Gluten-Free Recipes: Pistachio And Apple Cake

You would never guess this pistachio and apple cake is gluten free. It's moist and the perfect afternoon tea treat to serve with a dollop of mascarpone. Recipe from Gluten Free and Easy, by Robyn Russell. This is one of the delicious healthy cakes served at Sydney's Brioche the Bakery.

Serves: 8

Ingredients
100g (2/3 cup) shelled, unsalted pistachio nuts
30g (1/4 cup) white rice flour
1/2 teaspoon baking flour
150 g (1 1/2 cups) ground almonds
6 eggs, separated
115g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
115g (1/2 cup) caster sugar, extra
50g apple, such as Fuji, unpeeled and grated
50g butter, melted

To serves
Pure icing sugar
Mascarpone
Shredded mint

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180C.

2. Grease and line the base of a 26 cm spring-form tin.

3. Place the pistachio nuts and flour in a food processor and process until the nuts are finely ground. The flour helps the nuts to grind evenly. Add the baking powder and ground almonds and pulse until just combined.

4. Using an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks and the first lot of sugar on high speed until the mixture is very thick. Add the nut and flour mixture, apple and butter and stir well. The mixture will be quite stiff at this stage.

5. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peak stage then add the extra sugar and beat to firm peak stage. Gently fold the egg whites into the nut mixture in two batches. Place the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 50-60 minutes or until cooked through. Allow the cake to set in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

6. To serve, dust the cake with pure icing sugar and serve slices with a dollop of mascarpone and a little mint.

Isn't this a great idea? Local foodie Fiona Wilkinson has just opened Brioche the Bakery, in Sydney's Balmain, serving delicious low-GI, gluten-free, organic and dairy-free foods that contain no artificial additives and over-processed ingredients.