Recipe Archives->Cakes->Strawberry Pistachio

Torta di Fragole e Pistacchio
Strawberry and Pistachio Cake

2 oz (50 grams) unsalted butter
5 oz (150 grams) blanched pistachio nuts
6 eggs, beaten
5 oz (150 grams) superfine sugar
Few drops of vanilla extract
5 oz (150 grams) plain white or Italian type 00 flour

12 oz (350 grams) fresh strawberries plus a few to decorate
1 tablespoon (15 ml) Marsala wine
1 pint (600 ml) heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C). Grease with butter and line two
8 inch (20 cm) round sandwich tins.  Finely chop the pistachio nuts.
Melt the butter in a small pan and leave to cool.  Put the eggs,
sugar and vanilla extract in a bowl. Whisk until pale and thick
enough to leave a ribbon-like trail for 8 seconds when the whisk
is lifted.  Sift the flour and fold half into the egg mixture. Pour
the cooled butter around the edge of the mixture and carefully fold
in the remaining flour. Divide the mixture in half and spoon one
half into one of the prepared tins. Fold 1 oz (25 grams) of the
pistachio nuts into the remaining mixture and pour into the other
tin.  Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes or until the cakes have
just started shrinking from the side of the tins.  Cool in the tins
for 5 minutes. Turn out on to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.

To fill and decorate, thinly slice the 12 oz (350 grams) of
strawberries.  Sprinkle the Marsala wine over the plain cake, then
split both cakes in half horizontally. Whip the cream until it just
holds its shape and divide into 2 portions. Set one portion aside.
Place a pistachio cake layer on a flat plate and spread over half
of 1 portion of the cream. Add a plain cake layer, the strawberries,
another pistachio cake layer and the remaining cream. Top with the
plain cake layer.  Coat the top and sides of the cake with two-thirds
of the reserved portion of cream. Lightly press the remaining
pistachio nuts on the sides of the cake. Spoon the remaining cream,
in blobs, around the top of the cake and decorate with the remaining
strawberries.

Printable version: strawberry-pistachio.txt.