INGREDIENTS:
¼ cup raw pistachios
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 ¼ cups confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 teaspoon ground cardamom
pinch of salt
3 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
1/3 cup vegetable oil
½ cup orange juice
zest of 1 orange
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
silvered pistachios, for garnish
Lightly sweetened whipped cream, for serving
DIRECTIONS:
In a small bowl, soak the pistachios in water overnight. Drain, pat dry with paper towels and blend into a fine paste in a food processor or blender. Set aside. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch round cake pan with baking spray and line with parchment. Grease parchment. In a large bowl, sift the flour, cornstarch, confectioners’ sugar, baking powder, cardamom, and salt. Using the bowl of your stand mixer, whip the egg whites to soft peaks. Transfer to another bowl and clean the bowl of your mixer. Beat the egg yolks, oil, orange juice, orange zest and vanilla extract on medium speed until combined in the bowl of your mixer. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed to incorporate. Gently fold in the egg whites, in 3 separate additions, until well incorporated. Scoop out ½ cup of the batter and set aside. Pour the rest of the batter into the prepared cake pan. Add the pistachio paste to the reserved batter. Fold in until incorporated. This reserved batter will now be green. Pour the pistachio mixture in a circle over the plain batter in cake pan. Swirl it around carefully with a toothpick.Top batter with slivered pistachios. Bake cake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cake cool for 20 minutes before slicing. Serve with whipped cream and fresh oranges, if desired.
