Pistachio and Lemon Layer Cake inspired by Beatrix, North Melbourne

Beatrix Inspired Pistachio + Lemon Layer Cake

Kath October 12, 2019

Attempting to make this cake has been on my mind since I visited Beatrix, a bakery in North Melbourne in late August. When I put the call out on social media for any tips on where to eat in Melbourne, this bakery was mentioned again and again. And for good reason!

The cakes not only look amazing, but they taste great too. The shop itself is small and cute, with a wall of old egg beaters hanging behind the retro style wooden cake cabinet. Small white paper doilies are used to label each cake on the outside of the counter, and there seemed to be a steady steam of people coming visit even on a weekday.

As soon as I saw the Pistachio and Lemon cake in the counter I knew that was the cake for me. I ordered it with a pot of peppermint tea, and my friend Sally ordered Apple Pie Cake with a coffee. Both cakes were delicious, and we sat and chatted for a while in the lovely calm cake-filled space.

As I walked to my next stop of the day, I had already began thinking about recreating the Pistachio and Lemon Cake once I got home. Once I was home, I started researching through lots of my cookbooks and finally found recipes I could begin to recreate the Beatrix cake with.

Even though I posted a recipe for Yuzu Curd not that long ago, and I could have easily made that recipe again but with lemon, I have had my eye on an easy lemon curd recipe I saw on Instagram from Jordan of Thistle + Whey. Jordan posted this recipe back in July as part of her Slow Saturday series. It immediately got my attention, and I screen shotted the recipe and the tips she posted on Stories too.

Since this cake has a few steps to make it, I decided an easy option for the lemon curd would be most welcome! And not only is this recipe for lemon curd super easy, it produces the thickest tangiest lemon curd I have ever made! I am always hoping the lemon curds I make will be thicker than they end up, and the only time I achieved this before was when I used a recipe that contained gelatine.

The taste and consistency of this lemon curd was just perfect for this layer cake, as it held its shape and didn’t drip everywhere, and the super tangy lemon flavour goes really well with the buttery sweet icing. So it’s win win all around, and Jordan’s Super Easy Lemon Curd is now my go to recipe! Thanks Jordan!

And a note on the meringue buttercream - if you like me, aren’t a big fan of the stock standard buttercream icing, this one is not like that! When I ate the Pistachio and Lemon Cake at Beatrix, I knew they had used a type of meringue buttercream as, not only did I actually enjoy eating it, but it had that slightly more white colour that comes from the meringue element. This recipe replicates theirs pretty well, and it is lighter and less buttery and dense than its regular buttercream counterpart, and well worth the effort in making it.

Beatrix Inspired Pistachio and Lemon Cake

Jordan’s Super Easy Lemon Curd

Ingredients:

2-3 lemons (medium to large sized, I used 4 very small lemons)

160g caster sugar

110g unsalted butter

5 egg yolks (save the whites for the meringue buttercream icing below)

Method:

Slice the lemons into quarters, and place in the bowl of a food processor. Process the lemons until they have become pulpy and almost smooth.

Cut the butter into cubes, add to the food processor along with the caster sugar and egg yolks. Process until everything is well combined and as smooth as possible.

Transfer this lemon mixture into a medium saucepan, and stir over a low heat. The curd will look curdled at first but it will thin out as the butter melts, then thicken up again as the eggs cook. Once the curd has thickened and coats the back of your spoon or spatula it is done (this should take around 5 minutes).

Pour through a sieve and discard any bits the sieve catches. Transfer to a large glass jar and allow too cool to room temperature before storing in the fridge.

Makes about 400g, and will keep in the fridge for about 5 days.

Beatrix Inspired Pistachio and Lemon Cake

Ingredients for the Cake:

200g unsalted butter, softened

200g caster sugar

30g pistachio paste (see here for homemade version)

4 eggs

100g raw shelled pistachios

200g self raising flour

Ingredients for the Meringue Buttercream Icing + Assembly:

270g caster sugar

67ml water

135g egg whites (3-4 egg whites approx. (but do measure specifically), use leftovers from making the lemon curd)

330g unsalted butter, softened

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

130g (approx.) Jordan’s Super Easy Lemon Curd

50g blanched pistachios

Method:

Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius and grease and line two 20cm round baking tins.

Place the pistachios on a small tray and lightly toast in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove, and allow to cool a little, then blitz into fine crumbs (similar to the consistency of almond meal) using a food processor.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, place the butter, sugar and pistachio paste. Beat on medium speed until well combined and fluffy.

