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I’ve had a subscription to Bon Appétit magazine for about a year now, and I am convinced it’s one of the best periodicals I’ve ever invested in. Ever since their long-heralded competition Gourmet Magazine went digital (sniff, sniff, no more hard copies of glossy pictures and recipes although they do have a fantastic database online), Bon Appétit has a printing edge that I just love. My editor and I are always talking about the perks of a hard copy cookbook, and I think the fact that Bon Appétit still publishes hard copy issues must be the classiest thing around. How else will I know 10 years from now that recipes are any good if I don’t have dented, sticky-noted, splattered pages to refer to from previous baking experiences?
But these are only some of the things I love about the magazine. It features beautiful stories, great breadth in cookery culture, and somehow always supplies me with 20 recipes I want to make. I often say it’s difficult to get to the features of Bon Appétit as I love reading the earliest pages–Adam Rapoport, the Editor, writes lovely letters to his readers and the R.S.V.P. section (“Readers’ Favorite Restaurant Recipes”) gives me mouth watering ideas.
This recipe for an easy and impressive Pistachio Pound Cake was made 10 minutes after discovering it in the RSVP section of last month’s magazine. Originally sold at The Tasting Room at CityCentre in Houston, the pound cake takes our American favorite into a more modern gourmet arena with just one ingredient–warm, nutty, green pistachio nuts.
Pictured: a dark brown paper ring mold offers high-end bakery elegance to homemade baked goods.
Knowing that my friends Jessica and Victor were celebrating their third anniversary, I jumped at the opportunity to bake them something chic and simple. Wrapped in a round paper ring mold, the cake was delicious and elegant, as if baked in a classic French bakery. After all, I sometimes call my home, “Chez Helana.”
So, try this ever-so-flavorful take on an American bakery classic for your next dinner party, anniversary, or brunch. The batter’s flavor barely comes near as good as the cake actually tastes and Jessica and Victor simply can’t stop raving about the recipe. I hope that it made their third anniversary special, and I’m renewing my subscription to Bon Appétit this week. Bon Appétit!
Pistachio Pound Cake
It appears I’m not the only food blogger who got it into her head this Pistachio Pound Cake was worth making. See Molly Wizenberg of Orangette’s post here.
Ingredients:
*nonstick spray
*2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
*1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
*1 teaspoon baking powder
*1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
*2 cups sugar
*5 eggs
*2 tablespoons lemon juice
*2 tablespoons orange juice
*2 teaspoons orange zest
*1 teaspoons lime zest
*1 cup pistachios, shelled and roughly chopped
1.) Preheat oven to 325F. Spray a standard Angel Food Cake pan with nonstick spray and dust the pan with flour tapping to coat the bottom and sides evenly. Remove any excess flour.** Zest lime and orange and juice lemon and orange. Reserve juices and zests for wet mixture.
**Note: this recipe can also be made in a standard 9x5x3 loaf pan as Bon Appetit suggests on their website here.
2.) In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
3.) In a standing mixer, beat butter until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes on medium speed). Beat in sugar and 5 eggs adding each egg 1 at a time. Add juices and zests until batter is fully incorporated. Slowly add dry mixture to wet mixture making sure to scrape down sides after the full addition.
4.) Fold in pistachios and pour batter into cake pan making sure to smooth out mixture for evenness and aesthetics.**
**Note: Bon Appetit suggests only adding 3/4 cup pistachios to batter and using the last 1/4 cup to sprinkle on the top. You can see the presentation of this choice on their website here, but I added the entire cup to the batter and loved the more nutty results. Either choice is delicious.
5.) Bake cake for 1 1/2 hours making sure to rotate pan at the 45-minute mark. Remove cake from oven and cool completely before plating. Enjoy!
Makes 1 pound cake or 12 servings.
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