This cake is a showstopper. Genuinely, if I get on Bake Off one day, I'm baking this cake for Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood- the perfect blend of salty, savory, nutty, tart, and sweet. The cake itself is an olive oil cake that's soft, plush, and makes the perfect vessel for the filling and frosting. With frozen or fresh raspberries, you make a tart jam for the center, then a delicious pistachio frosting to encase the delicious cake. I cannot brag about this cake enough. If you don't like cake or frosting because it's too sweet, TRY THIS CAKE! Please let me change your mind about cake with this recipe! Leave a comment and let me know how it went for you
Special Ingredients: Notes and Tips
Olive Oil: The olive oil really shines in this cake, so use an olive oil you know and love. I’ve used lighter olive oils in this cake for cost reasons, and it still turns out yummy, but I recommend an all-purpose olive oil meant for baking or regular cooking.
Pistachios: You may use salted, roasted, or unsalted and unroasted pistachios. Both will lend a great pistachio flavor, but the roasted and salted pistachios will add a little more depth to the flavor profile. However, if you use salted pistachios, taste the buttercream as you add salt to make sure it isn’t overpowered by salt.
Raspberries: You may use fresh or frozen raspberries for the jam; just note that cooking time will differ. You don’t need too much jam for the filling, but make sure to fully scrape both sides of the strainer with a spatula to gather as much of the raspberry jam as possible after cooking. A lot of raspberry jam will build up on the opposite side of the strainer; don’t let it go to waste! And of course, if you’d like to use a different berry, such as blackberries or blueberries, go for it! Just watch the cooking time on the jam.
Lemon: I like to use Meyer lemons, as I have them growing in my garden, but any lemon will lend enough tartness to the jam for this recipe.
Maple Syrup: I like to use a natural sweetener for the jam, as we don’t want it too sweet. Use whatever liquid sweetener you’d like, such as honey, date syrup, or agave.
Baking Powder: This cake calls for quite a bit of baking powder. To reduce the metallic aftertaste that baking powder may give off, I like to use. Make sure there are no remaining clumps in the dry ingredients, either, to reduce strong baking powder aftertastes.
Aquafaba: The liquid from the chickpea can should whip up well on its own. However, if it is struggling a little, you may add a dash of cream of tartar to aid with whipping the aquafaba.
Vegan Olive Oil, Pistachio, and Raspberry Cake
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line three 8-inch or two 9-inch pans with parchment paper and grease them with olive oil and a paper towel.
- In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, whip the 100g of aquafaba with the sugar until light and frothy.
- In a separate bowl, combine the milk and extracts.
- Whisk the olive oil and aquafaba in a separate bowl until light and combined; it should be pale and a bit frothy.
- I know, this is a lot of separate bowls. BUT, in one more separate bowl, sift all the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda). Whisk to combine.
- Sprinkle the dry and milk mixture over the whipped aquafaba. Fold into the batter a few times, then add the oil mixture. Finally, fold until just combined. The batter may not be smooth, and that's okay.
- Divide the batter evenly into your pans. If using 3 pans, it should be about 450 grams per pan; if using 2 pans, it should be about 675 grams per tin.
- Bake on the center rack. This can take about 25-35minutes, depending on the size of the pan, so start the timer at about 20 minutes, and keep checking and rotating your pans from there. When a toothpick comes out with crumbs, it is ready.
- Allow your cakes to cool in the pans for 30 minutes. Then, place them on a cooling rack in the freezer while you make the buttercream and raspberry filling. This will make it easier to frost the cakes, as they can be fragile. If you plan on storing your cakes in the freezer for more than 1-2 hours, wrap them in Saran Wrap to trap moisture.
- Make the raspberry jam. Heat the raspberries and maple syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat. Using a potato masher or spoon, mash the berries as they start to soften. Drop the heat to medium-low and allow to simmer. Add the lemon juice, zest, salt, and vanilla, stirring/mashing until the water has begun to cook off. Once reduced, strain into a clean bowl. I use a spatula to push the jam through the strainer, then wipe down the outside of the strainer to get all the jam. This will take some time. It doesn't make very much, so really scrape and wipe down the strainer with the spatula! Set aside to cool.
- Make the Pistachio Paste. In a food processor, blend the pistachios, powdered sugar, and salt, if using, until crumbly. Then, add the vanilla and water. Continue to process until a smooth paste forms. (reference pictures below).
- Make the Pistachio Buttercream. Add the butter and salt, if using, to your stand mixer. With a paddle attachment, whip on medium speed for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, and continue to whip the buttercream. Start on a lower speed when adding the powdered sugar. Add the vanilla. With the mixer on medium speed, add in the pistachio paste, crumbling in a little at a time. Allow the frosting to whip until it's all combined and reaches a light, fluffy texture. Add milk a tablespoon at a time if too thick.
- Assemble! Place your first cake down on a plate or cake stand. Spread some pistachio buttercream on top, creating a rim around the edge of the cake. Make a "dam" around the edge of your cake to hold in the raspberry jam. If using 3 cakes, fill half of your jam in the center of the cake. If using 2 cakes, put all the jam in the center of this layer. Stack the next cake on top and repeat the filling process. Finally, add the last cake and begin to frost the outside of the cake.
- Enjoy! Keep refrigerated when not eating, and it can last in the fridge for about 5 days, covered tightly in Saran Wrap.
Video
@elizasveganbakes 🍇🫒🍰 olive oil, raspberry, and pistachio cake! full recipe on my website 💌 #oliveoil #cake #vegancake #oliveoilcake #pistachiocake
♬ original sound - n 3^°7 !
