Pistachio + Mascarpone Cream + Strawberries
Melting, flourless, pistachio-buttery cake that gently sinks into creamy deliciousness as it cools.
Bonjour,
Straight to the point, what's that flavor that instantly transports you to your childhood? While you think about yours, I'll start with mine—two, in fact. First, salted pistachios. Second, juicy, lusciously ripe strawberries, or rather, the lack thereof.
In the Amazonian region where I grew up, strawberries were nonexistent. Though I might sound like a broken record recounting my upbringing in the Amazon (which, frankly, even fascinates me), I repeat it not to allow you to take for granted the wonder of strawberries, my dear reader. The flavor of this simple fruit, to this very cook, was for a long time, a fantasy.
As for pistachios, I had the fortune to be introduced to them early on.
My uncle Valdecir sells imported nuts, including those from California, in Brazil. I grew up very close to him, as he is also my godfather, so he'd take me to his company's food events, where I was presented with a universe of new ingredients, flavors, and aromas. Every time I had an opportunity to join him on one of those trips, I wouldn’t be able to sleep for a whole week due to the excitement. My kind of Disney.
On one of these trips, a pathway in my young and already food-passionate mind was irrevocably changed when I tasted a pistachio macaron for the first time. A perfectly round, flawlessly light green meringue creation with a glossy exterior and a creamy, soft interior. Its delicate outer shell broke with a gentle crackling when bitten, blending beautifully with bits of nuts dancing in the buttercream filling. It was both sweet and salty—an entirely new experience for my child's palate. In hindsight, it might not have been the greatest macaron, but at that moment, it was the most amazing thing!
Right after, the lady from the café, watching with a smile as I reveled in my little treat, kindly offered me the reddest, juiciest, sweetest (and may I add unforgettable?) strawberry my eyes had ever seen. I tasted it and was certain nothing in the whole wide world could be better than that combination. Forget cookies and cream—pistachios and strawberries were the match I needed.
When I moved to the US in 2016 and could eat strawberries whenever I pleased, their quality varied greatly. Those on the East Coast, where I lived for about five years, paled in comparison to the marvels of the ones grown in California, the state I now get to call home and that grows 88% of the nation's production.
Please don't misunderstand—I have no criticism for the delightful summer strawberries grown in Massachusetts (and I had the time of my life when I went strawberry picking for the very first time), but they simply can't compare to those from California (sorry, rest of the world!).
Here, strawberries can be part of my table all year long. In winter, the shipments come from southern California, mainly from Oxnard, Orange County, and San Diego, where I live. As the weather warms up, production moves north.
And you know what my favorite thing to do with these strawberries is? Put them on a cake.
This particular cake is perfect for a summer day, offering the casual delight of assembling it as you serve—slicing it for guests to customize with dollops of cream and spoonfuls of macerated berries. It handles warm weather with such elegance. But regardless of the season, much like California strawberries, it's fantastic all year long.
I'm also fascinated by this recipe because the batter is made entirely of nut flours, capturing the essence of a macaron without the complexity of making one. Even having worked as a pastry chef in professional kitchens before, I've always found macarons to be quite fickle to work with.
While this might not be the easiest cake to prepare—I must confess, as one does have to work with adding considerable volume to egg whites, which can be quite challenging for a novice home baker—it's almost a foolproof recipe and consistently yields excellent results (something I can't really say about my homemade batches of macarons).
On to the flavors—the buttery smoothness, slightly grassy notes, and natural saltiness I get from the sun-drenched California-grown pistachios are unlike any other pistachios I've ever tasted. So, I use the whole-shelled pistachios here and blitz them into a powder, which I believe enhances their flavors. Using fresh nut flour makes a difference in this cake and in almost any cake that requires it—give it a try.
The vanilla-speckled mascarpone is just here to lace everything together.
