During Passover, followers of the Jewish faith are forbidden to eat, drink, or own chametz or (chometz) – food that is made from grain (barley, oats, rye, spelt, or wheat) and water and has been allowed to rise. To avoid coming in contact with chametz, people thoroughly clean their homes and living spaces. And this is always a situation where every year we must create replacement solutions and yet being able to enjoy the flavors of great cuisine.
A few years ago browsing for inspiration of re-invented dishes for Passover I fell in love with the newly found Food Republic . A beautiful journal of recipes mostly vegetarian (a lot of them are gluten-free and vegan) among my favorites for being family-friendly perfect for work lunches, weeknight dinners and weekend gatherings. The pisctachio and almond cake was the perfect match .(See gallery above and recipe below). I now bake this cake all year round ad it’s a true delight!
A lush but deceptively light flour less nut cake with a great crumb and texture, this pistachio beauty is gluten free and dairy free. It is a robust cake that travels well and slices even better! Adapted slightly from Australian Women’s Weekly Indulgent Cakes
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups raw almonds
- 1 1/2 cups raw pistachios
- 1 cup raw sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon rind
- 2 eggs
- 5 egg whites
- pinch of salt
INSTRUCTIONS
- Soak almonds in hot water for 30 minutes. Drain.
- Pre-heat oven to 160C. Grease a deep 22cm (9 inch) round springform cake pan and line with baking paper.
- Place drained almonds, pistachio, sugar, cardamom and salt in the bowl of a food processor and process until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs. Transfer to a large bowl. Add egg, egg white and lemon rind. Mix well either with a wooden spoon or for a minute with an electric mixer until thoroughly combined.
- Spread mixture into prepared pan. Smooth the top. Bake in the pre-heated oven for approximately 1 1/4 hours until the top is golden and the cake has started browning around the edges. Remove from the oven and cool cake in the pan.
- Serve warm with a dusting of icing sugar if you prefer.
NOTES
You may add two drops of green food colouring or a sprinkling of spirulina powder to enhance the green colour of the cake. (I add Matcha powder)
The cake can be served with drained yoghurt sweetened with maple/honey.
Saffron poached fruit makes a good accompaniment to the cake.