Nigel Slater’s kitchen diary: pistachio and matcha cake

It had been a while since I made a cake, a good few weeks since I had beaten softened butter and sugar to the consistency of soft-serve ice-cream, then folded in flour and finely ground nuts; even longer since I had grated in the zest of a lemon or tipped in a spoonful of orange water or a fingertip of vanilla paste. 

I had rather missed touching the golden surface of the still-warm cake as it came from the oven and holding it close to my ear to listen to its progress. A cake will often tell you when it is done. The faintest, almost imperceptible crackle may mean it is ready. An overcooked cake has nothing to say.

This week I put all that right with a soft, sweet roll of pistachios and matcha. Uncommon bedfellows, perhaps, but they worked a treat. The sponge was soft enough to curl like a swiss roll around the filling. (Had it not been, I might have sliced it into three and made a deep sandwich of it.) I cut the cake into thick slices and served it, not with matcha but with lemon verbena tea. 

I should mention that I didn’t reduce all the nuts to a fine powder but left some of them a little coarser, like fine, green grit. It added a pleasing, nubbly quality to the general softness. It is one of two or three cakes I make in summer, along with a pistachio and lemon sponge with rosewater, and a classic victoria sponge cake that I sandwich together with cream and serve with a jug of strawberry puree. Cakes work not only for tea in summer but for dessert; and, occasionally (at least in this house), there might be a slice for breakfast.

We have still to reach peak tomato season, but those that are around aren’t bad, if you bake them with herbs and olive oil. The heat will concentrate their flavour. I did just that with a hotch-potch of toms this week, crushing the smaller ones to a rustic sauce. Once roasted and crushed, you can stir in chilli or basil paste or smashed anchovies, or just scatter over a spoonful of hot, crunchy Lao Gan Ma chilli oil. I used harissa paste for a slow, deep warmth that did wonders for the tomatoes, then piled the result on top of couscous – the instant sort that purists love to sneer at – together with some larger fruits left whole. It made the best quick supper of the week. 

Summer sandwich season began with very thinly sliced roast lamb from the previous day’s lunch, sitting soft and rose-pink against a layer of homemade cucumber tzatziki with wisps of watercress. Another day there was salmon with a rough-hewn salsa verde and white-tipped radishes, and a sweet sandwich of vanilla-scented cream cheese and strawberries on brioche bread. Not a bad start.

Pistachio and matcha cake

Serves 6–8. Ready in 1 hour, plus cooling time

You could dredge the finished, rolled cake with pure caster sugar, but I like to blend it with a little matcha powder for a light-green, sparkling finish. A pleasing change of texture to the soft, creamy quality of the cake. A few strawberries would be good on the side, especially if you slice them and leave them in a marinade of passion fruit juice and mint leaves for an hour or so. 

Serves 6-8. Ready in 1 hour, plus cooling time

eggs 4

caster sugar 150g, plus 2 tbsp extra

shelled pistachios 100g

lemon 1

plain flour 50g

matcha powder 4-5 tsp 

For the filling:

double cream 400ml

icing sugar 3 tbsp

matcha powder 2–3 tsp

Heat the oven to 180c/gas mark 4. Line a swiss-roll tin measuring roughly 30 x 20cm with baking parchment. 

Break the eggs into the bowl of a food mixer. Add the 150g sugar, then beat until pale, thick and creamy. 

Meanwhile grind the pistachios quite finely, but not so finely that they resemble the texture of ground almonds, then set aside. Finely grate the zest from the lemon and add to the eggs and sugar. 

Mix together the ground pistachios and flour. Using a large metal spoon, stir the ground nuts and flour into the sugar and egg, taking care not to overmix. Using a rubber spatula, scoop the batter into the lined tin and smooth the surface gently and quickly. 

Bake for 15 minutes until soft and nicely risen. Mix the extra caster sugar and 2 tsp matcha powder together. Place a piece of clean baking parchment slightly larger than the baking tin on the work surface and sprinkle it with some of the sugar and matcha mixture. 

When the cake is done, tip it out of the tin onto the sugared paper (this is best done in one quick action), then carefully peel off the baking parchment from the cake. It should come away cleanly. Cover the cake with a clean tea towel and leave to cool. 

Once the cake is completely cool, pour the cream into a chilled bowl and beat until thick and creamy with a balloon whisk. You can do this using a food mixer with a whisk attachment, if you prefer, going slowly as it starts to thicken. Stir in the icing sugar and 2-3 tsp of matcha powder, then spoon onto the cake, leaving a centimetre of bare cake around the edges. Smooth the surface gently using a palette knife. 

Taking hold of the short edge of the cake, gently roll the cake up as tightly as you can, into a swiss roll shape, then lift with a palette knife onto a long serving plate. Keep chilled until you are ready to serve.