I discovered this delightful dessert recently while visiting Provence. I was so taken with the rich little cakes that the chef , who didn’t speak a word of English, actually took me into his kitchen and made them right in front of me. I took copious notes and photos. A friend and I worked on this recipe a number of times from those scribbled notes in an effort to get a translation for our use here – I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! It’s a wonderful holiday dessert. BTW, I found the pistachio paste on Amazon.com. You could also make your own.
Method:
Combine the heavy cream with the pistachio cream in a saucepan and whisk over medium heat…mixture will begin to bubble and thicken.
In a separate bowl combine the egg yolks with sugar and whisk or beat with electric mixer until ribbons form. Add the flour and whisk again.
Add the slightly cooled pistachio cream mixture to the egg and flour mixture and whisk till combined. Put the mixture back into the sauce pan and whisk continually for about a minute on medium high until mixture is very thick…Remove from heat.
In a separate container, beat the egg whites until very stiff peaks form. Then beat in sugar and flour. Fold egg white mixture into pistachio mixture. Spoon batter into small cake rings (5-6 inch) and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 25-30 minutes.
Let cakes cool for about 10-15 minutes and then pour ganache into center. Garnish with chopped pistachios. I like this cake served slightly warm. You can freeze the cakes before they’re frosted and microwave right before serving.
Chocolate Rum Ganache:
Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place in glass or metal bowl. Bring the cream just to a boil. Pour over the chocolate and let sit about 3-4 minutes. Stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Add rum.
Ingredients
Pistachio Cakes
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 1/3 cup pistachio paste (found on Amazon.com)
- 6 egg yolks
- 1/3 cup cake flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 7 egg whites
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 T flour
Chocolate Rum Ganache
- 8 oz. Dark Chocolate (65% Cacao)
- 1/8 cup rum
- ¾ cup heavy cream