Pistachio cake with lemon cream and raspberries recipe

Cake with cream and fruit: simple but so satisfying to eat and cook, said Mike Davies. It's perfect for a dinner party because every element can be made ahead of time. Inevitably you will have leftover cake, which is ideal because, in my opinion, cake gets better as it gets older. I even like to eat it straight from the fridge, when the butter has set and the cake is heavy-textured and cold. I suggest buying the lemon curd (though you could of course make it). The raspberries are unadulterated, but don't stint on quantity.

Ingredients:

For the cake: 

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• 450g caster sugar 
• 450g butter, plus extra for greasing 
• zest of 2 lemons 
• 1 vanilla pod, split lengthways and seeds scraped 
• 6 eggs 
• 200g plain flour 
• 450g shelled pistachios, coarsely ground in a food processor (if you are feeling very flush, look for peeled pistachios – they are so delicious and will turn your cake a brilliant bright green) 
• 100ml brandy

For the cream:

• 200ml double cream 
• 100g lemon curd 
• zest of 1 lemon 
• golden caster sugar (optional)

To finish:

• lots of raspberries

Method:

• Preheat your oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas mark 4, and line and butter a 30cm (12in) cake tin. Cream the sugar, butter, lemon zest and vanilla seeds using a food processor or stand mixer until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. This might cause the mixture to separate, but don’t worry, when you add the flour it will come back together.
• Turn the mixer off and fold in the flour, ground pistachios, and brandy (with a wooden spoon). Pour the batter into the cake tin and bake for approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the oven, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the tin. Once cooled, remove, and this cake can be kept in a lidded container at room temperature or in the fridge. It will last longer in the fridge and if, like me, you don’t mind a bit of cold cake, this might be the way to go.
• For the cream: whip the cream to soft peaks, then gently fold in the lemon curd and lemon zest with a spatula. I have made sugar optional in this recipe because its necessity will be determined by the sweetness of the curd. If you feel like it needs a little extra sweetness, add some golden caster sugar to the cream before whipping. The lemon cream can be made up to 2 days in advance and kept in the fridge until required.
• I like to serve this dessert at the table. A whole cake is a nice centrepiece to finish the meal. Serve each slice of cake with a generous spoonful, or two, of cream and a big pile of raspberries, and perhaps a glass of muscat or sweet sherry alongside.

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Taken from Cooking for People by Mike Davies, published by Pavilion at £30. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £23.99 (incl. p&p), call 020-3176 3835 or visit theweekbookshop.co.uk.