Though unique in itself, the afghan cruise is influenced centuries by its neighboring countries and the many invading armies from Eastern and Central Asia up to Britishers. As best described by Helen Saberi, author of Afghan Food and Cookery, “Afghan food is very varied – it’s like a cross between Turkish, Middle Eastern and Indian. But I think it has got more taste than the Middle Eastern food, and it is not as spicy and rich as the Indian food. A lot of influence came from Central Asia, from along the Silk Road”.
Rather than doing a simple recipe for pistachio pound cake, I wanted to incorporate different ingredients synonymous with Afghan cuisine, hence the name Afghan Cake. I have made this cake using roasted pistachios. It gives the cake light and tender texture than a traditional pound cake, with an earthy and nutty flavor combined with the dried apricots’ naturally sweet and sour flavors.
History Of Afghan Desserts
This influence can be seen in many of the Afghan desserts, from the baklava to one of the most iconic British Cake, “The Pound Cake”. The afghan cake bears its origin from the British pound cake, but these cakes are varied in how they are made, and the ingredients are used, such as dried nuts and fruits. These are enjoyed by afghans not just with their tea but also as a celebrity cake at the wedding.
How Is This Afghan Cake Recipe Different
Rather than doing a simple recipe for pistachio pound cake, I wanted to incorporate different ingredients synonymous with Afghan cuisine, hence the name Afghan Cake. I have made this cake using roasted pistachios. It gives the cake light and tender texture than a traditional pound cake, with an earthy and nutty flavor combined with the dried apricots’ naturally sweet and sour flavors.
How To Make Afghan Cake
Prep: 25 mins
Cook: 35 mins
Total: 1 hour 5 min approx.
Yield: 1 Loaf
What You Will Be Needing
- 250 gm Cake Flour or All-Purpose Flour
- 170 gm Butter
- 250 gm Sugar
- 35 gm Pistachio Flour
- 15 gm Baking Powder
- 4 Eggs
- 20 gm Pistachio Paste
- 122 gm Greek Style Yogurt or Sour Cream
- 5 gm Baking Powder
- 2 gm Salt
- 30 gm Dried Apricot (Hydrated overnight in water)
- Confectioner Sugar.
- Crushed Pistachio
Let’s Get To Work
- Set your oven to 191C/ 375F to pre-heat it. As the oven is preheated. Coat the loaf pans with a light film of butter on all the sides and line the pan with parchment paper. The fat will keep the paper stationary while the batter spreads over it.
- Coat the inside of the pans with the crushed Pistachio. Set the pans aside.
- Using the paddle attachment, start creaming the soft butter at a slow speed after 30 seconds. Then, combine the Pistachio paste and granulated sugar.
- Cream together the butter, pistachio paste, and sugar on medium speed. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl occasionally to ensure the butter is blended evenly and incorporates air. Cream until light, fluffy and smooth in texture, If the ingredients are not sufficiently creamed, the Afghan Cake would be dense and lack the tenderness quality of the pound cake
- As the butter and the sugar are creamed, start adding eggs gradually one at a time in stages. Continue mixing until the eggs are fully incorporated and scraping down the bowl after each addition.
- Lastly, add in the yogurt or sour cream quarter cup at a time in stages into the mixture, to prevent the batter from separating. Make sure to scrape down the bowl to develop a completely smooth batter.
- Once butter is creamed. In a bowl sift the cake flour, salt, and baking powder using a sift or a fine strainer. Then add the pistachio flour into the sifted dry mix and mix them.
- Add in the sifted dry flour mix into the butter mixture in the electric mixture, adding one-third of the dry flour at a time mixing at medium speed until smooth. Scraping down the bowl and adding the rest of the dry mix into the bowl and mix until all of the dry and liquid ingredients have been added. Increase the speed and beat the batter just until it is evenly blended and smooth. Make sure you do not over mix the cake mixture to avoid developing gluten, making the cake dense.
- At this point, take the chopped dried apricot tossed in a small amount of flour, which will help to prevent the fruit from sinking to the bottom of the pan during baking.
- Add in the apricot in the mixture and fold it in using a spatula until they are just incorporated.
- Pour the batter into two prepared loaf pans, making sure the pan is only filled up to ¾ way to the top, which should amount to 737 g batter. As the pistachio pound cake is cooked, it will rise.
- Bake at 375°F/190°C for approximately 35 minutes or until the cake is baked through. They should spring back when pressed lightly on top. To check, insert a toothpick in the center of the pound cake, if it comes out clean the cake is done.
- Take the cake out of the oven and let it rest for 15 min till it’s cool before Unmolding it and placing it onto a cake rack and let cool. Once your Afghan Cake is completely cooled, sift powdered sugar lightly over the top and enjoy it with tea.
