Cherry and pistachio bars
This cake reminds me of the wonderful cherry, pistachio and coconut cake they make at Honey and Co in London. Anything they make there I will happily eat. If you can’t get a hold of shelled pistachios, don’t do what I did and de-shell a whole tub of them, you will get lots of blisters but maybe it was worth it in the end for the FLAVOUR!
Ingredients:
For the base:
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
75g caster sugar
75g unsalted butter, soft
1 medium egg
100g pistachios, roughly chopped
125g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
For cherry layer:
175g unsalted butter, soft
175g light brown sugar
2 medium eggs
1/8 tsp almond essence
160g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
150g fresh/frozen cherries, halved
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
20g chopped pistachios
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180c/160c fan. Grease and line a 20cm square baking tin with paper.
In a large food processor/blender, blitz the fennel seeds with the caster sugar until the seeds are fine. Pass through a sieve and cream this fennel sugar with the butter in a large bowl until soft, light and fluffy- about 2 minutes.
Add the egg and mix to combine. Stir in the remaining ingredients and mix to form a stiff mixture. Pour into your lined tray and spread out to create a flat base. Leave to one side while you prepare the next layer.
In the same bowl, cream the butter and light brown sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one by one and mix to incorporate well, followed by the almond essence.
Stir in the remaining ingredients, the mix will be quite stiff. Pour on top of the pistachio layer and spread it out to create a flat top. Top with the fennel seeds and chopped pistachios.
Bake for 40-50 minutes until golden brown and a skewer inserted comes out clean. Once cool, cut into 12 bars. These will keep well for up to three days in an airtight container.
Substitutes:
Fennel seeds- bay leaves, 1/2 tsp mahleb
Pistachios- almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts
Cherries- mixed berries, chocolate chips
Makes 12 bars