Orange Pistachio Cake with Earl Grey & Honey Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Soft, moist, and full of flavor, this Orange Pistachio Cake has the perfect blend of citrus flavor and toasted nuttiness. Cover it with an Earl Grey & Honey Swiss Meringue Buttercream, the icing only adds a smooth hint of sweetness to the cake, and you have a combination that just works so well together, you’d be mad you didn’t put it all together sooner! Yields: 3 8 inch cake layers
Cook Time
20-25minutes
Cook Time
20-25minutes
Ingredients
Orange Pistachio Cake
Earl Grey & Honey Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Instructions
Orange Pistachio Cake
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease and line the bottom of three 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand mixer), combine the flour, pistachios, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, cardamom, and zest of 2 oranges. Fit the stand mixer with a paddle attachment and mix on low until fully the dry ingredients are fully mixed together.
  3. Add the oil and 50 mL of milk to the dry ingredients. Mix on low until the dry ingredients are fully coated/moistened. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
  4. In a measuring cup, whisk together the remaining 100 mL of milk, eggs and egg yolk, vanilla extract, and orange extract. Add this wet mixture to the mixing bowl 1/3 at a time. Mix on low-medium low until combined while making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl between each addition. After you mix in the last of the wet ingredients, divide the batter evenly between the three prepared cake pans. Gently smooth the tops with a spatula and tap the pan on the counter once or twice to get rid of any air bubbles.
  5. Bake 20-25 minutes until the tops are springy to the touch and the sides begin to pull away from the cake pan. You may also insert a toothpick into the center of the cake; if the toothpick comes out clean or with just a few small crumbs, your cakes are ready. (It’s likely that you will need to use two racks to bake all three cakes at once, if this is the case, rotate the pans from one rack to the next after the first 15 minutes of baking).
  6. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pans on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Turn the cakes over onto the rack and remove the parchment paper from the bottom. Allow to continue cooling before decorating or wrapping in plastic wrap to store overnight.
Earl Grey & Honey Swiss Meringue Buttercream
  1. Steep the tea in butter: In a large saucepan, melt three cups of butter over medium heat. Once melted, pour the leaves from 3 bags of Earl Grey tea into the pan and turn the heat down to low. Allow the leaves to steep in the butter for about 5 minutes. Turn the heat off and allow the tea to steep for an additional 5 minutes. Pour the mixture through a fine sieve, making sure to press down on the tea leaves with a rubber spatula to help squeeze all the butter out. Some leaves may slip through the sieve. If you don’t mind speckled buttercream, you can leave them there, but if you’re more patient than I am, discard of the leaves in your sieve and then pour the infused butter through it again. Let the butter come to room temperature or refrigerate it until it firms up but is still soft enough to hold an indentation.
  2. Make the swiss meringue: Pour about 2 cups of water into a large pot and allow it to come to a simmer. Combine egg whites, sugar, and pinch of salt in the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl if using a hand mixer). Turn down the heat on the stove and place the bowl onto the pot of water. Using a wire whisk, whisk constantly until the sugar is fully dissolved. You can easily check to see if it’s ready by rubbing some of the mixture between your fingers–if it’s grainy, keep mixing–until it feels smooth or until a candy thermometer inserted into the bowl reads 160°F. Immediately transfer the bowl to the stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, whisk on high until the bottom of the bowl feels cool to the touch and stiff peaks form (about 10 minutes).
  3. Once the meringue holds stiff peaks, add in 3-4 Tbsp honey and keep mixing on high. Switch to the paddle attachment and lower the speed of the mixer. Add the softened infused butter a little bit at a time, mixing until fully combined between each addition. (If your buttercream looks soft while mixing in the butter, pop it into the refrigerator for about 10-15 minutes. This will help the meringue cool down and firm up so that you can keep mixing). Mix until all of the butter is fully combined.
Assemble the Cake
  1. Trim the tops off the cake layers so that they are even in size. Place one layer on a serving plate or on a cardboard cake round. Top with three large spatulas full of frosting (about 1 cup), and spread evenly around the layer. Repeat the process with layer #2. Place the final layer of the cake on top with the bottom-side up so that you’re left with a flat surface. Use the remaining swiss meringue buttercream to frost the top and outside of the cake. If desired, use extra buttercream to pipe a design on the top of the cake and decorate with roasted pistachios.

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