Gently whisk the eggs in a jug, and add to the butter mixture with the mixer running on a low/medium speed. Add the ground pistachios and continue to beat on medium speed until combined.

Measure out the self raising flour into a separate bowl and briefly whisk to remove any lumps. Add the flour to the batter, and mix on the lowest speed. Finnish mixing by hand to avoid over working the batter.

Evenly transfer the cake batter between the two prepared tins, and bake for 30 minutes or until cooked through and golden in colour.

Leave the cakes too cool in their tins for a few minutes, then remove from the tins and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

To make the icing, place the water and sugar in a small saucepan over high heat and allow to come to a rapid boil. Using a candy thermometer keep an eye on the temperature of the sugar syrup - it will be ready once it reaches 121 degrees Celsius.

Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer, and gently whisk until foamy (start this once the sugar syrup is at around 100 degrees Celsius).

Once the sugar syrup has reached 121 degrees Celsius, remove from the heat, and with the mixer running on low pour it over the whisked egg whites (avoiding the whisk itself as much as possible).

Increase the speed of the mixer to medium, and continue to whisk until the meringue has cooled right down - this will take at least 5-10 minutes.

Cut the butter into cubes, and add a cube or two at a time with the mixer still running. Allow each cube to incorporate into the mixture before adding more. Continue to beat until the meringue buttercream is completely smooth. Briefly beat in the vanilla extract.

Place one of the cooled cakes on to a plate or cake stand (or a cake turntable if you have one) top side up. Spread a thin layer of the buttercream over the cake, then using a piping bag pipe a rim of icing around the edge - this will contain the lemon curd and create a more even surface for the second cake layer to sit on. Pipe a second rim inside the first if you think the cake needs more height around the edges to make it even.

Spoon the lemon curd into the centre of the cake, pushing to the edge of the buttercream rim you have piped. Pipe over some more of the buttercream over the top of the lemon curd and gently smooth it out with a spatula.

Trim the top of the second cake if necessary (so it will sit as flat as possible), and place top side down, over the curd and buttercream layer.

Cover the top of the cake with more meringue buttercream, then spread down the sides and around the entirety of the cake. Try to make the buttercream as smooth and even as possible, using a spatula or palette knife. It doesn’t need to be perfect, as you will now cover the icing with some pistachios.

Briefly blitz the blanched pistachios in a food processor so you get large crumbs (alternately you could chop them up with a knife). Cover the entire cake in the pistachio crumbs, sprinkling them over the top and pressing them into the sides of the cake.

Place the cake into the fridge for about 30-60 minutes, to allow the icing the firm up - this will allow you to get some nice clean slices when you cut the cake. Any excess meringue buttercream icing can be stored for one week in an airtight container in the fridge.

Store cake in the fridge, will keep for about 5 days.

Serves 8-10.

References: Thistle + Whey Lemon Curd (posted 21/07/2019); ‘Love Layer Cakes’ by Peggy Porschen (Quadrille Publishing, 2015), pp.10 & 26-28.

Pistachio and Lemon Cake Inspired by Beatrix Melbourne

Homemade Pistachio Ice Cream

Kath September 16, 2019

I have quite the obsession with pistachio ice cream and gelato. It is a flavour I would have turned by nose up at as a child, but now the prospect of having a decent pistachio ice cream fills me with joy.

My obsession started earlier this year, with a cafe in my local Westfield serving a pistachio thickshake made with pistachio gelato. It was utter heaven, and I ordered it a few times over those hot Summer months (to the point the waiters at the cafe began to recognise me and my standard order). Then a few months ago, the cafe changed their menu and the pistachio thickshake was long gone.

I tried a couple of bought tubs of pistachio gelato, and while they were ok, they weren’t exactly what I was looking for.

I began to research recipes in order to make some at home myself. It became a lot easier when I found a recipe for homemade pistachio paste, as most recipes for pistachio ice cream or gelato use it, however I have never been able to find it here in Sydney.

I first tried adding some homemade pistachio paste to my much used easy egg free ice cream recipe. While the flavour was good, the texture was far too firm and it froze like a solid log of ice cream.

The next recipe I tried as another egg free one from the blog Top With Cinnamon by Izy Hossack. I really liked this recipe, as the flavour was really good and the texture much less icy and solid like my initial attempt. The recipe also made quite a lot of ice cream which I definitely liked. My only issue was it took a really long time to churn in the ice cream maker. The ice cream base was quite thin, and there being so much of it, it did feel like it wasn’t ever going to work!

