Yesterday, Paloma turned eight, and we celebrated with this magical ice cream cake. Then we went on a road trip to Orlando and listened to The Beatles the whole drive up, because this eight year old has a serious case of beatlemania. At this point in her obsession, Paloma can tell apart the voice of each Beatle, in any and every song (I still have a hard distinguishing young Paul from young John), and she can do a perfect impression of each one’s stage mannerisms, not to mention her knowledge of most of their song lyrics. Our house is full of Beatles photo books, checked out from the library, and the suggested videos on my Youtube are all last rooftop concert and Yellow Submarine. And of course, this cake was immediately proclaimed to be a Strawberry Fields Cake, even though the pink here comes from raspberries, so we ended up agreeing on Pistachio and Raspberry Fields Cake as the name. This whole stage is very cute, but Paloma’s ability to be a wholehearted fan also signifies that the girl is growing up, which, as a parent, makes me teary eyed. I’ve never wanted to see those baby cheeks go away.
The shape this cake was something I’ve never tried before, but had a very clear picture in my head and decided to wing it. The result is so colorful and fun in appearance, it almost seems as though the cake is a hard thing to put together, when in reality, it’s quite simple. Once you have your two ice cream flavors and the crust, the ice creams are just interchangeably scooped into a spring form and smoothed out with a spoon in some places. Mostly, you just let the cake take on a shape of its own with each scoop. Pistachio and raspberry complement each other perfectly here, the pistachio flavor being nutty and earthy, while the raspberry becomes its perfect, juicy and fruity pair. The cacao buckwheat crust adds just the right hint of chocolate and crunch to the mix. All in all, a success! Happy birthday to our Palomita. Read on for some weekend links and enjoy your Sunday :)
The Microbes We Share – “all of us constantly welcome microbes onto and into our bodies, whether through inhalation or ingestion, touches or footfalls, injuries or bites. Our microbiomes have wide-reaching tendrils that root us in the wider world.”
Amazon’s Drone Delivery Idea is Not a Gimmick – crazy to think that this is likely in our near future
Podcasts I Enjoyed This Week – Invisibilia on the secret emotional life of clothes and This American Life on life in Greek refugee camps – part I, part II
Ashlae’s Post on The Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu – blown away
Olive Oil Fraud – how much of olive oil sold on our store shelves is fake or mislabeled and how to distinguish the real stuff
Trashy Consequences of Blue Apron Delivery – something I’ve always wondered about
Oil Cleansing 101 – I’ve been practicing this method for a while and love it
Avocado Time Machine – it’s here
Blog Love – Roasted Eggplant Panzanella and Summer Pluot Lentil Salad (the photos!)
- 1 can unsweetened Thai coconut milk
- ¾ cup unsweetened almond milk (preferably homemade)
- 1 portion pistachio butter (recipe below) - divided
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup - divided
- pinch sea salt
- 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder or ½ teaspoon xanathan gum
- ½ cup chopped pistachios, plus more for garnish
- 1½ cups (200g) pistachios
- nut oil of choice
- sea salt
- 3 heaping cups fresh raspberries - divided, plus more for garnish
- ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon maple syrup - divided
- 2 cans full fat unsweetened Thai coconut milk
- pinch sea salt
- 1½ tablespoon arrowroot powder - divided
- 2 cups buckwheat crispies (recipe below)
- 1-2 tablespoons cacao powder
- ½ cup cacao nibs
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons neutral coconut oil - melted
- raw buckwheat groats
- Combine coconut and almond milk, ½ cup pistachio butter, ¼ cup maple syrup, salt and starch in an upright blender and blend until smooth. Chill very well in the refrigerator, preferably overnight.
- Combine the rest of pistachio butter and the remaining 2 tablespoons maple syrup, mix until evenly mixed. Set aside.
- Process the well-chilled milk/pistachio mixture in an ice-cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.
- Transfer the ice cream into a freezer-proof container in layers, drizzling with the pistachio butter and sprinkling with chopped pistachios in between layers. Cover and freeze for at least 4 hours or until firm.
- Grind pistachios into flour in a food processor. Add 2 tablespoons of nut oil of choice and a small pinch of sea salt, and continue to process until creamy, adding more oil if needed. Keep refrigerated and use in pesto or baked goods, as a spread on bread and crackers, etc.
- Combine 2 cups raspberries and ¼ cup maple syrup in an upright blender and blend until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer and discard seeds. Don't wash the blender.
- Combine ⅔ of raspberry puree, coconut milk, salt and 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder in the blender and blend until smooth. Chill very well in the refrigerator, preferably overnight.
- Combine the remaining ½ tablespoon arrowroot powder with 1 tablespoon purified water in a small bowl, set aside.
- Combine the remaining ⅓ raspberry puree with the remaining 1 cup raspberries and remaining 1 tablespoon maple syrup in a medium saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 1 minute, slightly crushing raspberries with a fork, leaving whole pieces here and there.
- Add in the arrowroot slurry, stir in to thicken, remove from heat and let cool.
- Process the chilled ice cream mixture in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to a freezer-proof container in layers, drizzling with the raspberry compote in between layers. Cover and freeze for at least 4 hours or until firm.
- Preheat oven to 260° F (130° C).
- Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly.
- Spread on a parchment paper-covered baking sheet and bake for 1 hour. Let cool.
- Soak raw buckwheat groats for at least 1 hour or overnight.
- Rinse groats very well to get rid of sliminess.
- Spread on a clean kitchen towel or paper towels and leave to dry completely. Change the towels after a few hours. If you have a dehydrator, spread on a Teflex-covered tray and dehydrate for about 8 hours, or until dry and crispy.
- Use in the chocolate buckwheat granola or sprinkle on salads, smoothie bowls, fruit, yogurt, etc.
- Remove both ice creams from the freezer and let soften for 10-15 minutes.
- Lightly oil a 9-inch spring form with neutral coconut oil.
- Spread enough chocolate buckwheat granola over the bottom of the form to create a crust for the cake.
- Scoop ice cream and carefully drop it on top of the granola crust, alternating between pistachio and raspberry, and snugly arranging the scoops inside the spring form until filled completely. Smooth with a spoon in places, if necessary to avoid air pockets. Place cake in the freezer for 1-2 hours or until firm.
- Remove the spring form and let cake soften for 10-15 minutes before slicing. Garnish with fresh raspberries and pistachios and serve.
Kiki says
Is there a recipe for pistachio butter?
Anya says
Hi Kiki,
Thanks so much for letting me know that was missing. I’ve added the pistachio butter to the recipe.
valentina | sweet kabocha says
That idea is just amazing!! Happy birthday to Paloma ^_^
Anya says
Thank you Valentina :)
L'Intello gourmand says
This dessert is spectacular!
Wonderful idea, and the photos are magnificent.
Bravo!
Natalia says
Happy birthday to Paloma, a little bit later but beter later than never ;).
This cake sounds gorgeous, I believe this is the most beautiful ice-cream cake I have ever seen! I haven’t made lot of ice cream this summer, but with this recipe I may need to make one right now! Thank you for this interesting recipe, Anya!
Ev says
This looks great and I plan to make it for our daughter’s birthday – question – does the pistachio ice cream taste more like pistachio or more like coconut because of the coconut milk?
Thanks!
Anya says
Hi Ev,
To me, it tastes predominantly of pistachios. There might be a little coconut flavor, but since I cook with coconut all the time, I’m so used to its flavor and find it to be quite neutral. Hope it turns out well! Happy birthday to your daughter :)