I grew up reading all sorts of fairytales that had magical food I wish I could eat! Well, I’m old now and I have a kitchen, so why not bring something magical to life. I loved the name bramble mallow cake, from the Witches book, and it loaned itself perfectly to a bramble jam and marshmallow cake. The pistachio sponge gives a beautiful complimentary flavour that works so well with the blackberries.
Just a few notes from me.
To be honest, this cake would work with most jam and nut variations, so why not change things up a bit to suit your palate.
The green food colouring adds a little whimsey, but is certainly not necessary.
INGREDIENTS
For the Cake:
100g pistachios (shelled)
200g caster sugar
200g unsalted butter
150g self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
Green food colouring (optional)
Pistachio cream paste (optional)
For the Jam:
300g blackberries
250g caster sugar
Splash of lemon juice
1 bay leaf (optional)
2 tbsp cornflour
For the Meringue:
2 large egg whites
150g caster sugar
1/2 tsp white wine vinegar
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
METHOD
Preheat your oven to 170°c fan, and grease and line four 6” cake tins, or two 8” cake tins.
Blitz the pistachios in a food processor and set aside. In a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar before incorporating the eggs one at a time; scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go. Add the vanilla extract and a few drops of the food colouring, then mix to combine.
Sift together the flour and baking powder into the wet mix and add the ground pistachios; fold in gently to combine. Split the mix equally between the cake tins and bake for 20 minutes. Check they are baked by inserting a clean skewer into the centre of the cake; it should come out clean.
Set aside to cool for 10 minutes, before turning out onto a rack to cool completely.
For the jam, add the fruit, sugar and lemon juice to a heavy based saucepan and place over a medium heat. Allow the sugar to dissolve and the juice to release from the fruit. Stir to combine, then add the bay leaf and bring to a low boil. Boil gently for 5 minutes, then make a slurry with the cornflour and some cold water and whisk that into the jam. It should thicken up to the consistency of a curd, but you make need to add more cornflour if it doesn’t.
You cam strain the jam through a sieve at this point to get rid of the seeds, or you can leave them in. Either way, remove the bay leaf and set aside to cool.
Whisk the egg whites along with the salt, vinegar and 2 tbsp of the caster sugar in a clean bowl of a stand mixer, until they reach stiff peaks. In a heavy based saucepan, add the remaining sugar and a splash of cold water and heat on medium high, until the sugar has dissolved. Continue to boil until the temperature reaches 115°c, then add into the egg whites with the mixer running on low. Be careful not to pour the sugar in, but create a steady stream away from the moving parts. Once then hot sugar is in, add the vanilla, then turn up the whisk to full and run for 5 minutes.