Pistachio Layer Cake with Honey Buttercream Frosting

The benefit of baking your own birthday cake is getting exactly what you want. You don't feel bad about making an extravagant request, because you're the one who has to go to all the work. And it's the one occasion on which you don't have to worry about pleasing anyone else- it is, after all, your birthday. (You do hope other people will like it though or you'll be stuck with a massive cake that you feel responsible for finishing off yourself!) Luckily, there are not many ways I'd rather spend the better part of a day than up to my elbows in flour and sugar, soothed by the hum of the stand mixer, sneaking licks of cake batter or buttercream.

A cake like this takes a bit of commitment. There's a lot of steps and they need to be followed exactly to achieve the right result. I got lazy and simply buttered and floured my cake pans instead of lining them with parchment. Oops. My cake came out of the pan in pieces. I had to glue it back together with frosting. Had I not admitted this, probably nobody would have noticed. But the point is, be attentive to the details. Authors don't write extra steps in a recipe just to annoy you (or at least I try not to). 

I chose this cake because it intrigued me. Pistachios are possibly my favorite nut (I can't be sure because I've never given this distinction much thought). And honey buttercream sounded divine. Which it was. I only made one alteration to the original recipe. I replaced the shortening with butter. I worried that this might impact the texture of the layers, but the cake turned out light and fluffy nevertheless. The pistachio flavor is distinct, yet mild. You don't have to love nuts to appreciate their contribution to this cake. It all turned out just right- the perfect birthday treat!

Pistachio Layer Cake with Honey Buttercream Frosting 

INGREDIENTS
Pistachio Cake:
1 cup shelled unsalted pistachios + 1/3 cup for decorating
2 1/2 cups cake flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1 large egg
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups ice cold water
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

Honey Buttercream:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, soft but cool, cut into small pieces
3 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS
1. Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 325 F. Butter three 8-inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper and butter the parchment. Dust parchment with flour and knock out excess flour. In the bowl of food processor, pulse the pistachios until they are coarsely chopped. Transfer about 2 Tbsp. worth of the coarse pistachios to a large bowl. Continue to process the rest of the pistachios until they are almost powdery- but not a superfine dust. Stir the pistachio powder into the reserved coarse pistachios. Sift the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt, together over the large bowl containing the pistachios mix. Stir to combine.

2. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl, add the whole egg, and beat until just combined. Turn the mixture to low. In a measuring cup, make 1 1/2 cups ice water. Add the flour mixture to the mixer in three parts, alternating with the ice water, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. For each addition, turn the mixer to low to add ingredients, then up to medium speed for a few seconds until incorporated. Scrape down the bowl, then mix on low speed for a few more seconds.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form (You can do this by hand. Don’t be intimidated, it should only take 2 to 3 minutes). Do not overbeat. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter.

4. Divide the batter among the prepared pans and smooth the tops. Bake for 30-40 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pans to a wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes. Turn the cakes out onto the rack and let cool completely. Remove the parchment paper.

5. Make the honey buttercream: In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk the sugar and flour together. Add milk and cream and cook over medium heat whisking occasionally, until the mixture comes to a boil and has thickened, about 10 to 15 minutes.

6. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a standing mixer with paddle attachment. Beat on high speed until cool (this takes at least 7 to 9 minutes of mixing) then add the butter; mix until thoroughly incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until frosting is light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.

7. Add the vanilla and honey and continue mixing until combined. If the frosting is too soft, put the bowl in the refrigerator to chill slightly, then beat again until it is proper consistency. If the frosting is too firm, set the bow over a pot of simmering water and beat with a wooden spoon until it is the proper consistency.

8. Assemble the cake: Place one cake layer on a serving platter. Trim the top to create a flat surface, and evenly spread about 1 1/4 cups frosting on top. Add the next layer, trim and frost it, then add the third layer. Spread a very thin layer of frosting over the sides and top of the cake and put it in the refrigerator for bout 15 minutes to firm up. (This is known as the crumb coating and will help keep loose cake crumbs under control when you frost the outside of the cake.) Spread the sides and top of the cake with the remaining frosting. Garnish the cake with crushed pistachios and refrigerate it for 15 minutes to it firm up before serving.

NOTE: This cake will keep beautifully in a cake saver at room temperature for up to 3 days, if the weather is humidity free. Otherwise, put it in a cake saver and refrigerate it for up to 3 days. Let the cake sit a room temperature for at least 2 hours before serving.

Serves 12-16.

(Adapted from Baked Explorations via Three Many Cooks)