Substitution Options -- Nuts, Fruits, etc...

A few questions;
Would pistachios work in place of the pine nuts?
Would another fruit pair well with the pistachio or pine nut? Maybe a blood orange, lemon, or another fruit--maybe a berry?
How well does this recipe work for experiments?

Lola's Great Eats
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2 Comments

Lori T. November 10, 2023
I've no idea how it works for experiments, but I imagine it would work quite well. There are lots of variations on the olive oil cake theme- probably as many as there are Italian grandmothers and mothers who bake one. I've had them with berries, stone fruit, and all the various sorts of citrus, hazelnuts, almonds, and pistachios, as well as the pine nuts and orange this recipe uses. I'm not a fan of rosemary in sweets, myself, so when I made this cake I left it out. Instead I like to make a version using a flavoring called Fiori di Sicilia, which is sort of a vanilla/citrus mix that is addictive. I suggest you look at other recipes for olive oil cakes to get ideas and inspiration, and then try your own experiment. You can always share the results here too. New recipes are always welcome.
 
Nancy November 10, 2023
Lola Great Eats - of course you can substitute pistachios for pine nuts.
And probably the fruits, too.

Perhaps consider a recipe that is already built on the pistachio and olive oil combination and has a track record of working well. Like this one from Serious Eats (which features orange as a flavoring):
https://www.seriouseats.com/pistachio-olive-oil-cake-recipe

Or these from many sites, including BBC Good Food, Bon Appetit and many bloggers:
https://www.google.com/search?q=pistachio+olive+oil+cake&oq=pistachio+olive+oil+cake&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyCQgAEEUYORiABDIHCAEQABiABDIHCAIQABiABDIICAMQABgWGB4yCAgEEAAYFhgeMggIBRAAGBYYHjIICAYQABgWGB4yCAgHEAAYFhgeMggICBAAGBYYHjIICAkQABgWGB7SAQg2NjE2ajBqN6gCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#ip=1
 
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