I had another recipe up my sleeve to try, which I found in the same book I found the pistachio paste recipe, À La Mère de Famille - Artisanal Recipes by Julien Merceron (too read my Off The Shelf post on this book click here). This book has been a wealth of information on making confectionary and the like, and it seems to have those hard to find recipes I have been looking for. I’m not sure if things have been lost in translation in this cookbook, but the instructions for each recipe are quite scant and I often find myself having to improvise or just guess what sized tin I need for something.

Nevertheless the recipes from À La Mère de Famille have been super useful, and instrumental in me finding a great make at home pistachio ice cream! I have ever so slightly adapted their recipe for Pistachio Ice Cream Popsicles below, and used my version of their Pistachio Paste to flavour the ice cream. While I am very happy with the end result, I somehow doubt my obsession with making pistachio ice cream is over. I am now on the hunt for a good pistachio gelato recipe (notably after having a really good one at Piccolina Gelateria in Melbourne a couple of weeks ago!).

How to Make Pistachio Paste

Ingredients:

250g raw or blanched pistachios

100g white sugar

30ml water

60ml (4tbsp) pistachio oil

Method:

Pre heat oven to 160 degrees Celsius, and place the pistachios on a baking tray. Roast in the oven for 10 minutes. Once done set aside to cool a little.

Place the sugar and water into a small/medium saucepan and heat until it reaches 120 degrees on a sugar thermometer. Whilst the sugar syrup is heating, place the roasted pistachios on the bowl of a food processor and blitz until they form a fine crumb.

Once the sugar syrup has reached 120 degrees Celsius, gradually pour into the food processor whilst it is running. Gradually add the pistachio oil, and continue to process until a smooth paste forms. This should take between 5 and 10 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the food processor bowl at regular intervals if necessary. The finished product will be a smooth paste, similar to a nut butter. When the paste initially combines it will form a smooth ball, continue processing until a more paste like consistency is reached.

Once a smooth paste has formed, decant into plastic containers or glass jars and store in the fridge until needed. It should last about 1 month refrigerated. If the oils in the paste separate a little during storage, mix the paste briefly before using.

Makes about 390g.

Pistachio Ice Cream

Ingredients:

600ml milk

30g cornflour

50ml pouring cream

140g caster sugar

20g mild flavoured honey

3 egg yolks

100g pistachio paste (see above)

Method:

Heat the milk in a medium saucepan over low/medium heat until it reaches 40 degrees celsius on a candy thermometer.

Whisk in the cornflour, cream, sugar, honey, egg yolks and pistachio paste. Continue to whisk until all the ingredients are well combined, then use a wooden spoon or a spatula to stir for the remainder of the time. Continue to gently stir the mixture until it reaches 83 degrees celsius in a candy thermometer. The mixture will thicken up, most noticeably as it gets closer to the 80 degree mark.

The mixture now needs to be strained (to remove any lumps etc) and then blended in a blender or food processor. If your sieve can comfortably fit over your food processor, strain the mixture straight into the food processor. If not strain into a medium/large bowl and then transfer to your food processor or blender.

Whizz the ice cream base in the food processor/blender for one minute, then transfer to a container (at least 1L capacity). Place in the fridge to cool.

Once the ice cream base has had some time to chill in the fridge, it can be transferred to the bowl of an ice cream maker to churn (according to your machine’s instructions). I found it took only a few minutes, and the ice cream will be ready once it has firmed up a bit and is clinging to the paddle of the ice cream maker.

Transfer the ice cream into a container to freeze (you can use the same one as before), and allow to freeze for a few hours before serving. If the ice cream has been frozen for some hours, allow the ice cream to sit out of the freezer for a few minutes before serving.

Makes a little under 1L of ice cream.

References: ‘À La Mère de Famille’ by Julien Merceron (Hardie Grant Books, 2013), p.160 & p.250.

Pistachio Hamantaschen + How to Make Pistachio Paste

Kath March 17, 2019

Purists look away now, these are not traditional hamantaschen! Hamantaschen (made during the Jewish festival of Purim) are only a recent discovery for me, so I don’t have any preconceived ideas or traditions to guide me as to how they ‘should’ be. My only experience with them is seeing pictures pop up on Instagram the week or so before Purim. And many of the ones I have seen are variants on the traditional versions. The recipes from Molly Yeh’s blog ‘My Name is Yeh’ are a great example of this. Last year I made her Marzipan Sprinkle Hamantaschen and they were delightfully fun.

This year I have been baking with pistachios a lot, and trying to perfect a homemade pistachio paste (since none seems to be available to buy at any store I have so far looked at!). When I noticed Purim was fast approaching I thought a pistachio version with my newly perfected pistachio paste would be great.

