CAKE 7: zucchini cake with lime & pistachio syrup

this was not the first cake i wanted to make, but once i reviewed my original recipe, i realized it would have emptied my wallet and consumed all my time and i didn't have that much on hand, so i settled for this deliciously moist cake!

the zucchini really made it perfect. it's a dairy free cake, and the zucchini lent all it's water to make this cake moist! it doesn't take much to make this cake:

- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup of vegetable oil (generous)
- 1/2 cup of sugar
- 6 cardamom pods, crushed
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger
- 1 large zucchini, grated
- 1/2 cup of chopped pistachios
- 1 1/3 cups of self-rising flour
- 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

what was upsetting was that i wasn't able to find good cardamom pods. it's definitely a great spice to have, because it's very citrusy in flavour and paired well with the lime. so instead of using pods and crushing the seeds inside, i simply bought ground cardamom.

i also couldn't find any self-rising flour, but found a quick fix for this after some online research. for each cup of all-purpose flour, add 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder and a half teaspoon of salt.

for this, i greased a cake pan and then floured it so the cake wouldn't stick.

beat together your eggs, oil, sugar, cardamom and ginger. fold in your grated zucchini and the copped pistachios!

sift the flour, baking powder and salt over the bowl, and fold it in. put the batter into your pan and smooth the top with the back of your spoon. bake it at 350℉ for 35 minutes until it has risen and a toothpick comes out clean.

to make the syrup, you need two limes, a 1/3 cup of sugar, and 1/2 cup of chopped pistachios. zest the limes so you can add that to the syrup, and roll the limes between your palm and a table to soften them up to make them easier to squeeze. chop the limes in half and squeeze them right into the pot on a stove on a medium temperature. add your sugar and zest and let it heat up until all the sugar has dissolved.

once it has dissolved, turn it to a high heat and let it boil for one minute. remove it from the heat, stir in the rest of the chopped pistachios and let it cool for 10 to 15 minutes so it can thicken. pour the syrup over the cake and let it stand for at least 30 minutes before serving.

and that's it! i was told that this cake was "life changing" by two people on my birthday, so that was nice to hear! i wasn't overly fond of how prominent the lime taste was, but that's just my preference. i think Meddy has a picture of my with my cake floating around somewhere, so when i get it, i'll add that too!

up next is Scott! i don't have any ideas for him yet, but i'm sure i'll talk to him about it soon!