Tea Cakes with Cardamom-Pistachio Sugar

By KateAlice. • February 21, 2011 • 0 Comments

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Author Notes: I came across cardamom-pistachio sugar in a little herb and spice shop in Melbourne, and have found that it makes for a lovely moist tea cake when combined with pears and almond flour. - KateAlice. - KateAlice.

Food52 Review: These cakes have a pleasantly soft and tender texture which is the perfect background for the flavorful pistachio-cardamom topping. I'm glad I made extra of the topping because now I want to sprinkle everything with it! Please note that the cakes are quite moist and sticky, meaning they might be difficult to get out of some molds. I used a silicone muffin pan, though, and had no problem popping them out. - vrunka - vrunka

Makes 4 small cakes

2 egg whites
1/4 cup minus 2 tablespoons blonde cane sugar (aka raw caster sugar)
1 tablespoon ground cardamom and crushed pistachio
2/3 cups almond meal/flour
1 ripe pear
3 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon ground cardamom and crushed pistachio, extra

Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C and grease or line either one small cake pan or 4 friand/muffin moulds
Peel the pear. Cut half of it into thin slices. Use a fork to crush the other half in a small bowl.
Beat the egg whites until they are foamy, but not stiff peaks. Put to one side
In a medium bowl, combine the sugar with the almond flour
Add the grapeseed oil and vanilla extract to the mashed pear and combine
Add this mixture to the flour and using a wooden spoon, stir to combine
Add the egg and continue to stir, making sure it is well combined
Pour the batter into moulds/cake pan
Bake for 20 minutes, then add the remaining pear slices and top with extra cardamom and crushed pistachios. Bake for a further 20-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove and let cool before unmoulding.