Recipe: Appetizing Pistachio and Rose Water Semolina Cake

Pistachio and Rose Water Semolina Cake. And don't confuse rose water and rose essence: the difference is huge. This Pistachio Rose Semolina Cake is adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi's and Helen Goh's "Sweet" Cookbook. It is such a beautiful union of cardamom, rosewater, almond and pistachio.

If you live in South Africa, be warned, pistachios are crazy expensive, so this is a costly cake to make, but I still feel it is worth every cent. The decadent and easy Pistachio and Rose Water Cake recipe is both light and fluffy. Transfer pistachio mixture to a bowl with the almond flour, semolina, baking powder and salt. You can cook Pistachio and Rose Water Semolina Cake using 36 ingredients and 27 steps. Here is how you cook that.

Ingredients of Pistachio and Rose Water Semolina Cake

1. Prepare of Candied Edible Flowers.
2. You need 1 of large egg white.
3. It's 40 of pesticide free flower petals.
4. You need 2 tbsp of granulated sugar.
5. You need of Cake Topping.
6. You need 1/4 cup of pistachios.
7. It's 1/4 cup of almonds.
8. Prepare 2 of cardamom pods.
9. Prepare 3 tbsp of cane sugar.
10. You need 1 tbsp of salt.
11. Prepare 1 tbsp of unsalted butter.
12. You need of Cake.
13. You need 3 of cardamom pods.
14. Prepare 1 cup of shelled pistachio kernels.
15. Prepare 1 cup of almonds.
16. Prepare 1 cup of semolina.
17. It's 2 tsp of baking powder.
18. It's 1 tsp of baking soda.
19. You need 1/2 tsp of salt.
20. You need 1 1/3 cups of unsalted butter, room temp.
21. Prepare 1 2/3 cups of cane sugar.
22. It's 4 of large eggs, separated.
23. It's of zest of 2 medium or 1 large lemon.
24. Prepare 2 tbsp of freshly squeezed lemon juice.
25. You need 2 tbsp of rose water.
26. Prepare 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract.
27. You need of Rose Cream.
28. It's 2 cups of heavy cream.
29. You need 1 cup of home made creme fraiche (see separate recipe).
30. It's 1 tbsp of cane sugar.
31. You need 1 tbsp of rose water.
32. It's 1 cup of pomegranate arils.
33. You need of Rose Syrup.
34. It's 1/2 cup of lemon juice.
35. It's 1/3 cup of rose water.
36. Prepare 1/2 cup of cane sugar.

Place the butter and sugar in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat until pale and. I adore semolina cakes and desserts; they were always around in one form or another as I was growing up in Singapore. And if you've been a long time follower of LinsFood, you'll know that I use rose (petals, water and syrup) and pistachios in all sorts of recipes, both sweet and savoury. I already shared a recipe for pistachio rose water cupcakes in the past, but felt inspired to create something new just for the blog and something refined sugar-free too, while I'm at it.

Pistachio and Rose Water Semolina Cake step by step

1. Candied Rose Petals - Preheat oven to 200º.
2. Laquer egg white on petal, sprinkle sugar on each side, place on baking sheet lined with silpat. Bake for 30 mins. Remove to cooling rack..
3. Cake Topping.
4. In food processor, combine almonds and 1 tbsp sugar until fine. Reserve..
5. Roughly chop pistachios..
6. In small saucepan add butter over medium heat. When melted, add pistachios until coated..
7. In a small mixing bowl, add 2 tbsp sugar and 1 tbsp salt with 1 ramekin cardamom. Whisk together..
8. Toss pistachios until coated. In a fine sieve, gently shake and reserve..
9. Cake - Increase oven to 350º.
10. Grease a 9 inch pan and line with parchment paper..
11. Pick through pistachios for any off color nuts. Roast all pistachios for 6 minutes. Set aside to cool..
12. Roast almonds for 7-8 minutes, set aside to cool..
13. Crack cardamom pods, 3 at a time, grind and reserve separately. (If you're obsessive/compulsive, you can cover the ramekin with plastic wrap so no flavor is lost.).
14. In food processor, grind 1 cup pistachios with 1 tbsp sugar until coarse, not fine. Repeat for 1 cup almonds..
15. Rub lemon peel with 1 tbsp sugar until fine..
16. Add pistachios, almonds, one ramekin cardamom, semolina, baking powder, and salt. Whisk until mixed and reserve..
17. Place butter and remaining sugar in bowl of an electric mixer with paddle. Beat on medium-high speed until combined..
18. Reduce speed to low. Add egg yolks one at a time, scraping the side of the bowl as necessary. Add rose water, lemon juice, and vanilla extract until just combined..
19. Pour mixture into a large mixing bowl..
20. Clean electric mixing bowl, whip egg whites until stiff peaks form..
21. Add dry ingredients to wet, fold together. Add 1/4 of egg white, mix with spatula until combined. Add 1/4 more egg white, folding. Add remaining 1/2 egg white, folding in more gently this time..
22. Add batter to pan, level with small offset spatula.Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean..
23. Rose Syrup.
24. You want the syrup to be warm when the cake comes out of the oven, so 10 minutes before the cake is ready, combine ingredients in a sauce pan, bring to a boil, stir so the sugar dissolves, and set aside..
25. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, pour evenly over the top. Sprinkle with almond mixture and pistachios. Set on cooling rack to room temperature. Remove from pan. Add flowers. Serve with rose cream and pomegranate arils..
26. Rose cream.
27. Whip heavy cream until stiff, adding sugar and rose water halfway through. Remove and fold in creme fraiche. Refrigerate until needed..

Candied rose petals make for a gorgeous presentation, but the chefs say you can buy dried rose petals (available at Asian or Middle Eastern grocers) or omit them altogether. If you are using rose petals, make sure they haven't been sprayed with pesticides. Rose pistachio semolina cake with its subtle hints of rose and citrus, this cake is the perfect palate cleanser after a spicy meal - best served with mint tea. The syrup not only adds flavour and moisture but was an old-time way of preserving the cake without refrigeration. Making this cake is a labor of love, but that's only appropriate, we think, for a cake adorned with rose petals.