Pistachio and almond cake with fresh fruits (gluten-free)

Hello again, dear folks !

It is such a joy to bake this cake, simply because it's so delicious and fetching. The flavors are enticing, with the light undertones and chewiness from the pistachio and almonds, the delicate vanilla flavor in the cream, and the tartness or sweetness of the berries.  Absolute must-try. Also very festive for birthdays or holidays, not giving any hints here ;)

Also, I've learned to make my life a little easier by making the mascarpone cream the night before, that way the next day you'll only have the cake to bake and dress. So lazy around here lately. I fool myself into thinking the cake is so much faster by baking in 2 steps, lol.

Here's what you'll need :

Cake batter :

4 egg whites

100 g ground unsalted pistachios

30 g almond flour

50 g flour (or gluten-free blend)

150 g confectioners sugar

150 g softened butter

Pinch of salt

Mascarpone cream (if you can, make this the day before) :

2 egg yolks

100 g of sugar

25 g of cornstarch

1 vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

250 ml of whole milk

50 ml whipping cream

200 g of mascarpone

10-20 strawberries and/rasperries

4-5 slices of mango

Method : 
For the mascarpone cream, put the gelatin sheets in cold water to soften.  In a bowl, cream the egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch until lightened in color.  Over medium heat, in a medium saucepan, heat the milk, scrape the contents of a vanilla bean into liquid, leave to simmer about 3 minutes.  Pour 1/4 of the warm vanilla milk into the yolk mixture and stir well.  Then pour this mixture back into the saucepan and stir until blended.  Add the softened gelatin sheets, and stir with a whisk until they have dissolved.  Continue to whisk until thickened over medium heat about 2-3 minutes.  Once the bubbles have dissolved and cream has thickened, continue to whisk about another minute, then remove from stove. 

This is what it looks like after the cream thickens.

Once thickened, pour back into bowl and allow to cool to room temperature, cover with plastic wrap touching the entire cream surface (this prevents it from forming a crust) and refrigerate at least 3-4 hours, or best, overnight.  

Take out of the refrigerator and allow to warm to room temperature (otherwise, put it in the microwave for a few seconds).  Mix to remove clumps, add whipping cream to smooth the texture.  Fold in mascarpone, and mix with a beater or mixer about 2-3 minutes or until thickened and smooth.

My cream was a itsy teensy bit runny, but I tweaked the recipe and made it again and it was much thicker, with recipe here.

For the pistachio cake, preheat oven 175° C/ 350° F.  Line a 22"-26" inch pan with parchment paper. Beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks, then add the sugar and continue beating until thickened. In a bowl, mix all the dry ingredients, then fold this mixture gently into the egg whites.  Add softened butter and fold in until well incorporated. Pour into an 22-26 inch pan and bake about 25-30 minutes or until the middle is firm or a toothpick test comes out clean.  Allow to cool on a cooling rack.

This is the step where you add the dry ingredients into the whipped egg whites and sugar.

To dress the cake, place the layer cake upright on a serving dish.  Pipe or spoon mascarpone cream according to your talents and top with sliced or whole fruit.  You can also decorate with meringue (I had some leftover) or chopped pistachios, or maybe bits of candy or even petals if you have eatable ones.  My kids don't like petals on cake so I place them on the side, very finicky.

Meringue is fun to make :

It's basically equal weight egg whites and confectioners sugar.  I often have leftover egg whites so I make meringue a lot. For example, 4 egg whites weigh about 140 g, so add about 140 g of confectioners.  Whip up the egg whites until stiff, add the sugar and beat until thickened.  Bake at low temperature, 90° C/ 190° F for about an hour and a half, or until they have hardened and can slide off the pan with a poke of a finger or spoon. My methods are scientifically proven ;).  By the way, I made simple white ones, and also streaked pink ones with gel food coloring.

There's a lovely feeling after you add the sugar to the egg whites and it has more of a pull because it get's heavier and thicker.

Enjoy, everyone !