Lemon pistachio cake and stories

I had such a lovely day. I explored a suburb near my home called Newtown – I went with friends and we tried a new café, explored a graveyard and went antique shopping. These are all things that everybody should do more often!

I loved that Brewtown Newtown served their tea on wooden boards shaped specifically to hold the teacup, teapot, creamer and spoon. The space was off King Street (the main road in Newtown), so things were a little bit more relaxed, and we were able to stay at our table long after we’d finished our meals and swap gossip.

From the café, we walked down to Camperdown cemetery. It’s beautiful. There are graves from the 1800 and 1900s which sit in perfect harmony with giant Moreton Bay figs and gorgeous creeping vines. I love the tales that lie dormant in old cemeteries, they leap from epitaphs and headstone designs.

From the cemetery, we continued on to some of the antique shops. Chris on King, in particular, was a treasure trove of delights; copper pots, tea accessories, vintage aprons, endless amounts of cutlery.

They all begged me to take them home!

I Instagrammed some shelves picked up some pieces that had far too much character for me to leave without them and promised to return.

After a day filled with so many stories, I though this little pistachio cake was perfect to share with you – it’s got layers of flavour and is the perfect accompaniment for a cuppa and catchups with friends.

Lemon pistachio cake

• 75g pistachios
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup light olive oil
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup yoghurt
• 2 tsp bicarb
• 1 ½ cups plain flour
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Zest of 2 lemons

Preheat your oven and grease a deep 21cm cake tin.

Blend your pistachios until they look like the ones in my picture – some should be nice and fine, almost like flour, while others should be slightly bigger, like a breadcrumb. Your blender should do this naturally, the pistachios on the bottom will be pulverised more than the ones on top.

In your stand mixer, beat together your sugar and oil, then add in the eggs and mix until combined.  Add in the yoghurt and bicarb, then the pistachio mix and the flour and mix. Zest both of your lemons and juice one of them, then pop all of that into the mixture and stir it through.

Pour the mixture into your greased cake tin and pop it in the oven for 50 minutes. If your cake browns too much, cover with foil for the last 15 minutes of baking.

To decorate your cake like mine, melt 50g of chocolate and scoop it into a snap lock bag. Seal the bag and snip off a small part of the corner, then drizzle across the cake.

If you’re lusting after my gorgeous frilly cake board, it’s from the super talented Bianca at Communicakeit. You can order your own cake board here.