There are a few ways to avoid the cake dipping in the middle when it bakes. The first is to avoid over mixing the batter; this creates air pockets which mean the cake will cook unevenly. You also want to avoid sudden changes in temperature, so avoid opening the oven door quickly when you remove the cake. Finally, we cook our cake on the middle shelf in the oven to make sure the temperature is even throughout.
We tested this recipe using soya milk, which has a slight sweetness and really complements the flavour of the cake. Oat milk would also work well.
Pistachio & Cardamom Lemon Drizzle Cake 🍰
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80g / 2.8oz peeled pistachios, plus extra for decoration
3 lemons
80ml / 2.7fl.oz vegetable oil
200ml / 6.8fl.oz plant-based milk
130g / 4.6oz (approx 1 cup) icing sugar
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180°C / 356°F fan and line a 2lb loaf tin on all sides with baking paper. Add the plain flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and 150g / 5.3oz of caster sugar to a large mixing bowl and stir.
Next, either grind the pistachios in a pestle and mortar until fine or add them to a food processor and process until a crumb like consistency forms. Then add the cardamom pods to a pestle and mortar, grind gently, remove and discard the shells, and continue to grind the seeds. Add both the pistachio and cardamom seeds to the mixing bowl and give everything a stir.
Next add the zest and juice of 1 lemon, the oil and plant-based milk to the bowl and stir gently until fully combined. It's important you avoid over mixing or air pockets will form in the batter. Pour the cake batter into the lined loaf tin and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Once the cake is ready, use the toothpick to prick holes in the top of the cake. Then combine the juice of 1 lemon with the remaining 70g / 2.5oz of caster sugar until the sugar has dissolved. Pour the sugar syrup all over the cake, making sure it goes into the pricked holes. Now leave the cake to cool for 30 minutes, then remove from the tin and leave to cool fully.
To finish, stir the icing sugar with 2 tbsp of juice from the remaining lemon until you have a thick but runny consistency. Note you may need to tweak the amounts of lemon juice and icing sugar to get the perfect consistency. Once the cake has cooled, pour the icing all over so that it runs down the sides. Roughly chop some additional pistachios and sprinkle all over the top.
Oh you guys, this was really good! I would probably use less of the top drizzle next time (it was a bit too much for me) but wow! Nothing depresses me more than a dry cake (actually lots of things depress me more but you get it) but this one was anything but! Soooo moist. We’ve got ourselves a new family favourite, yay! Thank you so much.
Could this recipe also be altered to be gluten free? And if so which which wheat free alternative would be best and does it then effect the quantity? Thanks.
Used Bob’s Red Mill chickpea baking flour-no different than flour. Did add some honey and 2 tablespoons of maple syrup and 1/3 cup of coconut sugar instead. It was perfect!
200g / 7oz plain flour
14 Comments
Oh you guys, this was really good! I would probably use less of the top drizzle next time (it was a bit too much for me) but wow! Nothing depresses me more than a dry cake (actually lots of things depress me more but you get it) but this one was anything but! Soooo moist. We’ve got ourselves a new family favourite, yay! Thank you so much.
Thank you Sousou!
This was a real winner, thank you! I forgot to put in the oil, but it still tasted amazing 🙂
Thank you!
Could this recipe also be altered to be gluten free? And if so which which wheat free alternative would be best and does it then effect the quantity? Thanks.
Made this as a full cake (9-inch) rather than the loaf with the same measurements. It was absolutely divine! Big hit! Thank you for the recipe 🙂
Thanks Abbas 🙂
Used Bob’s Red Mill chickpea baking flour-no different than flour. Did add some honey and 2 tablespoons of maple syrup and 1/3 cup of coconut sugar instead. It was perfect!
I think genuinely the best vegan cake I’ve made! Used melted vegan butter and curdled the soy milk separately- was divine, thank you!
Oh wow thank you so much Natasha!
Did you use the butter in place of the oil. Thank you
Could you approximate calories in one slice. Thanks
Can I use ground cardamom and what would the equivalent of 8 pods be? I have the pods, I just don’t have a pestle and mortar. 🙂 Thanks!
I did the conversion by weight and estimated about 1 and 1/3 tsp.