Serves 6-8
Ingredients
80g pistachios
¾ cup self raising flour
⅓ cup good quality dutch cocoa powder
½ cup no-sugar-added apricot jam
½ cup rice malt syrup
125g coconut oil
4 eggs, separated
Pistachio nuts, to garnish
Whipped cream, to serve
Ganache
⅓ cup cream
100g good quality 70% cocoa dark chocolate
Method
- Preheat oven to 160˚C fan forced. Lightly grease a 20cm round cake pan and line base and sides with baking paper.
- Process pistachios until finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl. Add combined sifted flour and cocoa powder.
- Combine ¹/³ cup of the jam, malt syrup and coconut oil in a saucepan over a low heat. Cook stirring until melted. Cool slightly.
- Add to the flour with lightly beaten egg yolks. Fold until just combined.
- Beat the egg whites in a bowl with electric beaters until soft peaks form.
- Stir ¹/³ of the egg white into the cake batter. Add remaining and fold in very gently with a spatula. Pour into cake pan.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes.
- Turn out onto a rack. Melt remaining jam and brush over warm cake. Cool completely.
- To make ganache, combine the cream and chocolate in a saucepan over a low heat. Stir until melted and smooth. Cover and chill for 20 minutes or until spreadable.
- Spoon over cake, spreading with a spatula. Garnish with pistachio nuts. Serve with whipped cream.
- Tip: Jam is a high-GI food, even if it has no added sugar as fruit contains a natural sugar called fructose. Rice malt syrup and dark chocolate also contain sugar, which raises you blood sugar levels quickly when absorbed into the bloodstream after eating.
- Using wholemeal flour and seeds such as pepitas can help increase fibre and lower the GI. But the best option to avoid a sugar spike is to stick to having a small portion.