As I eat a slice of this cake and ponder my ever-growing love for California and its produce, I reflect on my roots in the Amazon, one of the world's richest regions. It doesn't even bother me that I didn't have strawberries; now, I get to call another fantastically unique and rich place home: California. With this kind of luck, how could I have become anything but a cook?
Thank you, California Grown for sponsoring this recipe.
Pistachio Cake with Mascarpone Cream and Macerated California Strawberries
Although I originally developed this recipe for a gluten- and dairy-intolerant friend’s birthday cake, I was so impressed by how it turned out and how much it reminded me of a macaron—without the usual hassle of making one, that now I bake it often for everyone, including myself, regardless of dietary restrictions. The cake alone is rich and rewarding, with a melting, flourless, pistachio-buttery base that gently sinks into creamy deliciousness as it cools. But to complement the cake, the sunken center of each slice is crowned with softly whipped, vanilla-speckled mascarpone—a dairy-rich addition I later introduced in the cake’s development—and paired with macerated berries, wonderfully ripe at this time of year in California, bursting with sweetness and a hint of tartness.
Makes 8 servings
For the cake:
1 tbsp butter for greasing the pan
1 cup (130 gr) shelled pistachios or pistachio flour
1 cup (110 gr) almond flour
¼ tsp salt
5 eggs
1 cup (200 gr) granulated sugar
Zest of 1 orange
2 tsp vanilla extract
For the macerated strawberries:
2 cups (approximately 300 gr) sliced strawberries
¼ to ½ cup (50 to 100 gr) granulated sugar
Juice of ½ an orange
For the cream
08 oz (225gr) Mascarpone cheese
½ cup (120 ml) heavy whipping cream
½ (60 gr) powdered sugar
1 tbsp (15gr) vanilla paste
Preheat the oven to 375°F and position a rack in the center. Butter a 9-inch round pan and line it with parchment paper, covering the bottom and sides with a bit of overhang—don't worry if it's not perfect. Use any leftover butter on top of the parchment paper as well.
If using shelled pistachios, blitz them in a food processor until you have fine crumbs. Be careful not to process them too much, or they will become a paste. The pistachio flour will not be as fine as the almond meal and that's ok. In a medium bowl, combine the pistachios, almond flour, and salt with a whisk and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract on medium to high speed for about 5 minutes, until the mixture is aerated, light, and pale in color. You can also do this by hand, but it will take about three times the effort and time.
Now, using a spatula, fold in the orange zest and the flour mixture just until incorporated, being careful not to overmix.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let the cake cool completely in the pan.
While the cake cools, add the strawberries, sliced however you like, to a medium bowl with granulated sugar and orange juice. Mix with a spoon, allowing them to release their sweet juices into a syrup.
To make the cream, in a medium bowl, mix the mascarpone cheese with the heavy cream, both as cold as possible. Then, add the powdered sugar and the vanilla paste. Whisk by hand until the mixture lightens and reaches soft peaks, about 2 minutes. Finish by folding a couple more times with a spatula. Whipping the cream by hand provides better control over consistency and, of course, minimizes dishwashing.
Using the parchment paper, transfer the cake from the pan to a serving plate or wooden board. Carefully peel away the paper to reveal the sides, dust the surface generously with powdered sugar, and serve sliced alongside generous dollops of cream and macerated strawberries.
Room Temperature: If the cake will be consumed within a day or two, you can store it at room temperature. Cover it loosely with plastic wrap or place it under a cake dome to keep it fresh.
Fridge: If you already added the toppings, refrigerate the cake. Place it in an airtight container or cover it well with plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out.
Freezing: If you need to store the cake for a longer period, you can freeze it. Ensure it's completely cooled before wrapping it tightly in plastic wrap and then foil. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before serving. For best taste and texture, ALWAYS bring refrigerated or frozen cake slices to room temperature before serving.
The recipe truly shows the pistachio flavor and the strawberry freshness is a great combination. I love it!
Oh my god your recipe looks so delicious! I'm drooling just thinking about it 🤤🤤