Celebration Cake: Lemon-Pistachio Crunch Cake

Hello, I'm 'The Monster'

You’re probably wondering why my posts have gotten erratic. It’s all good I promise. It’s just that I finally managed to get myself a full-time job, albeit just a one-year contract but with a brilliant company and in journalism as well. That’s a lot more than I could ask for and I am extremely grateful that I have got the opportunity. So I’ve been trying my darndest to get into some form of routine with my life, and am obviously still finding my feet. I started work on January 24th, the day after Sean’s birthday so I made sure I celebrated twice (read: ate two large slices of cake) to mark the occasion.

Now kitchen disasters and I go seamlessly together. And Sean’s birthday means a new one is brewing. If you remember last year, it’s always the cake. It starts innocently enough with a view to making something special and then pretty much ends up looking like I scraped it off the floor. This year Sean decided that he was going to stop me from making anything that I hadn’t made before and requested that I make this gorgeous pictured Lemon Pistachio Crunch Cake, which I had made for his birthday in 2007 when we were in Dubai. It was symbolic because that was the year he was diagnosed.

Sean's tiramisu birthday cake 2006; his 21st birthday chocolate mousse cake

Unfortunately, I don’t have much of a recollection putting this cake together, except for the fact that I made it to impress Sean’s father who was visiting us during the same time. All I recall is that my now father-in-law who is extremely healthy when it comes to his diet, couldn’t stop nicking small bits of the cake after the party. For me, it was a triumph because that means he really enjoyed it. Still floating on that ‘oh everyone will love it’ feeling, I decided to make it and then realised how labour intensive it was. That’s probably why I haven’t made it since then.

It’s a two day process; I’m not going to lie, but completely worth the effort. Sean and I dubbed it ‘The Monster’ because it stood towering with the three lemon sponge layers sandwiched together with lemon curd. Then it got even larger when the white chocolate-whipped cream frosting was smoothed on. And was it a hit? Take a wild guess. None of our guests expected such a giant to be brought out of the refrigerator. They were all just thankful we had taken a long break after a lunch of roasted lamb and all the trimmings. I have to admit the pistachio crunch really makes it, so don't leave it out. If you’re looking to impress, look no further. Your guests will only be too willing to take a slice home as well.