Three layers of Pistachio and Lime Cake, sandwiched with a lime buttercream, and topped with summer berries. A pretty, "semi-naked" summer celebration cake.
You might have guessed already that I like pistachios. I think they make a great addition to cakes and bakes, turning what could otherwise be a fairly dull, plain cake into one that is rather special.
At Easter I made a pretty Pistachio and Lemon Cake which I decorated with Crystallised Flowers. Because these flavours worked so well together, I decided to create a variation on them with this cake. This time I have used fewer pistachios and not chopped them so finely. The result is a lighter texture with some delicious nutty chunks with the added bonus that you don't need a food processor to make it.
I love buttercream, it is so easy to make and adding some lime juice gives it a light citrus tang which complements this cake. Much as I like it though, you can easily have too much. So I haven't gone overboard with it using about two thirds to sandwich the cakes together.
The rest was then spread in a thin layer on top and an even thinner layer around the edge to give the cake a fashionable, semi-naked finish. Which means you can still see the layers of the cake through the outer frosting.
You don't need anything else between the layers but, if you are feeling generous, you could add a layer of summer fruit jam to accentuate the berry flavour of the cake. Alternatively, some Lime marmalade lime curd would also make a nice addition. This recipe for lime curd is from Only Crumbs Remain my other website if you fancy making your own.
I think summer berries go so well with lime, which is why to give this cake a lovely summery feel I topped the cake with berries. They look pretty too. The harvest of summer berries from the allotment is tailing off now so I used a mixture of raspberries from the allotment with some strawberries and blue berries from the market.
To complete the decoration I added a few more whole pistachio nuts and sprinkled them on top. Finally, a light dusting of icing sugar and the cake is complete.
Now all you need to do is enjoy. It is lovely as a special treat with afternoon tea but also goes pretty well with a glass of fizz making it a great summer celebration cake. Go on, spoil yourself.
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Pistachio and Lime Layer Cake
Equipment
- 3 23cm (9in) round cake tins
- satnd mixer
Ingredients
for the cake
- 450 g butter (1lb)
- 450 g golden caster sugar (1lb)
- 8 free range eggs
- 500 g self-raising flour (1lb 2oz)
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 150 g pistachio nuts (5oz) roughly chopped
- 2 limes
for the lime buttercream
- 225 g butter (8oz)
- 450 g icing sugar (1lb)
- 1½ tablespoon lime juice
To complete
- selection of fresh summer berries
- few pistachio nuts
- icing sugar to dust
Instructions
To make the cake
- Preheat the oven to 180℃ (170℃ fan)/400°F/gas mark 4. Grease and line the base of 3 x 23 cm (9in) shallow cake tins.
- Beat the 450g butter and 450g caster sugar together until very pale and fluffy. Then beat in 8 eggs one at a time adding 1 tablespoon of 500g flour with each of the last two eggs to prevent them from curdling.
- Sift the remaining flour and 2 teaspoons baking powder into the bowl. Add 150g pistachios and the juice and zest of two limes. then carefully fold in until the mixture is well combined.
- Divide equally between the three tins and bake for 30 minutes or until springy to the touch.
- Allow to cool in the tins for a few minutes then turn out onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
To make the butter cream
- Beat 225g butter until pale, then add 450g icing sugar a third at a time and beat until combined. Add 1½ tablespoons lime juice and beat until very fluffy.
To complete
- Spread about one third of the butter cream over one of the sponge layers. Place the next one on top and repeat with another third of the icing and the third sponge.
- Use the remaining butter cream to coat the top and sides of the cake. Pile some berries on top of the cake and sprinkle with a few pistachio nuts. Dust with icing sugar and serve
Notes
- Place a shallow roasting tin in the base of the oven and fill with 2cm (1in) hot water before baking the cakes. This helps to keep the cakes moist while they cook.
- If you do not have three cake tins or enough space in the oven to cook three at once, the mixture can stand while one batch cooks. Remove the cake from the tin, reline and grease the cake tin and bake the remaining cake layer as quickly as possible so that the mixture does not sit for too long.
