Pistachio Cake

I made a Pistachio Cake the other day, something I've been dying to try and finally got around to doing. My Blog challenges were done and I had some "free-lance" time. This Pistachio Cake is a very nice cake indeed. It's from Epicurious, amidst at least a dozen other pistachio cake recipes. It had cardamom , my favorite spice, and looked like it wouldn't take too long. Here's the recipe:
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Pistachio Cake -
Rick Tramonto

3/4 cup unsalted shelled pistachios (approximately 4 ounces; not dyed red)
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup whole milk
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons finely grated orange zest (from 3 medium oranges)


Arrange oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.

Butter 9-inch-diameter round metal pan and line bottom with waxed paper. Butter paper, then dust pan with flour, knocking out excess.

Using food processor, pulse pistachios until finely ground, about 40 seconds.

(Do not overprocess, or mixture will become paste.) Add flour, baking powder, cardamom, and salt and pulse briefly to combine.

In small bowl, combine milk and vanilla.

In large bowl using electric mixer at moderate speed, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.

Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce speed to low and add pistachio and milk mixtures alternately in batches, beginning and ending with pistachio mixture and beating after each addition just until combined.
Add orange zest and beat just until combined.

Spread batter evenly in pan and bake until wooden skewer inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes.

Cool in pan on rack 10 minutes, then run knife around cake to loosen and invert onto rack. Remove paper and serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Add orange zest and beat just until combined.

Spread batter evenly in pan and bake until wooden skewer inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes.

Cool in pan on rack 10 minutes, then run knife around cake to loosen and invert onto rack. Remove paper and serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
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Some adventures along the way, well one happening: I followed the instructions and measures exactly and waited until the 30 min. checking time before looking in the oven - the cake had risen nicely but needed five more minutes. Next I noticed the darn thing deflating in the middle - it wasn't a crater but it was a wide bell curve. I felt really miffed. In the end, however, it looked okay and I slathered cream cheese frosting over the top so the curve didn't show. The next morning it was tested by my co-workers - they loved it. The skinniest guy had three slices and most of the others (including me) had two (we had a small group this week). They absolutely loved it!

But why did it deflate in the middle? - perhaps I could be a bit scientific for a change. I consulted my recently purchased copy of Bakewise by Shirley Corriher. She writes that most problems with deflating are caused by over-leavening (i.o.w. too much baking powder or baking soda). She recommends 1 to 1-1/4 teaspoons of baking powder per one cup of flour. My recipe had 2 teaspoons. I'm going to reduce the baking powder next time I bake the cake to see if it makes a difference. Shirley's book, by the way, is an absolute treasure of beautiful recipes and advice on how to make improvements to one's baking.

The cake's a keeper.