Milk cake is my younger son’s absolute favourite. There is one particular restaurant he goes to simply for the cake. Yes, he enjoys everything before pudding, but you can see in his eyes that all he wants is the dessert menu. Not that he needs one any more because they already know exactly what he will order.
At its simplest, milk cake is a light sponge soaked in sweetened milk and topped with cream and eaten chilled. I’ve made lots of variations over the years but this is the one that goes down best. It’s got the same soft, airy sponge, but my version is lightly scented with fresh cardamom seeds that have been crushed down to a powder. The milk has ground pistachio in it, giving it a lovely green nutty colour. Chilled to get it nice and firm and easy to cut, it is topped with fresh cream, a sprinkling of pistachios and a light zesting of orange for freshness. So good, it even has my son’s seal of approval.
Pistachio milk cake
Serves 10
For the cake
4 eggs, separated
200g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
200g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 cardamom pods, pods open and seeds crushed to a powder
For the milk
100g shelled pistachios
100ml whole milk
410g evaporated milk
200ml condensed milk
For the topping
300ml double cream
1 tbsp icing sugar
50g pistachios, roughly chopped
1 orange, zest only
Method
1. Heat the oven to 160C (180C non-fan) and line the base and sides of a 20cm square cake tin. Set aside while you make the cake.
2. Add the egg whites to a bowl and start whisking. As soon as the mixture begins to get frothy, add 150g caster sugar one spoonful at a time, making sure to whisk well after each addition. Once the sugar is fully incorporated, you should be left with a mixture that is fluffy and glossy and stands in stiff peaks.
3. Put the egg yolks, remaining 50g caster sugar and vanilla extract in another bowl. Whisk until well combined.
4. Add the plain flour and baking powder and the crushed cardamom seeds and mix until you have a thick paste.
5. Add one third of the egg white mixture to the egg yolk mixture and mix till the thick batter has loosened. Now add the rest of the egg whites a third at a time and fold gently using a metal spoon to make sure you don’t deflate any of the air bubbles.
6. Once no longer streaky and fully incorporated, pour into the cake tin. Level off the top and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
7. Remove from the oven and use a skewer to poke holes all over the cake so that it will more easily absorb the sweetened milk.
8. Place the shelled pistachios in a food processor and blend to a fine crumb. Add the fresh, evaporated and condensed milk and blitz until combined.
9. Pour all over the warm cake and leave to soak in. Once cooled enough, place in the fridge to chill completely.
10. When you are ready to serve, whip the cream with the icing sugar until you have soft peaks. Spread evenly all over the cake and sprinkle with pistachios. Grate over the orange zest just before serving. Store in the fridge if you are not eating it straight away.
