Inspired from the artist Claude Monet’s favourite birthday cake – Le Gateau Vert.
Pistachio Sponge:
Pistachios (unsalted, de-shelled and peeled) – 50g
Flour – 75g
Sugar – 100g
Eggs (large) – 4
Butter (melted) – 25g
Green gel food colour
Lemon zest – 1
Pistachio French Buttercream
Pistachios (unsalted, de-shelled and peeled) – 50g
Butter – 25g + 50g
Sugar – 40g + 60ml water
Egg Yolk (large) – 1
Raspberries for decoration.
Instructions Sponge:
Preheat oven to 160 C Fan.
Grind the pistachios with flour in a processor.
Whisk the sugar and eggs in a stand mixer until ribbon stage. Fold in the pistachio and flour mixture and the lemon zest. Add the gel colour to the melted butter and pour down the side of the bowl and fold in.
Pour into a square tin (20 x 30cm) bake for 20 minutes until the sponge comes away from the sides.
Instructions French Buttercream:
Grind the pistachios in a blender, add 25g of butter to make a paste.
Make a sugar syrup with the sugar and water, boil for 2 minutes.
Whisk the egg yolk and pour in the sugar in a thin stream whisking constantly until the mixture has cooled, then whisk in the rest of the butter and pistachio paste.
Assembly and Decoration:
Turn the sponge over and cut it into equal pieces. Pipe the buttercream in dots with a round nozzle on 1 half of the sponge. Cut the raspberries in half and position them on the piped buttercream. Put the unbuttercreamed halves onto the decorated halves. Then pipe more dots onto the tops and finish with a slanted raspberry.
