Cherry, Pistachio & Coconut Cake

A friend strongly recommended I try this unusual cake (remember way back in the Weekend Links?) and I finally got around to making it.  Finally because, OK, the ingredients are a little bit unusual and because I’ve just been so busy lately.

Yeah yeah, it has stuff like Mahleb (which I still don’t really know what it is – anyone?) and ground pistachios which in the end I had to grind myself.  But just go to a middle eastern grocer (Akhavan, Adonis) and you’ll find it.. and it’s worth it.

OK, the recipe isn’t totally foolproof.  When my friend told me about it she mentioned that she had to let it cook way longer than the 35-40 minutes so I didn’t panic, but soon enough she started getting a few text messages:

I just kind of rolled with it.  You can see the edges are a bit burnt but I actually think that’s more the raspberries that burned quicker than much of the actual cake itself.  So let it go around and hour and then when you think it’s FINALLY read – take it out.

So here’s the recipe.  Just remember – let it cook around 60 minutes, it will burn a bit around the edges, and don’t panic – it’s worth it.  It’s also great because if you have a scale you can throw the thing together in one bowl in about 2 minutes just like this other cake I love.  High fives for everyone who puts their recipes in terms of weight!

Also, I used frozen raspberries instead of cherries.  Because it’s Montreal in the middle of winter.

And isn’t Alex cute?  He loved the cake too.

Oh, and yes, Alex was with me, so the pistachios didn’t get chopped – I just threw them on and guess what – it was fine 🙂

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I also do Family & Newborn Lifestyle Photography in a relaxed natural-light setting.