Recipe: Pistachio and citrus celebration Victoria sponge

Looking for an alternative to Christmas cake this year? Why not try this delicious pistachio and citrus sponge from ROS Ambassador and Great British Bake Off star Val Stones?

Pistachios are high in calcium, vitamin K and phosphorous, which are all important for maintaining healthy bones. This recipe makes 12-16 slices. 

“This cake is based on one of my all-time favourites - a Victoria sponge,” says Val. “It’s such a versatile cake that, with the addition of a few ingredients, it can be transformed into a delicious celebration cake.” 

All the ingredients should be at room temperature so take them out of the fridge the night before you need them. There are two special ingredients in this recipe - pistachio paste and pistachio curd. Both can be made from scratch as Val did with the aid of a chocolate refiner to grind the pistachios, but you can buy both ready made.

Preparation time 

Making the cake: 10 minutes  
Cooking time: 35-38 minutes 
Crumb stage (chilling): 30 minutes  
Assembly and decoration: 20 minutes  

Equipment 

• A stand mixer, or an electric hand mixer 
• Cake turntable (optional) 
• 4 Victoria sponge tins 23cm (9inch) diameter, these are usually shallow
• A cake side scraper or a pallet knife 
• A piping bag and 2D piping nozzle

Ingredients 

For the sponge: 

• 300g eggs (weighed out of the shells) - this is usually 5-6 eggs
• 300g caster sugar 
• 300g soft margarine 
• 300g self-raising flour plus extra for dusting the baking tins
• 50g pistachio paste   
• 12g baking powder 
• 3 teaspoons pistachio extract 
• Zest of an orange and lemon  
• 2 tablespoons of Bottlegreen Orange and Lemon cordial or similar 
• Sunflower oil 

For the filling: 

• 300g unsalted butter at room temperature cut into small cubes 
• 50g cream cheese 
• 800g sifted icing sugar  
• 4 tablespoons pistachio curd  
• 2 teaspoons pistachio extract 
• A little green food gel colouring 
• 1 jar pistachio curd (usually sold in 200g jars, use 150g) 

For the cake syrup: 

• 100ml Bottlegreen Orange and Lemon cordial or Lime and Mint cordial or 50ml of each 

For the decoration: 

• 50g finely chopped pistachios 
• Violas to decorate  

Or to make into a Christmas cake… 

• 8-12 sprigs of Rosemary 
• Icing sugar for dusting  

Method 

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C fan/180°C/350F/gas mark 4.
2. Weigh the eggs into a bowl and add the same weight of sugar and margarine.
3. Sift the flour and baking powder and add to the bowl.
4. Add the pistachio paste, pistachio extract, orange and lemon zest.
5. Gently begin to beat the mixture to combine the ingredients, turn up to full and beat for 1 minute, then switch off and allow the mixture to stand (this allows the caster sugar to dissolve into the mixture which gives the cake a softer texture when baked).
6. Line and grease the baking tins.
7. Continue to beat the mixture for 2 minutes. It’s important not to over-beat as this will knock out the precious air you need in the cake to make a good, light sponge.
8. Place the baking tins in the oven and bake for 35-38 minutes, the cakes are baked when they are lightly golden.
9. Remove the tins from the oven and place on a cooling rack. With a sharp knife and in one continuous movement loosen the cakes from their tins.
10. Leave for two minutes to cool a little.

To make the filling 

1. Place the butter and cream cheese in the stand mixing bowl and beat on medium speed for 5 minutes until it’s light and fluffy.
2. Turn the speed down to a quarter and gradually add the icing sugar a dessert spoon at a time, leaving a few seconds between each addition. Use a scraper to push the mixture back into the bowl.
3. Add the pistachio curd, extract and food colouring and turn up to full and beat for 5 minutes. The buttercream should be firm enough to spread and to pipe on easily.
4. At this point, taste - add more icing sugar to adjust the texture and check the extract and colour.

Assembly 

1. Place one of the cakes on a cake board having first placed a little cream on the base, this will hold the cake firmly on the board. If you have a cake turntable place the cake board onto that.
2. Place the cordial in a bowl and with a pastry brush, evenly brush a third of the cordial on the top of the cake.
3. Using a spatula, evenly spread about 3 tablespoons of buttercream onto the cake. Next spread a heaped tablespoon of pistachio curd over the buttercream. Repeat this three more times until the cake is stacked evenly and level.
4. Spread a thin layer of buttercream evenly around the cake then place in a fridge to firm for 30 minutes, this is called the crumb stage.
5. Remove the cake from the fridge and spread the second layer of butter cream around the sides and top of the cake using a pallet knife or a cake side scraper to give smooth sides.
6. Place the remaining buttercream in the piping bag with a 2D nozzle and pipe 12 roses or rosettes around the cake. Place the viola flowers on top and then sprinkle with the chopped pistachios to finish.
7. Place in the fridge for 15 minutes before serving.

Storage 

This cake will store in a cake box or cake carrier for up to a week. You can open freeze and then place it in a box where it will keep for up to a month but it’s best eaten fresh.  

Val's top tips

• There should be a total of around 1,290g of mixture. Place a baking tin on the scales, zero the scales and weigh 320g into a sponge tin, repeat this for the rest of the tins so that your sponges will all be almost equal. 
• Place a parchment round on the top of the cake and tip onto a cooling rack. Using the parchment prevents the cake getting marked with the cooling rack pattern. Flip the cake back onto another cooling rack and allow to cool completely. 
• If you wish to turn this into a Christmas cake instead of piping roses, simply swirl the buttercream into snowy peaks and decorate with upturned sprigs of Rosemary of different lengths to look like Christmas trees and dust with icing sugar. 

Read more about the best foods for maintaining good bone health now.