ALLCAPS COOKBOOK Presents: Summer Strawberry Pistachio Cake with Fresh Basil Whipped Cream (Patreon)
Content
I’m going to say something very brave. It’s just…it’s time. Past time. I don’t care if I get “canceled” by this overly-sensitive PC culture, it’s worth it to stand up for the truth.
Cake is awesome.
It’s just the perfect thing. When you want to treat yourself or celebrate or mark an occasion you say I WANT CAKE, because cake is awesome and represents everything special about being a high-functioning, carbohydrate-converting mammal.
TAKE THAT, HATERS.
My only problem is…I suck ass at icing things. All the amazing cakes on the internet are mainly amazing because they are decorated to look like a Yoda or a hamburger or a map of occupied France. Whereas when I put icing on something it looks like a monkey broke in, screamed incoherently, and threw a jar of frosting at a perfectly good cake.
So I have, as quarantine has slowly sucked away my will to live, tended to put my therapy-baking to use on cakes without frosting, so I can keep pretending I’m capable of the seemingly incredbly difficult act of, you know, smearing butter.
And I feel okay about it! It makes the cakes less heavy and less of a commitment both calorically and hygenically, and I still get to feel fancy. This is one of those cakes.
It’s just full of fruit and softness and crunch, with enough cream cheese that it almost feels like a cheesecake in sponge-drag. The basil whipped cream cuts through all the richness with a fresh herbal, floral note that makes it all just perfect. If I had some reduced balsamic vinegar on hand, I might even drizzle it over the top.
Welcome to summer, everything is simultaneously drowning and on fire but at least we have cake.
Ingredients
NB: You will need a springform pan!
1 cup all purpose flour
2 eggs
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
4 oz cream cheese
1/3 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup + 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup crushed pistachios (or more, you know how I feel about nuts)
1/3 cup Greek yogurt
2 1/2 cup strawberries, cut into long quarters
Basil Whipped Cream
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
6-7 basil leaves cut into very thin strips
BUST A BERRY MOVE
Butter and flour 9 inch or smaller springform pan, pre-heat oven to 350 (note: original recipe said 35-40 minutes at 350, but mine took an hour at that temp. I would either do 35 at 375, checking frequently after that, or just be aware that this may take much longer to cook through than 35-40 minutes.)
Combine flour, corn starch, baking powder, and salt in a bowl, set aside. In a mixer, whip cream cheese and butter for about a minute. Add 3/4 sugar and continue until light and fluffy. Add one egg at a time, then vanilla and yogurt, continuing to fully incorporate between each ingredient. Slowly add dry goods and finally nuts.
Remove bowl from mixer, remove a handful of strawberries to decorate the top of the cake with, and gently fold the rest into the batter, takeing care not to smush or break the berries. Pour into prepared pan and spread with a spatula to ensure an even surface.
Arrange the rest of the strawberry slices on top in a circular shape and sprinkle with remaining sugar.
Bake for 35-40 minutes (see note above, may take longer) or until a fork comes out with only a few crumbs. Remove and let cool in springform pan for ten minutes before you remove the cuff and trasfer to plate or rake to cool completely.
Top with Basil Whipped Cream, a few extra pistachios, and if you have it, a drizzle of reduced balsamic vinegar/vinegar cream.
Whipped Cream:
Er…chuck it all in a mixer and go until it turns into whipped cream. Probably 3-5 minutes ish.