This lovely pistachio cake uses ground pistachios to permeate the tender, moist cake with its delicious nutty flavor. We like it with a spoonful of citrus, but it also goes well with ice cream or whipped cream.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Trace the circumference of a 9" round cake pan on a piece of parchment paper and cut out the circle. Spray the pan with vegetable spray. Lay the parchment paper on the bottom of the pan and spray again. Set aside.
Using food processor (I used my 3 cup mini-prep), pulse pistachios until finely ground, about 40 seconds. Don't over-process or you'll get a nut butter.
Add flour, baking powder, cardamom and salt and pulse a few times to combine.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy (1 1/2-2 minutes). Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce speed to low and alternate adding pistachio mixture and milk -- beginning and ending with pistachio mixture and beating just enough to combine. Add orange zest and vanilla and beat just to combine.
Spread batter evenly in a pan and bake until wooden skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean -- about 30-40 minutes.
While cake is baking segment oranges and set aside in a small bowl.
Cool in pan and on rack 10 minutes. Run a knife around cake to loosen from pan and invert onto rack. Peel off parchment paper.
Can be served warm or room temperature. Serve a spoonful of orange segments alongside a slice of cake with any additional garnish you like!
Notes
This video is a great tutorial on how to supreme citrus if you're unfamiliar with this technique: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjOEGQ18F-A