Get the Recipe: Lemon Pistachio Loaf
A lovely and delicious pistachio loaf cake with a pound cake and a marble of pistachio-flavoured cake is all topped with a lemon glaze and pistachios.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (113 g) salted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup (190 g) white granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, or vanilla bean paste
- 1 1/2 cups (180 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and levelled
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/3 cup (75 ml) full-fat sour cream, at room temperature
Pistachio swirl:
- 1/2 cup (50 g) pistachios, shelled, raw or lightly salted
- 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) milk
Lemon glaze and topping:
- 1 cup (65 g) icing/confectioners' sugar
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice, plus more as needed
- 1/4 cup pistachios, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F (non-convection/not fan-assisted) and grease an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch or 4 x 10-inch loaf pan. Set aside.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy at medium speed, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, then add the sour cream, then add the rest of the flour mixture, mixing just until combined.
- Remove 1 cup of the batter to a medium bowl.
- Make the pistachio swirl by adding the pistachios, brown sugar and milk to a food processor. Process the mixture until it is very smooth. Gently fold the pistachio mixture into the reserved batter and set aside.
- Spread a thin layer of the plain batter into the bottom of your prepared loaf pan. Using a spoon, drop alternating spoonfuls of the plain and the pistachio batter into the pan. Top with a thin layer of the remaining plain batter and smooth the top. Using a long skewer or knife, run through the batter in the pan a few times (either lengthwise or from side to side). Just about three strokes lengthwise or 4-5 side to side should do it.
- Bake loaf in the preheated oven for 55-65 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the centre of the loaf comes out clean. (4x10 pan will cook more quickly, 55-60 minutes, while an 8x4 will take a bit longer, closer to 65 or a few minutes more).
- Allow the loaf to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then run a knife around the outside and remove to a cooling rack to cool. Allow the loaf to cool completely before glazing. Even a bit of warmth in the loaf could case issues with the glazing.
- Tip! To get a glaze that is thick and white as shown here, be sure that the glaze is not too thin. A thin glaze will run off the top leaving a translucent glaze instead of a white one. The consistency should be thicker than you might think. When dripped from a spoon back into the bowl, the glaze should very, very slowly blend back into itself, but do so eventually. If it holds its shape, it is too thick. If it blends back in immediately, it is too thin. When spooning the glaze onto the loaf if it is thick enough it will require using a spoon to coax it over the top and won't run off the top on its own.
- To make the glaze, add the icing sugar to a small bowl. Add the lemon juice a bit at a time, stirring it in well as you go. Add additional lemon juice if needed to make a glaze that slowly blends back into itself when drizzled from a spoon. If the glaze is too thin, add more icing sugar to thicken it.
- Spoon the glaze down the centre of the loaf and use the back of a spoon to gently coax the glaze towards the edges here and there, to make some drips down the sides. You want a nice layer of glaze on top, but you may not need to use all of the glaze. While the glaze is still wet, sprinkle the chopped pistachios on the top.
- Allow the glaze to set for at least 30 minutes before slicing.
Notes
Tips!
Starting with room temperature butter, eggs and sour cream is important, for best results. Simply remove them all from the fridge for 45-60 minutes before you start baking.
Measuring the flour is another area that can make or break your pound cake. Stir your flour first, then scoop or spoon it into your dry measuring cups overfilling it slightly. Use the back of a knife to level off the measuring cup. The "spoon and level" method of measuring flour can make a huge difference in the finished result of your baking!
Finally, I do recommend full-fat sour cream for best results. The fat in the sour cream contributes to the moistness of the finished loaf and will also improve the shelf-life of the loaf. Lower-fat sour cream will not perform as well. While you could use Greek yogurt in place of sour cream, it tops out at about 5% fat, while full-fat sour cream is about 14%, so again, it will have some effect on the moistness and shelf-life of the loaf.
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 357kcal, Carbohydrates: 47g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 17g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Trans Fat: 0.4g, Cholesterol: 85mg, Sodium: 186mg, Potassium: 175mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 31g, Vitamin A: 462IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 47mg, Iron: 2mg
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