Pistachio Marzipan Cake

Ingredients

• •125 g margarine
• •A little over 1/2 cup sugar
• •2 eggs
• •1.5 cups flour
• •1.5 tsp baking powder
• •2 tsp strong coffee
• •1 tsp cocoa
• •3 tbsp apricot jam
• •175 g shelled pistachios
• •For the pistachio marzipan coating:
• •6 tbsp sugar
• •3/4 cup powdered sugar
• •1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• •1 egg white, lightly beaten

Preparation

1. 1

   To make the pistachio coating, put 2 cups of water in a pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, lower the heat right down, add the pistachios and blanch for 2 minutes. Take the pot off the heat, drain the pistachios in a strainer, then place between paper towels and rub them with your hand to remove the thin brown skins. Then leave them to dry on a fresh paper towel in a warm place. Heat your oven to 180°C. Line a rectangular tin's base and sides with parchment, forming a large pleat across the middle. Beat the margarine and sugar with a wooden spoon until very pale and fluffy. Add one beaten egg while continuing to beat, then fold in 1 tbsp of flour. Add the other beaten egg, continuing to beat, and fold in another 1 tbsp of flour. Sift the remaining flour and baking powder over the mixture and fold in. Transfer half the batter to another bowl and stir in the coffee. To the batter in the other bowl, add 2 tbsp water and the cocoa and stir. Using a spoon, fill one half of the tin (divided by the pleat) with the coffee batter and the other half with the cocoa batter. Put the tin in the oven and bake the cake for 20–25 minutes. Then take the tin out and turn it over onto a wire rack to release the cake. Remove the parchment and leave to cool. Chop the pistachios very finely, put in a bowl and add the sugar. Sift the powdered sugar over the mixture, add the lemon juice and stir. Gradually add the egg white, stirring constantly, until it reaches a firm, pliable consistency. Cut the cake first in half, then each piece lengthwise in two. Spread a little jam on one of the cocoa pieces and stick it face to face with a coffee piece, pressing gently. Repeat with the remaining 2 cake pieces and a little jam. Spread the remaining jam over one of the joined pieces and place the other joined piece on top, pressing gently. Sprinkle a little powdered sugar over the pistachio mixture in the bowl, lay it between two sheets of parchment and press it with your hand into an even sheet. Then remove the top paper, trim the edges of the marzipan coating with a knife into a rectangle large enough to cover the cake. Spread a thin layer of the remaining jam on all 4 sides of the cake, then centre the cake on the coating sheet and, holding the ends of the parchment, fold the coating over the cake. Gently pull the parchment away and press the two edges of the coating together on top to seal. Place the cake on a serving plate and, with the tip of a sharp steel knife, draw crisscrossing diagonal lines to make a diamond pattern. Then leave it aside for at least 8 hours (uncovered), slice and serve.