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Lemon Verbena and Pistachio Ciambella
recipe
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Chicago
Lemon Verbena and Pistachio Ciambella
Martin Sorge
Martin Sorge
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$1.00
A fluffy and bright olive oil-based cake with lemon verbena and pistachios. I adopted Tina Zaccardi's perfect recipe for Lemon Ciambella using a bunch of fresh lemon verbena. But it needed something extra besides the herb. The pulverized verbena lent a pale green hue to the cake, so why not go with that green theme? A bit of coarsely ground pistachios adds a lovely richness and texture to complement the aromatic lemon verbena.
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You Need

9-12 servings
1:00
  • 80 g (about 1/2 cup) shelled pistachios
  • 200 g granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
  • 8 g fresh lemon verbena leaves
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 100 g fruity olive oil
  • 210 g pastry flour or unbleached cake flour (or 180 g all-purpose flour + 30 g cornstarch)
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 160 g whole milk
  • Powdered sugar, for dusting

    • How To

    1. Heat the oven to 350F with a rack in the middle. Butter the bottom of a 9 by 3-inch removable-bottom tube pan.
    2. In a bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder.
    3. In a food processor, pulse the pistachios until they're little nubbins. Dump into a bowl and set aside.
    4. To the empty food processor, add the sugar, salt, lemon zest, and lemon verbena leaves. Process until the verbena is finely ground.
    5. Dump the sugar mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer.
    6. Add the eggs and egg yolks to the sugar mixture and whisk on high for 6 minutes, then whisk on low for another 6 minutes.
    7. Turn the mixer to medium speed and drizzle in the olive oil.
    8. Add half of the flour mixture and mix on low until almost combined. Add the milk and whisk until combined. Add the remaining flour and mix until not quite combined.
    9. Fold in the finely chopped pistachios using a spatula.
    10. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the cake springs back when pressed and a skewer comes out with moist crumbs, about 30-34 minutes.
    11. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Run an offset spatula around the sides and invert the cake onto a rack to cool completely.
    12. Dust with powdered sugar and enjoy.