Orange Pistachio Loaf Cake

5 from 6 votes

Orange Pistachio Loaf Cake is absolutely bursting with flavor having been soaked in a shiny orange honey syrup embedded with pistachios. There is so much flavor in this loaf cake there is no need for icing.

Prep Time35

Cook Time1 10

Course: Cake

Cuisine: American

Keyword: easy to make, Loaf Cake, Orange Pistachio Loaf Cake

Servings: servings

Calories: 507kcal

Author: Helen S Fletcher

Equipment

9x5 loaf pan

Ingredients

Orange Pistachio Loaf Cake

2 cups cake flour (250 grams)
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup unsalted butter (170 grams or 1 ½ sticks), softened
1 ⅓ cups granulated sugar (265 grams)
Zest of 2 large navel oranges
3 large eggs
¾ cup sour cream (170 grams)
¾ cup pistachio nuts, coarsley chopped (90 grams)

Honey Orange Syrup

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup orange juice, strained
¼ cup lemon juice, strained
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup honey

Instructions

Orange Pistachio Loaf Cake

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Coarsely chop the pistachios. See Chopping Nuts-A Quicker Way. Set aside.
Make a sling of doubled foil to go inside the 9" side of the pan with foil extending over the edges. Do not use parchment paper. Spray the inside of the pan including the foil. Set aside.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In the mixer bowl add the sugar and softened butter. The butter should be about 74°F which is pretty soft, but not melty, to blend well with the sugar. Beat on medium for 1 minute.
Add the eggs, one at a time and beat on medium or 30 second each time. Add the orange zest with the last egg. Scrape down as necessary.
On the lowest setting of the mixer, add the flour in 3 additions and the sour cream in two, starting and ending with the flour. Beat for 30 seconds after each addition. Reserve about 2 to 3 tablespoons of the pistachos. Add the remaining pistachios with the last addition of flour.
Turn the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. The pan will be about ¾ full.
Bake for 60 to 70 minutes until deep golden brown and a tester comes out clean. Do not over bake.
Allow the cake to cool for 5 to 10 minutes and then poke holes almost to the bottom of the cake with a narrow wooden skewer.
Pour half the hot honey orange syrup over the cake and let it sink in completely - about 10 minutes.
Pour the remainder of the syrup over the cake and sprinkle with the reserved pistachios. To ensure they stick to the syrup, press them in gently with the back of a spoon. Allow the cake to cool completely.
To remove the cake, make sure the cake on the uncovered sides of the pan are free using a metal spatula. Lift the cake out of the pan using the sling. Lay the foil flat on the table. Remove the cake to a serving dish.

Honey Orange Syrup

Towards the end of the baking, combine all of the ingredients except the honey in a small saucepan.
Bring it to a hard boil and boil it for 3 to five minutes to reduce slightly. Remove from the heat, and stir in the honey. Use the sauce hot.
Store the cake, covered for several days at room temperature. It can also be frozen, well wrapped for several months. Thaw it, unwrapped, at room temperature. The glaze may be a bit sticky but it will be fine.

Notes

There is always an abundance of photos to guide you in the post above. If you have questions, look at the photos or read the header of the article. Many of them will be answered there.

As always, I recommend using a scale for accuracy and consistency. Flour, in particular, is difficult to measure by volume. For my recipes, I use 140 grams per cup of unsifted all-purpose, bread or whole wheat flour and 125 grams of cake flour. Others may use different weights so use whatever they suggest.

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You will need 2 large oranges or 3 medium size ones. Navel oranges are the best for zesting. Juice oranges don't usually produce much zest.

Using a microplaner instead of a box grater produces more zest and it is usually much more fluffier and not compact and wet.

This cake is a bit heavier due to the size and the amount of syrup in the cake. The doubled aluminum foil makes it easy to remove from the pan when it is cool without damaging it.

A thin wooden skewer is perfect to make the holes in the cake. It is long enough to reach almost to the bottom of the cake.

Do not go all the way to the bottom. You want the syrup to stay in the cake.

No matter what cake you are baking, check about 10 minutes before the time mentioned in case the pan makes a difference or the oven is running hot.

It is important the butter is softened to about 74°F to ensure that it mixes well with the sugar. It will be soft to the touch but not melty. See my post on Softened Butter for more information. I am not a fan of microwaved butter as it often melts in spots.

Cake flour is used because it is a low gluten flour that adds tenderness to the cake. All purpose flour can be substituted but the results may not be the same.

Baking powder and baking soda are both used as leavening agents but the soda also neutralizes the acidity of the sour cream. Even though it is a small amount it is important to the final outcome.

Sour cream adds moisture to the cake as well as tenderizes it.

The large amount of orange zest from the 2 large oranges ensures the flavor comes through.

The same two oranges provide the juice for the honey orange syrup.

Lemons add a bit of acidity to the syrup and compliment the orange juice.

It is also important to pay attention to the times listed so you are mxing the batter but not incorporating a lot of air.

Nutrition