Great, if you aren’t set on a traditional hamantaschen that is! After speaking to a few people, I have since discovered that firstly, traditionally hamantaschen are filled with a poppyseed filling. Secondly, the shortbread like pastry sometimes used nowadays (like the one below), is definitely not traditional! A yeasted dough is the traditional way to make them.

Well, that had me seriously questioning my hamantaschen idea, and for a moment considered making this version and a traditional poppyseed one with yeasted dough. After more discussion and some research online and in a few of my cookbooks, I decided to forge ahead with my super untraditional hamantaschen recipe.

From my research on hamantaschen the shortbread like dough was a 20th century adaptation of the original, as it was easier to make and had a slightly longer shelf life. From my observations it looks like the shortbread like dough is quite common in America and in US based recipes. Which is where the below recipe originates. After some trial and error I finally settled on the dough recipe by Uri Scheft from his book ‘Breaking Breads’. Uri has bakeries in Israel and New York, and based on the types of recipes in this book, I definitely need to visit one of these bakeries one day!

So to those celebrating, Chag Purim Sameach! And for everyone else, I hope you give these a go! They are worth it just for the pistachio paste alone 😀.

If you want to know more about Purim or Hamantaschen here are a few good links!

NB. The leftover pistachio paste can be used to flavour ice creams or gelato, cakes, icings, milkshakes etc.

Also! The Pisacahio Paste requires blending by a fairly powerful food processor! If you don’t think yours is up to the task, or don’t feel like making it I would recommend making the marzipan from Molly’s Marzipan and Sprinkle Hamantaschen but with ground pistachios instead of almonds.

How to Make Pistachio Paste

Ingredients:

250g raw or blanched pistachios

100g white sugar

30ml water

60ml (4tbsp) pistachio oil

Method:

Pre heat oven to 160 degrees Celsius, and place the pistachios on a baking tray. Roast in the oven for 10 minutes. Once done set aside to cool a little.

Place the sugar and water into a small/medium saucepan and heat until it reaches 120 degrees on a sugar thermometer. Whilst the sugar syrup is heating, place the roasted pistachios in the bowl of a food processor and blitz until they form a fine crumb.

Makes about 390g.

Pistachio Hamantaschen

Ingredients:

230g unsalted butter (cold not room temp)

100g icing sugar (confectioners)

50g white sugar

2 eggs

400g plain flour

50g almond meal

salt

Ingredients for the Filling:

1/2 tbsp water

salt

60g mixed berry jam

250g pistachio paste

slivered pistachios, to decorate

Method:

Place the butter in between two sheets of baking paper and bash with the end of a rolling pin. This tenderises the butter without warming it up too much.

Place the butter and both sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat with the paddle attachment on a low speed until just combined. Increase the speed a little for a few moments longer to ensure everything is well mixed.

In a glass, add one of the eggs and lightly beat. Tip half of this into another glass and add the other egg to one of the egg halves and beat until combined. Only 1.5 eggs is necessary for the dough, however keep the other half for the egg wash later.

Add the beaten 1.5 eggs to the butter and mix on low until combined. Add the flour, almond meal and a pinch of salt then mix until almost combined.

Tip your dough onto a work surface and bring the dough together with your hands, until everything is combined. Wrap in plastic wrap or baking paper and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour (however you can do up to this step on one day and finish off the rest the next).

Once the dough has chilled, pre heat oven to 160 degrees Celsius and line three large baking trays with baking paper.

Flour your work surface and roll the dough out with a rolling pin until it is about 0.5cm thick. Continue to dust with more flour if the dough is sticky.

Cut out rounds of the dough using a 7.5-8cm (3 inch) round biscuit/cookie cutter and place on the prepared trays. Place these trays in the fridge if the dough has softened too much for a few minutes. Bring the scraps of dough together and flatten out again. If the dough is too soft re-wrap and place in the fridge for a few minutes, then continue to cut out more rounds of dough.

Remove the trays from the fridge. Get your beaten half egg from earlier and add the water and a pinch of salt. Whisk until combined. Brush this mixture over each round of dough.

Then spread a little of the jam in the centre of each round, then place a 1tsp sized ball of pistachio paste on top.

Shape the rounds of dough into the characteristic triangle shape by pinching one side into a corner, then folding the other side up to form two more corners. Sprinkle the middle of each with a few slivered pistachios.

Bake for about 20-23 minutes, rotating the racks a couple of times during baking to ensure an even bake. The hamantaschen will be lightly golden when they are done.

Cool on trays or on wire racks.

Makes about 40.

