Pistachio Pound Cake

The humble pound cake.  Simple, elegant, yet dense and satisfying.  Enough said.

This particular recipe was sourced from the kitchens of The Tasting Room at CityCentre in Houston, uncovered by Bon Appetit.  It involves a variety of citrus juices and zests, which gave a nice refreshing balance to the rich, buttery cake, while pistachios added nuttiness and crunch.  Chef Raymond Vandergaag suggest serving these cake slices with whipped cream and truffled honey, though I'm sure it would be just as divine alongside some vanilla ice-cream!  (It was good with my morning coffee, too!)

The recipe calls for a fairly large loaf pan.  As I did not have this on hand, I used my trusty old 4x6 pan and spooned the leftover batter into paper muffin cups and made some mini cakes.  I baked the mini cakes 30 minutes less than the loaf.  The little guys are pretty tasty too, though not nearly as moist and delicious as the large loaf.  So I would suggest using a large loaf pan, if you have one, or baking two smaller loaves.


Pistachio Pound Cake
(adapted from Bon Appetit, April 2012)

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for coating pans
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
5 large eggs
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoon fresh orange juice
2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
1 cup shelled, unsalted pistachios, coarsely chopped

Arrange a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 325°F.  Coat a 9x5x3" loaf pan with nonstick spray.  Dust pan with flour; tap out excess.  (In my case, I used a smaller loaf pan and poured leftover batter into paper muffin cups.)

Whisk 2 cups flour, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl.  Using an electric mixer, beat butter at medium speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.

Add sugar; beat until well incorporated, 1-2 minutes.  Add eggs one at a time, beating to blend between additions.  Add juices and zests; beat until well combined (mixture will look curdled), 2-3 minutes.

Add dry ingredients; reduce speed to low and beat just until blended.  Fold in 3/4 cup pistachios.

Pour batter into prepared pan; smooth top.  Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup pistachios over.

Bake cake, rotating halfway through, until a cake tester comes out clean, about 1 1/2 hours.  Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely in pan.  Run a sharp knife around sides to loosen; unmold cake.