Pistachio and Lemon Cake with Honey Figs

 

Often, I never make even one recipe out of the food magazines that I buy.  There are many and varied reasons for this, including the lack of time.  However, I have been truly taken by the recipes in the March 2015 edition of Taste  magazine - I have made four recipes out of it.
 
The third recipe I made from March Taste magazine is a gorgeous looking cake from the "Wait, You Mean I Can Eat?" that section (p55).  It is a Pistachio and Lemon Cake with Honey Figs.

It tastes as wonderful as it looks, and what is not to like - pistachios, almond meal, lemon, honey and figs.

If you would like to try this cake for yourself, you will need:

100g pistachios
1/2 cup almond meal
1/3 cup buckwheat flour (I substituted wholemeal plain flour)
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3 eggs, separated
100g sugar
Juice and grated rind of 1 lemon
1/3 cup honey
2 fresh figs, quartered

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.  Grease and line a 20cm round springform pan.

Blitz your pistachios in a food processor until finely ground.  Put the ground pistachios in a bowl, along with the almond meal, buckwheat flour and baking powder, and mix to combine.

Process the egg yolks, sugar, lemon rind and juice, plus 1/4 cup of the honey until combined.  Add the pistachio mixture, pulse to combine, then transfer the mixture to a large bowl.

Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then gently fold into the pistachio mixture.  Spread the mixture into the prepared springform pan, then bake for 35 minutes or until cooked through.

Remove the cake from the oven and cool in the pan for 10 minutes before unmoulding onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Heat the remainder of the honey in a small frying pan for 1-2 minutes, then add the figs, tossing them in the honey for a further two minutes to coat them.  Allow to cool slightly before spooning the figs and honey over the top of the cake.

Serve in generous slices.