References: ‘À La Mère de Famille’ by Julien Merceron (Hardie Grant Books, 2013), p.160; ‘Breaking Breads’ by Uri Scheft (Artisan, 2016), pp.258-260.

Off The Shelf - ‘À La Mère de Famille - Artisanal Recipes’ by Julien Merceron

Kath February 3, 2019

Bought at: Grosgrain Homewares - a gorgeous homewares store in Wahroonga (in Sydney, NSW).

Recipes Made: Marshmallows pp.108-112, Passionfruit Caramel p.142 & Galette au Beurre p.214. Pistachio Paste p.160, Pistachio Cake p.22.

I have always been a big fan of marshmallow, and I bought a packet of mixed marshmallows at À La Mère de Famille when we were there in 2014. They were nice, albeit a little sticky. A little while later I decided I needed to try and make some of my own and used À La Mère de Famille’s recipe. They turned out exactly as I remembered them from the shop, however didn’t cope very well in the humidity of a Sydney Summer. I found I needed to keep tossing them in the icing sugar and potato flour mix to stop them going wet and sticky. They were definitely nice, however this recipe has not become my go to marshmallow recipe.

À La Mère de Famille Marshmallows (Raspberry & Passionfruit)

À La Mère de Famille Passionfruit Caramels

After visiting À La Mère de Famille in Paris, I knew I had to make some of the Passionfruit Caramels. I had bought a handful of them when I was there, and they were just so good I couldn’t fathom not eating another until the next time I was in Paris. Luckily the recipe is in their book. You definitely need a candy thermometer for this recipe, however many of the recipes in this book do as well, so it well worth getting one anyway. I found the caramels didn’t work as well when I made them in the heat and humidity of Summer, but worked better in the cooler months. I even went to the effort of buying candy wrappers for them, and I found plastic wrap fairly useless the first time around!

To me the Galette au Beurre are kind of like the French version of shortbread. Lots of butter, however using icing sugar instead of caster sugar. This recipe makes a lot (about 50 biscuits), but they are that good that it’s worth having that many. I posted the recipe for them years ago here on the blog (one of the very early posts!), and I mention there that when I made them I took some to my Grandpa who was in a nursing home at the time. He seemed to like them, telling me later he had gotten up in the night to eat one!

I made the Pistachio Paste recently, as I have been on a mission to recreate a pistachio ice cream/gelato. While the book does have a Pistachio ice cream recipe (p.250), I just added some of the Pistachio Paste to my easy egg free ice cream recipe. The flavour was quite nice but the ice cream froze really solid so I think I will need to try another recipe next time. The pistachio paste was relatively easy to make, as long as you have some kind of food processor. I made a half quantity of the recipe and used a mini food processor. As the paste has a sugar syrup in it, the paste firms up quite a lot when it cools. I’m not sure how easy it would be to add to other recipes once it is like this, it would probably need to be pureed again or lightly warmed to get it to incorporate properly. Considering however how difficult bought pistachio paste is to find here in Sydney, making it using this recipe is a great substitute.

The final thing I have made so far from this book is the Pistachio Cake. It is relatively easy to make (no mixer required), and is meant to use the Pistachio Paste (p.160) from the same book. As I didn’t have enough left after making the ice cream, I used some of the Pistachio Butter I bought from the Royal Nut Company online. The cake turned out well, despite not knowing what size loaf tin I should be using (this book doesn’t seem to mention sizes or dimensions of anything unfortunately - for this cake I used one 22 x 10 x 9cm loaf tin). The green colour of my cake was probably a little muted from using pistachio butter rather than paste, but I think it still made a good substitute (though I should probably test with pistachio paste next time to really compare). If you don’t have access to good quality pistachio paste or butter, or can’t be bothered making some, I would recommend using this Pistachio Cake recipe instead to get your pistachio cake fix!

Favourite Things About The Book: This book has an amazing variety of recipes from cakes, biscuits, chocolates, confectionary and ice creams. It really gives a great representation of what À La Mère de Famille is all about and the types of products they sell. It also gives a history of the store (which was established in 1761) periodically throughout the book which is lovely.

Bookmarked Recipes (to make later!): Pain d’Épice p.32, Praline Paste p.48, Pistachio Nougat p.154, Strawberry Pâte de Fruits p.168, Quince Paste p.176, Macaron de Nancy p.242, Pistachio Popsicle p.250.

Jordan’s Super Easy Lemon Curd

Beatrix Inspired Pistachio and Lemon Cake

How to Make Pistachio Paste

Pistachio Ice Cream

How to Make Pistachio Paste

Pistachio Hamantaschen

Kulinary Adventures of Kath

Food Photography, Recipes & Baking