Cardamom Pistachio Sponge Cake

This is an absolutely delicious sponge cake flavoured with cardamom and rose and finished with pistachio cream cheese icing. Really easy to cut and serve in a traybake!

Ingredients
For the Cake
200g unsalted butter, softened
200g golden caster sugar
200g self-raising flour
4 large eggs
1 tsp ground cardamom
2 tbsp milk
½ tsp rose water

For the Cream
200g double cream
2 tbsp of caster sugar
200g cream cheese
80g pistachio

Method
– Preheat the oven to 180°C / 160°C with a fan. Grease and line a rectangular baking tin.

– Place all of the ingredients for the cake in a free-standing electric mixer and whisk for 2-3 minutes.

– Pour the mixture into the baking tin and spread to the edges. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

– Remove the cake from the oven and tray, and place on a cooling rack to cool completely. Transfer to a serving plate and use a sharp knife to cut into squares.

– Pour the cream into a large bowl. Add the caster sugar and whisk. When it starts to thicken, add the cream cheese. Continue to whisk to combine.

– Add the pistachio to a blender and blitz to a coarse powder. Add half of this to the cream and stir to combine.

– Transfer this mixture to a piping bag with star-shaped nozzle.

– Pipe the cream into large florets onto each cake square. Sprinkle the remaining pistachio on top.