Clementine and Pistachio Cake

It's on grey and gloomy days like today that it's nice to be able to turn to a sweet and zesty treat like this one. Pistachios marry really well with citrus so I've used clementines, which are abundant at this time of year. Try and buy ready shelled pistachios if you can, otherwise it's a bit of a chore getting them out of their shells. Also, grind them as well as you can but it's not a big issue if they are relatively coarse. A few chunks of pistachio here and there will give the cake a nice change of texture.

Prep time: 20 Mins

Baking time: 45-50 Mins

175g Unsalted Butter (Softened)

175g Caster Sugar

3 Large Eggs

100g Ground Almonds

100g Pistachios (Ground)

Zest of 4 good sized Clementines

50g Plain flour

1Tsp Baking Powder

50g Roughly Chopped pistachios

Juice of 4 Clementines

50g Caster Sugar

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and grease/line the base of a 20cm loose bottomed tin. In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar then beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add in the pistachios and almonds, followed by the clementine zest. Sift in the flour and baking powder, then mix it all together and spoon into the tin. Bake in the centre of the oven for about 45 minutes, until the top of the cake is golden brown and a metal skewer can be removed cleanly from the centre.

When the cake is done put the clementine juice, chopped pistachios and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring it to the boil and leave it rumbling away for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. When it has started to thicken and become syrupy remove from the heat and spoon over the hot cake. Let the whole lot go cold in the tin, then carefully remove and enjoy at you leisure!