Lemon Pistachio Snacking Cake is a modern British recipe for a classic lemon-flavoured sponge cake topped with a lemon glaze and pistachio nuts. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Lemon Pistachio Snacking Cake.
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A good snacking cake needs to be firm in texture (easy to cut into squares). It should also develop flavour after being kept for a day and should last for a whole week (though you'll probably eat it well before then). The snacking cake also seems to be the recipe of the moment, with recipes appearing everywhere. It's a cake that lives on the kitchen counter and which you can take pieces of to go with morning coffee, afternoon tea or whenever you need a pick me up. I have several recipes for these types of cake and I tend to alternate baking them with flapjacks or oat biscuits. They also tend to be leavened with a blend of baking powder and baking soda which are activated by an acid like vinegar, lemon juice, yoghurt or buttermilk. For me they also need to include nuts (or fruit) — whether in the cake batter or as part of the decoration.
Ingredients:
For the cake:
225g unsalted butter
2 tbsp sunflower oil or rapeseed oil
200g plain flour
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
½ tsp fine sea salt
250g caster sugar
1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest (from 2 large unwaxed lemons)
80ml lemon juice
3 eggs, at room temperature
For the glaze and topping
120g icing sugar, sifted
2-3 tbsp freshly-squeezed lemon juice
30g shelled pistachios, finely chopped
Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan)/gas mark 4), then grease and line a 20cm square cake tin with baking paper. Make sure to leave the baking paper overhanging the sides of the tin (this makes it easier to remove the cake after baking).
Dice the butter and set in a small saucepan over low heat. Once the butter has melted, stir in the oil then take off the heat and set aside to cool slightly.
In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, rub together the sugar and lemon zest, using your fingertips, until fragrant and damp — this helps draw the aromatic oils from the zest and intensifies the lemon flavour. Pour in the melted butter mix, then whisk until smooth and combined.
Now add in the eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly to combine after each addition. The mixture should thicken and turns glossy. At this point whisk in the lemon juice, then add the dry ingredients, gently stirring and folding with the whisk until the mix is smooth and all the ingredients are fully incorporated.
Scrape the batter into the lined cake tin, smooth the top then transfer to the centre of your pre-heated oven and bake for about 35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake emerges cleanly. The cake should be lightly golden around the edges, with a slightly paler centre. Remove from the oven then set the tin on a rack to cool.
For the glaze, in a small bowl whisk together the icing sugar and lemon juice to a thick but pourable consistency. Spoon this over the top of the cooled cake and spread out into a thin, even layer. Immediately over the pistachios straight away, before the glaze has a chance to set, then cut into squares to serve.
