Recipe: Spinach, Orange & Pistachio Cake
Last year, after the release of our second cookbook, I wanted to experiment with some new recipes. After writing all the recipes for the book, perfecting them, and photographing them, I was a bit bored with them all. One of the things I love about owning a coffee shop is being able to bake whatever I want (within reason). I didn’t want to become a shop that just had the same things to sell, week in and week out. Primarily, this was because I knew I would get bored of baking very, very quickly. No one wants to make the same six things, every week, every year. You would go nuts. So instead, we have a signature selection that are usually always available, and then inter-disperse those with bakes that are a bit different, switching them out and trying new things. It keeps us interested in baking, and it keeps customers coming back to try something new.
One thing I wanted to do, was get a bit more creative with our cake offer. Our usual offerings aren’t what you would call traditional, but I wanted to go even further, especially with introducing vegetables into our recipes. One of my first experiments was with spinach – it was nearly Halloween, and I really wanted a vivid green cake, without all the food colouring. I had previously seen something known as Moss Cake, which is a spinach cake originating in Poland (correct me if I am wrong). It uses the sponge of the cake to create an edible ‘moss’ on top of the buttercream to resemble a forest floor, with scattered fresh fruit and mint. It doesn’t have any added flavour though, so I thought I would do a bit more digging.
So, after a little web searching, I found a recipe for spinach cake, but without any frills, and I decided to build on it and incorporate a few other elements to make it slightly more interesting. I added ground pistachios for added texture and extra greenery, the zest and juice of fresh oranges for added flavour, and made it gluten-free. This was because based on experience, gluten-free cakes are usually more successful when baked using fruit and vegetables, as it helps the cake to bind, and keeps the cake moist (what a word), as gluten-free flours can be quite drying on their own. With the spinach already in the mix, I thought the cake would work well as a gluten-free option.
What resulted was a gorgeous cake, light and fluffy, as green as the wicked witch of the west. I made it first as a tray cake, with a single layer of buttercream over the top, and secondly as a round sandwich cake, with two layers of buttercream. I would say I went a bit heavy on the buttercream first time around, as it can be quite sweet. However, as the cake isn’t overly sweet on its own, it balanced out. I think if you are making it and don’t like a super sweet cake, just hold back on the icing, and a thin layer will work just as well.
Spinach, Orange & Pistachio Cake
Ingredients
400g fresh spinach leaves
200ml vegetable oil
4 medium eggs, beaten
300g caster sugar
2 oranges, zested and juiced
270g gluten free self raising flour
100g pistachios, finely ground
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
For the icing
200g dairy-free baking block, softened
500g icing sugar
2 tbsp soya milk
1 orange, zested and juiced
15g pistachios, roughly chopped
Preheat the oven to gas 4, 180°C, fan 160°C and grease and line 2 x 23cm round cake tins with nonstick baking paper or a 20x30cm traybake tin.
Blitz the spinach, eggs and oil in a food processor/blender until you have a smooth paste.
Pour into a bowl for a stand-alone mixer, add the sugar and orange juice and zest, and beat until combined.
Add the flour, ground pistachios, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Beat until thoroughly mixed.
Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tins, level out, and bake for 35-40 mins until the cakes are just firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool completely in the tins on a wire rack.
While the cakes are cooling, you can make the icing. Beat the butter in a bowl to soften, and add the icing sugar gradually, beating to combine. Add the orange juice, half the zest and soya milk and combine. Beat on high for 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy.
Once the cakes are completely cool, use a palette knife to spread the buttercream as desired. Decorate with the remaining zest and pistachios. The cake will keep, covered, in a sealed container in the fridge, for up to a week.
