Pistachio-Cardamom Cake

Baking a cake can be daunting. Enter the loaf cake, as easy as a quick bread but with more polish. Rose Bakery in Paris, created by Briton Rose Carrarini and her French husband, Jean-Charles, has elevated the style to an art form, producing tempting loaf cakes in all manner of flavors. We were particularly taken by a green-tinged, nut-topped pistachio cake. For our version, we paired toasted pistachios with cardamom and ground orange zest, giving it a distinctly Middle Eastern flavor. Combining ground nuts with rich Greek-style yogurt, olive oil and plenty of eggs ensured a moist, appealingly coarse crumb. We got the best results from grinding the nuts until they were nearly as fine as flour, but still had some texture. If you can’t find unsalted pistachios, reduce the salt in the recipe by half. Cooling the cake was essential to maintain the thick consistency of the glaze.