Dubai Chocolate Pistachio Cake
A chocolate pistachio cake inspired by the viral Dubai chocolate bar with layers of chocolate cake, crunchy pistachio kataifi filling, and whipped chocolate ganache frosting.
Equipment
- 1 whisk
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 190 g all-purpose flour
- 75 g natural cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 115 g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 100 g light-tasting oil, e.g. canola oil, avocado oil, etc.
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 100 g brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 330 g milk, dairy or non-dairy, room temperature
Pistachio Kataifi Filling
- 100 g kataifi pastry (shredded phyllo pastry), also called kadayif or katayif
- 250 g pistachio cream
Whipped Chocolate Ganache Frosting
- 200 g dark chocolate, finely chopped
- 300 g whipping cream or heavy cream
- pistachios, shelled and chopped
Instructions
Chocolate Cake
- Prep: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line three 6" cake pans with rounds of parchment paper on the bottom. Set aside.
- Flour mixture: In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Whisk: In a large mixing bowl, add the melted butter, oil, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Whisk until combined. Add the eggs and whisk until smooth and combined.
- Alternate adding flour mixture and milk: Add half of the flour mixture and whisk until mostly combined. Add half of the milk and whisk until mostly combined. Repeat with the remaining flour mixture and milk until you have a smooth and fluid batter.
- Fill pans: Divide the batter into your three lined 6" cake pans, about 360g of batter in each pan.
- Bake: Bake cakes for about 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean. Let the cakes cool in the pan on a wire rack until they're cool enough to handle without oven mitts.
- Level cakes: Run an offset spatula around the edges of the cake . Turn the cake layers out onto a wire rack and let them cool completely. Once cooled, use a serrated knife to level the cake layers (cut off the domed top) until flat and even.
Pistachio Kataifi Filling
- Toast: In a large dry pan on medium heat, add the kataifi pastry. If you're using dry kataifi, you can add it straight to the pan. If you're using frozen kataifi, you'll need to chop it up into smaller pieces first. Toast the kataifi until evenly golden brown, moving it around with a spatula often to prevent burning.
- Mix: Once golden brown, remove the pan from the heat. Add the pistachio cream and mix it thoroughly with the toasted kataifi. The residual heat from the pan will melt the pistachio cream so that it's easier to mix. Set aside to cool.
Whipped Chocolate Ganache Frosting
- Heat cream: In a medium bowl, add the finely chopped chocolate. In a pan on low-medium heat or in the microwave, heat the cream until tiny bubbles start coming to the surface and it just barely begins to simmer.
- Melt chocolate: Pour the hot cream on top of the chopped chocolate and let it sit undisturbed for about 5 minutes. Then, start stirring the mixture starting from the middle of the bowl outwards until all the chocolate has melted and the ganache is smooth.
- Cool: Let the ganache cool to room temperature either on the counter or in the fridge to speed up the process. Meanwhile, start assembling the cake.
Assemble the cake
- Layer: On a cake turntable, lay down a cake board. Place the first cake layer down on the board. Add half of the pistachio kataifi mixture on top of the cake layer and use an offset spatula to spread it out into a flat layer. Place the second cake layer on top and repeat.
- Whip ganache: Once the ganache is cooled and firmed up, use an electric hand mixer to whip the ganache for a few minutes until it lightens in colour and holds peaks. Use it to frost the cake immediately.
- Crumb coat: Spread a thin layer of whipped ganache around the cake as a crumb coat, focusing on the gaps in between the cake layers. Smooth the ganache with a bench scraper.
- Frost cake: Spread the rest of the whipped ganache on the cake and smooth with a bench scraper.
- Frosting design: Starting at the bottom of the cake, drag an offset spatula upwards through the ganache and repeat across the whole cake to create a vertical pattern. Drag the spatula across the top of the cake while spinning the turntable to create a spiral pattern on top.
- Decorate: Sprinkle the top with chopped pistachios to finish it off. Run a sharp knife under hot water and wipe dry before slicing for clean cuts.
Nutrition
Calories: 941kcal | Carbohydrates: 89g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 62g | Saturated Fat: 35g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 120mg | Sodium: 394mg | Potassium: 616mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 51g | Vitamin A: 1047IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 194mg | Iron: 8mg
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