There are two things I’m currently obsessed with – strawberries and TSugars Icing Mill. Fliping through my newest cookbook, Sweeter Off the Vine, I came upon the perfect recipe inspiration to incorporate the two. This cookbook is all about fruit desserts and is divided into seasons. Reading through Spring and Summer I cam upon a strawberry poundcake recipe that looked divine. Using this recipe as a guideline I made a few modifications and also incorporated my fave sugars from TSugars. To really enhance the fruit flavors I roasted the strawberries instead of making them with lavendar sugar as suggested. The pouncake base for these lovely strawberries is given extra umph from earthy pistachios. All in all, this recipe is simple summer goodness. The poundcake is dense, but light and the roasting of the strawberries really highlighted their juicy sweetness. You can top this with fresh whipped cream or in this case I used powdered sugar because my TSugars Icing Mill has changed my life and made icing desserts a breeze. No mess just a perfectly powdered sweet treat! This recipe is like a strawberry shortcake, but better.
Pistachio Pound Cake with Strawberries
Ingredients
Pound Cake
1 cup shelled pistachios
1 ½ cup all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
¾ unsalted butter, softened
1 ¼ cup TSugars Cassonade Sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract
½ cup whole milk at room temperature
TSugars Icing Mill to top final product
Roasted Strawberries
1 ½ pounds strawberries
¼ cup sugar
½ vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped from the pod
Directions
Position a rack in the center of the oven, preheat to 325degrees and flour a 9 by 5 by 3 inch loaf pan.
To make the cake: Grind the pistachios in a food processor just until they resemble flour. Be careful to not grind them into pistachio butter, though that would be delicious. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt to the bowl of the food processor. Pulse until combined.
In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium high speed until smooth, then with the mixer still running, slowly stream in the sugar. Cream the butter and sugar together until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each addition. Occassionally stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure even mixing. Add the vanilla and almond extracts.
With the mixer on low speed, alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk to the batter in three additions, mixing until just combined. Finish mixing the batter by hand with a rubber spatula. Make sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure even mixing.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and bake until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center come out clean, 45 to 55 mintues. Cool for 15 minutes in the pan, then remove the cake to a rack to cool completely.
To make the strawberries: Combine the sugar and vanilla seeds. Hull and slice the strawberries in half if they are small, in quarters if they are larger; combine the sliced strawberries and sugar in a bowl and gently stir. Place on a baking sheet and roast in the oven at 425 degrees until strawberries go limp and soft.
To serve: slice the cooled cake into thick pieces and top each slice with a generous spoonful of berries and their juices. Top with TSugars powdered sugar or whipped cream or both!
Extra cake keeps in an airtight container at room temperature for three days.
Sweet Somethings: