Hello there!
I hope January was fruitful for everyone. Can you believe it’s February ALREADY?! 2010 is shaping up to fly by fast.
Other than being busy, not much has changed over here… my pistachio kick is still holding strong. I just can’t get enough of their complex aroma, flavor, color… nom. I have been eating a little too much pistachio pudding and looking for other ways to incorporate them.
Funnily enough, I heard about the big PR campaign to revamp pistachios after the samonella scare last year… and they have some questionable people at the helm of that campaign.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggB6SsB4DgM
Hmm…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKPCs6dSsYM
So what is this supposed to say about pistachio eaters? We’re dumb and low-brow?
Thankfully for the pistachios they sell themselves, so these silly ads shouldn’t slow them down. And some pistachio cake doesn’t hurt any, either.
I’m on this simple cake kick lately– no layers or elaborate toppings, just good old cake with a flavorful accent. This cake is dense, moist and rich and the aroma… ah! I know some people think that dark chocolate is reserved for pre-holiday baking, but to heck with them! While this would certainly make a delicious holiday cake, I’ll eat some dark chocolate anytime!
Pistachio Cake with Chocolate Sauce
1 cup ground pistachios
1 3/4 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 teas. baking powder
1/4 teas. salt
1– 8 oz. container soy cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/3 cups milk of choice (I used almond)
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teas. vanilla
1/2 cup chopped dark chocolate
3 tbsp. milk of choice
1 tbsp. margarine
pistachios for garnish
Preheat oven to 350. Prepare a 8 or 9 inch cake pan by greasing and flouring and/or lining the bottom with parchment.
In a small bowl combine ground pistachios, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, mix cream cheese and some of the milk using electric beaters. Incorporate the remaining milk in batches. Add oil and vanilla.
Combine dry ingredients with the wet ingredients in batches until batter is just mixed. Spread into pan and bake for 40–45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out with just some little crumbs clinging to it.
To prepare the sauce, combine dark chocolate, milk and margarine in a double boiler and melt until smooth. Serve cake with warm chocolate sauce drizzled on and some pistachio garnish.
nom nom nom…