A chiffon cake is the reigning queen of oil-based cakes – think angel food cake, but with egg yolks (in addition to the whites) and oil. Here, pistachio oil is called for which amps up the pistachio flavor already present due to the ground nuts in the batter. Although the cake looks extremely impressive, particularly once decorated with its rosy-red, raspberry glaze, it is truly a cinch to prepare. The cake cools upside down once baked and only gets better with age. Once room temp, remove it from the pan, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap unglazed, and it will keep for up to 48 hours. I think it’s fair to say that Mother’s Day just got a whole lot more scrumptious.
Note: if you cannot find pistachio oil, any neutral oil, such as vegetable or a mild olive oil, will work.
Pistachio Chiffon Cake with Raspberry Glaze
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 7 large eggs separated
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar divided
- 1/2 cup pistachio oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 cups cake flour
- 1 cup whole pistachios Toasted and finely ground in a food processer
- 1 tsp cream of tartar
- Chopped toasted pistachios for decorating
For the glaze:
- 3 cups raspberries fresh or frozen
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tbsps freshly-squeezed lemon juice
- 3 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F and have ready an ungreased 10 to 12-cup tube pan with a removable bottom.
- Whisk the egg yolks, milk, and 1 cup of the granulated sugar in a large mixing bowl for about 30 seconds. Whisk in the oil, vanilla and almond extracts, baking powder, and salt. Sift the flour over the bowl, add the ground pistachios and whisk to combine.
- Whip the egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment on medium-high speed until soft peaks form, about 3 minutes. With the mixer on medium speed, slowly add the remaining 2/3 cup granulated sugar. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue whisking until stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes.
- Gently fold the whipped whites into the batter in 3 additions with a flexible spatula until all streaks of white have disappeared. Scrape the cake batter into the pan and bake for 60 to 70 minutes, until the top springs back when lightly pressed with a fingertip and a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out with a moist crumb.
- Once removed from the oven, invert the cake onto a thin-necked bottle, such as a wine bottle. This prevents the cake from collapsing. Let cool until room temperature, about an hour and a half.
- While the cake cools begin to make the raspberry glaze. Cook the raspberries, sugar, and juice in a small saucepan over medium heat, mashing the berries a bit with a wooden spoon until they break down, about 10 minutes. Strain the berries through a sieve into a medium bowl, pressing on them so they release their juice. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool to room temperature.
- Rest a cooling rack over a baking sheet. Remove the cooled cake from the pan by gently running a long flexible offset spatula, if you have one, or a knife, around both the outside edge of the pan and the inside tube. Remove the sides of the pan, run the spatula between the bottom of the cake and the bottom of the pan and carefully lift the cake off and onto the cooling rack
- To finish assembling the glaze, whisk the confectioners’ sugar into the raspberry juice, adding more sugar for a thicker glaze, or a little tap water for a thinner one. Drizzle about half of the glaze over the cooled cake, decoratively sprinkle the toasted chopped pistachios over the top, and let set about 20 minutes before slicing and serving with the remaining glaze. The cake will keep lightly wrapped on the counter for up to 3 days.