when stijn came to herman miller for his interview he was given a jar of honey from their hives. yes herman miller has bee hives. such a cool company! that jar of honey traveled with him to switzerland and then back to holland when we moved, sitting pretty unopened in it's perfect graphic packaging. i would gladly eat honey by the spoonful, i love it that much and after recently reading a recipe for honey buttercream in rose levy beranbaum's cake bible which basically replaced the sugar and water in a traditional european buttercream with honey, i was dying to try it out. so when i was asked to make a cake to celebrate herman millers success at neocon i knew it was time to bust that honey out.
a few weeks ago i had a failed attempt at a pistachio chiffon cake and came to the conclusion that it was the chiffon's fault not the beloved pistachio. i wanted to give it another try with a more sturdy cake. so i took a basic recipe for yellow cake and substituted ground pistachios for some of the flour and what do you know, it worked. the result was a subtly nutty flavored cake which pairs beautifully with the delicate honey.
the whole time i was making the cake i was singing, lucinda william's song, "honey bee." still am actually. "oh my little honey bee, i'm so glad you stung me. you've become my weakness. now i've got your sweetness..."
pistachios are awesome. so is honey. make it and see for yourself. (singing optional)
Pistachio Cake with Honey Buttercream
- 3/4 c. pistachios (shelled)
- 1 3/4 c. cake flour, sifted
- 1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 3/4 c. sugar (divided)
- 10 tbsp. (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 c. buttermilk, at room temperature
- 3 tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
- 6 egg yolks, at room temperature
- 3 egg whites, at room temperature
- 1/8 tsp. cream of tartar
Preheat an oven to 350°F. Grease two 8 in. pans or three 6 in. pans with butter, line the bases with parchment paper, grease the parchment, and dust with flour, tapping out excess. Set aside.
In a food processor pulse the pistachios until coarsely chopped. Stop the machine, scrape down the sides and transfer 2tbsp. to a large bowl. Grind remaining pistachios into a fine meal. Add to the reserved coarsely chopped pistachios.
In the bowl of the pistachios whisk in cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt and 1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar. In another bowl whisk together the melted butter, buttermilk, oil, vanilla and egg yolks. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites at medium speed until foamy. Sprinkle in the cream of tartar. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high, and with the machine running, in a steady stream, pour in the remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar. Continue to beat until the egg whites are glossy and form stiff peaks. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the egg whites into a bowl and set aside.
Add flour mixture to the empty bowl of the mixer. With the machine running on low speed, slowly pour in the buttermilk mixture, stirring until just incorporated, around 20 seconds. Stop the machine, scrape down the sides of the bowl and whisk again until there's no visible flour. Remove bowl from mixer.
With a rubber spatula, stir 1/3 of the beaten egg whites into the batter to lighten. Add 1/2 of the remaining whites and fold gently until almost combined, a few white streaks can remain. Add the last of the whites and continue to fold until no streaks remain. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans.
Bake layers in a preheated oven until the cake begins to pull away from the edge of the pan and a cake tester inserted in the centre comes out clean, around 25 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Loosen the edge of the cakes with an offset spatula and invert onto a wire rack and remove the baking parchment from the bottom of the layer. Invert the cake again and allow to cool completely before filling and frosting.
Honey Buttercream
- 6 large egg yolks, at room temperature
- 1/3 c. honey
- 1 lb. unsalted butter, at room temperature
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs until light in color. Meanwhile heat the honey in a small saucepan, stirring constantly, until it comes to a rolling boil. Transfer immediately to a glass measuring cup.
Add the honey to the egg mixture in a steady stream, being careful not to allow honey to fall on the beaters. Continue beating until egg mixture is at room temperature.
Gradually beat in the butter, mixing until incorporated.