- Nutrition calculations does not include the fruit and nuts on top.
Luisa Puleo says
hi, can you freeze the layers and then defrost before icing?
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Yes you can. Wrap well and freeze for up to 2 months
Vilma Renko says
Hi Jacqueline,
I was wondering what would be the correct baking time for 3 8” base baking tins because I have 3 8” base baking tins instead of 9”.
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Hi Vilma I am afraid I can not tell you for sure without testing but as the tins are smaller the cake will be deeper so will likely take a little longer. I would test after an extra 5- 10 minutes. If the cake looks to be browning too much around the edges but still not cooked in the middle drop the temperature slightly too. Hope that helps Jacqui
Jane says
Hi Jacqueline, I tried your stunning cake recipe recently and was really pleased with the result - it was amazing! Now I would like to use it as one of the tiers in my son's wedding cake (semi-naked 3 tier cake). He and his partner liked it so much that I'd like to do the base tier (12" round) with this recipe. Have you tried it out in this size? I'm wondering if you can recommend how much I should round up the quantities and cooking times for this size. I'd be really grateful for any advice you can give.Thank you very much. Jane
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Hi, Jane, I am so pleased you liked this cake so much. I have not made it in a 12in tin but as its a lovely moist cake I'm sure it will work just fine. As for quantities I've been comparing with the cake I used for the bottom tier and I think it would probably be the full quantity of this cake for each single layer. or possibly 2 x this recipe for 3 layers. As it is for such a special ocassion I would be inclined to make one test layer ahead of time using the full quantity and judge it from there. As for timings, I think you are probably looking at around 50 minutes so I would take a look at around 45 minutes.
Hope this helps. I would love to know how you get on so do please tell me and Best wishes for the big day itself. x
Jane says
Thank you very much Jacqueline, this is really helpful, I'm going to get down to a trial run this week! Thanks for the good wishes, I'll definitely let you know how I get on! 😉
Jane Emms says
Hi Jacqueline just wanted to let you know the wedding cake was a great success thank you! In the end I opted for a 10" base cake with 3 layers of your pistachio and lime cake. It worked really well and I completed it with a raspberry and white chocolate middle tier and a lemon curd sponge on top all decorated with flowers and foliage from the garden. The pistachio cake is such a lovely recipe that I used it again for my mum's 90th birthday celebrations just 2 weeks ago. So thanks again for the recipe and the advice - I shall certainly use it again and will be a regular visitor to your inspirational site. Jane x
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Hi Jane I am so very pleased to hear this you made my day. I am delighted that the wedding cake and your mums 90th birthday cake were such a success and pleased that you are enjoying Recipes Made Easy. Are you aware that from Spring 2019 I am now putting most of my new baking recipes on myopther blog Only Crumbs Remain which is dedicated to all things baked (sweet and savoury) and other sweet treats. Do check it out if you havent already.
j x
jenny paulin says
Beautiful Jacqueline! This would have been a wonderful addition on GBBO last night as it fits all of the criteria, and looks better than many on the show last night! x
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
I guess it would but I have something else in mind just need to find the time to make it!
Angela / Only Crumbs Remain says
What a seriously stunning cake Jacqui, so summery and I imagine so fresh tasting too with the lime and summer fruits. I'm always amazed by semi naked cakes - they have so much presence and beauty and yet are relatively simple to make.
Aw, I've just noticed you linking up to #BakingCrumbs. Thankyou Jacqui 🙂 (don't forget to include it in the linky, I can't see it in there at the moment).
Angela xx
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Thank you Angela.I plan to use this recipe for the middle tier of a wedding cake I am making so it was a great way to practise the look. I agree they do look great and I like the fact that they are not over the top with butter cream.
Kat (The Baking Explorer) says
This cake looks so gorgeous and full of summer flavour!
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Thank you Kat. It is one fo my favourite flavour combos and I think summer berries always look gorgeous