pistachio & cherry bundt cake

Our christmas baking is well and truly in full swing.

With little Miss G. by my side, we’ve been busy little kitchen bees baking all of our adored festive delights.

Amongst the mess we’ve managed to conjure up a gorgeous batch of deep dark intense christmas choc puddings, a tray or two of jewel adorned christmas cookies and of course a mega slab of marshmallow spiked rocky road.

Surrounded by a kitchen full of sugar laden, choc filled, once a year treats I decided we needed a little balance and opted to bake a more modest cake, filled with festive fruit and a little nourishing wholesome goodness.

The result was this christmas inspired pistachio and cherry cake and I just had to share it with you.

This little darling is just gorgeous. The pistachio meal turns this cake the most gorgeous shade of festive green whilst giving the cake a dense, moist and tender crumb. And thanks to the intense heat of the oven, the cherries studded throughout the batter caramelise to jammy perfection and create little pockets of sweet cherry jam throughout the cake.

You’ll also be happy to know that this baby led weaning friendly cake is sugar free thanks to the use of my newly found friend, agave syrup. I used a mere half a cup of the amazingly sweet nectar in the batter because my cherries were already so wonderfully sweet. I also made a few baby friendly, health conscious adjustments to the original recipe by using olive oil and yoghurt instead of butter and replacing refined flour with wholemeal.

To create a little opulence I decided to bake this little baby in a decorative bundt tin but a round or loaf cake tin would be fine also, and much less stressful. If you do choose to travel down the more decorative tin route ensure that you generously grease the pan with either oil or butter, getting into every nook and cranny so that the baked cake will slide out with ease.

The only adornment this cake requires is the lightest dusting of icing sugar along with a small sprinkle of finely chopped pistachio nuts.

To create this cherry studded pistachio bundt cake of pure gorgeousness simply…

Begin by placing the gorgeously green pistachios into the food processor. Blitz until finely chopped, resembling a course flour.

To the ground pistachios add the wholemeal flour, baking powder, agave syrup, olive oil, eggs, yoghurt, vanilla and orange zest. Pulse until just combined.

Use a spatula or wooden spoon to gently fold through the pitted cherries.

Spoon the gorgeously green and cherry spiked batter into a greased bundt tin. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted removes clean.

Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 20 minutes (it’s important to allow the cake to cool enough before attempting to turn out, or else the cake may crumble) before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

Dust with a little icing sugar and adorn with finely chopped pistachios. Enjoy thin slices along with a little fresh fruit for a gorgeous festive baby led weaning treat. Enjoy x

pistachio & cherry bundt cake

INGREDIENTS

1 cup shelled pistachios

2 cups wholemeal plain flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup agave syrup

3/4 cup olive oil

1 cup yoghurt

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

zest of an orange

1 1/2 cups cherries, pitted (I used pitted frozen berries but fresh would be great also)

icing sugar and extra pistachios, to dust

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius (350 F) and grease a 9″ bundt tin generously with butter. Place the pistachios into the large bowl of a food processor and blitz until finely chopped and resembling course flour. Add the flour, baking powder, agave, olive oil, yoghurt, eggs, vanilla and orange zest and pulse until just combined. Use a spoon to fold through the cherries. Spoon the batter into the tin and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted removes clean. Allow to cool in the tin for 20 minutes before turning out to cool completely on a wire rack. Dust with icing sugar and adorn with a handful of finely chopped pistachios. Enjoy x

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