the moulds. Spoon into the moulds and level. Pop in the oven for about 25 minutes. Take them out once they pass the toothpick test.

5. For the orange sauce – combine the juice, zest and sugar and cook till syrupy.

6. To serve plonk down a mini-cake, either drop a scoop of ice cream on the side or a spoonful of whipped cream on top. Pour orange sauce all over. Scatter chopped pistachios on top.

7. Eat.