Pistachio Carrot Cake with Orange Blossom Labneh

No joke, this cake was the basis of my personal statement for my residency application. It was a choice I knew would be somewhat polarizing among the radiation oncology audience, but it was very well received from those that interviewed me. I used to attend Game of Thrones viewing parties with a group of med school friends, which became a weekly excuse to bake. My friend and great appreciator of my baked goods, MT, challenged me to combine his two favorite things: carrot cake and my pistachio cake (post to follow). Challenge accepted.

The product was this cake, which is from Butterlust. I am slowly starting to adapt and create more recipes, but my success in the kitchen really has been in sifting through many many many recipes in books or online and picking the winners. This cake was good, but would do much better within the context of a breakfast cake. It has a nice subtle spice and is not very sweet. This cake holds a special place in my recipe book mostly because it was the first time I’ve made labneh, and because of the memories associated with good friends.

Several of my baking projects would not have been possible in medical school (I only have time to search so many markets for ingredients) without Amazon. This recipe calls for orange blossom water, which I ultimately ordered online. I justified the purchase to myself after reading it’s many possible uses, and have yet to use it for anything besides this cake. I debated substituting zest or orange juice, but ultimately decided this would alter the quality of the labneh and it wasn’t worth the risk. 

I did not own 8 inch cake pans for a surprisingly long time. This really limited my cake repertoire, but I made this recipe in 9 inch pans instead. The layers were still thick enough that it was not too flimsy to handle. If you do this, I would recommend using slightly more oil to keep it together. Converting pan sizes is quite complex if you try to do it correctly. There are a number of resources outlining the calculations, like this fairly thorough Food52 post. I usually think about it and decide it’s not worth all the math. I finally just bought myself 8-inch cake pans though, so watch out Cincinnati.

Pistachio Carrot Cake with Orange Blossom & Honey Labneh

2018-04-02 20:03:05

Serves 14

Write a review

Save Recipe

Print

For the Cake

1. 2 cups all-purpose flour
2. 2 tsp baking soda
3. 2 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
4. 1 tsp cinnamon
5. 1/2 tsp ground ginger
6. 1 tsp salt
7. 1 cup vegetable oil
8. 2 cup granulated sugar
9. zest of one orange
10. 4 eggs, room temperature
11. 3 cups grated carrots
12. 1 cup chopped pistachios, plus more for decorating
13. 1 cup sultanas
14. 1/4 cup honey, for drizzling

For the Labneh

1. 1 35.3oz container of full-fat plain greek yogurt
2. 2 tbsp honey
3. 1 tsp orange blossom water
4. 1/4 tsp kosher salt
5. cheesecloth

To make the Labneh

1. This must be done at least 24 hours before baking the cake, though a full 48 hours is preferred.
2. Line a mesh strainer with cheesecloth and place over a larger bowl deep enough that the bottom of the strainer sits a few inches from the bottom. This will allow space for the strained liquid to collect.
3. Stir together the yogurt, honey, orange blossom water, and salt.
4. Transfer mixture to the lined strainer, fold the cheesecloth over the top, and twist the ends of the cheesecloth to form a seal.
5. Place in the refrigerator to strain for 24-48 hours (don't cut this short).
6. 1 hour before you are ready to frost your cake, remove from refrigerator. Scrape the Labneh from the cheesecloth to a bowl, and allow to come to room temperature. Discard the strained liquid.

To make the cake

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper, lightly grease, and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, spices, and salt until combined.
3. In a separate bowl, beat oil, sugar, and orange zest until well combined. With the mixer on low, add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating after each addition.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the oil mixture and beat until just combined, careful not to over-mix.
5. Gently fold in the carrots, pistachios, and sultanas.
6. Divide batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Transfer to cooling rack and allow to cool in the pans for 20 minutes. Turn out onto wire racks to finish cooling completely.

To assemble the cake

1. Place one layer onto a serving dish and top with half the labneh. Sprinkle with pistachios.
2. Add the second layer, and spread remaining labneh on top.
3. Garnish with chopped pistachios and drizzle with honey

Notes

1. If you want a more dense crumb, increase the vegetable oil by 1/4 - 1/2 cup.

Adapted from Butterlust

Adapted from Butterlust

Stay At Home Doctor https://stayathomedoctor.com/