Prepare yourself for a delightful treat with this marzipan cake. Cooked to perfection, it’s sliced into delectable portions and then toasted to add a hint of warmth and crunch. The slices are served alongside a generous scoop of creamy pistachio ice cream, creating a harmonious combination that will surely satisfy your taste buds.
Preparation time
over 2 hours
Cooking time
30 mins to 1 hour
Serves
Serves 4
Dietary
Vegetarian

From Saturday Kitchen
Ingredients
For the ice cream
- 250g/9oz shelled pistachio nuts, left whole
- 120ml/4½oz full-fat milk
- 620ml/2 fl oz double cream
- 120g/4¼oz caster sugar
- 2 free-range egg yolks
- 1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
- 2 tbsp cornflour
- 397g tin condensed milk
- 40g/1½ oz Iranian pistachios, toasted, plus extra to serve
For the cake
- 200g/7oz marzipan, chopped
- 125g/4½oz unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
- 50g/1¾oz caster sugar
- 75g/2¾oz plain flour
- 1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3 large free-range eggs
- 40g/1½ oz Iranian pistachio nuts
Method
To make the ice cream, infuse the pistachio nuts with the full-fat milk, 120ml/4fl oz of the double cream and the sugar in a saucepan for 1 hour over a gentle heat. Leave to cool. Tip the pistachio mixture into a blender and add the egg yolks, vanilla seeds and cornflour. Blitz to a smooth purée.
Return to the heat and stir continuously until thickened and bubbling. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Briefly whip the remaining double cream to soft peaks and fold it in with the condensed milk. Add the toasted pistachios, transfer to a freezer-proof container and freeze for a few hours until set.
To make the cake, preheat the oven to 190C/170C Fan/Gas 5. Grease and line a 450g/1lb loaf tin with baking paper.
Blend all of the ingredients, except the pistachio nuts, in a food processor. Tip the cake mixture into the tin, scatter the pistachios over the top and allow them to sink in a little. Bake for 30 minutes, then loosely cover with kitchen foil and continue to cook for 10 more minutes. Leave to cool in the tin.
To serve, remove the cake from the tin, cut into slices and dry toast each slice in a frying pan for a few minutes on each side. Serve with the ice cream and more toasted pistachios.