favourite bakes – My Whisk and I

This is an easy and quick cake loaf that is perfect for afternoon tea.

100g pistachio nuts, chopped
200g caster sugar
150g butter
125ml yoghurt
3 eggs
200g flour
5ml baking powder
5ml bicarbonate of soda
10ml vanilla
4 limes, zest and juice
200g icing sugar
30ml pistachio nuts, sliced

Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line a 20cm X 10cm X 7cm loaf tin with baking paper.
Add the pistachios and caster sugar to the bowl of a food processor and whizz until fine.
Add the butter, yoghurt, eggs, flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, vanilla and lime zest and whizz again until smooth.
Spoon the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 55 minutes.
Cool the loaf in the tin for 20 minutes before turning it out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Sift the icing sugar into a mixing bowl and add the lime juice.
Spoon the glaze over the pistachio loaf and scatter with the sliced pistachios.

These tiny ricotta cakes with their zesty glaze are on my top 5 list of favourite eats!! The ricotta gives the cakes a fluffy, light, melt-in-the-mouth feel and the glaze adds a citrus punch that draws all the flavours together! Makes about 18 cakes/biscuits.

625ml flour
5ml baking powder
5ml salt
100g butter, room temperature
500ml sugar
2 eggs
420g ricotta cheese (you can make your own by following my recipe for Homemade Ricotta)
45ml lemon juice
the zest of one lemon

Lemon glaze:
375ml icing sugar
45ml lemon juice
the zest of one lemon

Preheat your oven to 190℃ and line two baking sheets with baking paper.
Add the flour, baking powder and salt to a bowl and stir to combine. Set aside.
Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
Beat on a high speed for 3 minutes.
Turn the mixer speed down to medium and add the eggs one at a time.
Add the ricotta, lemon juice and lemon zest.
Turn the mixer onto its lowest speed and add the flour mixture, a few tablespoons at a time. Keep going until you have added all the flour.
Spoon about 30ml (one large tablespoon) of the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. The dough is very sticky but use your finger to shape/mould the dough into what resembles a circle/round mound – do not flatten it! Space the dough mounds about 5 cm apart as it will flatten slightly and spread during baking.
Bake for 15 minutes.
Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheets for 30 minutes.

For the lemon glaze:
Sift the icing sugar into a bowl.
Add the lemon juice and zest and mix until smooth.
Spoon about half a teaspoon of the glaze onto each cooled cake.
Allow to become hard – about 2 hours.

Keep the cakes in a sealed container at room temperature.

Tag: favourite bakes

Pistachio Cake

Lemon-Glazed Ricotta Cakes