The sweet, slightly acidic flavor of fresh strawberries begs for a rich, crunchy accompaniment. And for that, we turned to pistachios.
We start by finely chopping the nuts and mixing them into the dense batter of this rich cake. You’ll find the taste and texture similar to pound cake, but — thanks to the pistachios — with deeper flavor. The batter also comes together faster and more easily than a traditional pound cake.
We top the finished cake with both strawberry jam and fresh strawberries. For an extra nutty finish, we also sprinkle additional pistachios over the top, then tie everything together with honey-spiked Greek yogurt for spooning onto individual slices of the torte. It’s the perfect way to appreciate freshly picked strawberries.
Strawberry Pistachio Torte
Start to finish: 1 1/2 hours (20 minutes active). Servings: 12.
For the cake:
1/2 cup shelled pistachios, plus extra to garnish
1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Zest of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
6 egg yolks
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
For the topping:
1/2 cup strawberry jam
1 quart strawberries, hulled
6 ounces plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Heat the oven to 325 F. Coat a 9-inch round cake pan with baking spray, then line the bottom with kitchen parchment.