This cake sort of was the result of utilizing leftover/surplus ingredients in our house. It was made for a family gathering, and because we had a TON of lemons in our house that we needed to get rid of, this cake kind of was a huge no-brainer. I love making olive oil and lemon cakes, and since we also had a ton of pistachios, I figured it made the most sense to just incorporate those into this dessert as well. Since pistachio and lemon seemed kind of boring, I figured, why not add some blueberry mousse into the mix, and give the cake some more freshness?

For the cake itself, I made my standard chiffon cake batter, but using olive oil and subbing out some of the flour with finely ground pistachio. I dyed it naturally green with the spirulina powder, just because if it’s a pistachio cake, I wanted it to be green, but not Hulk green. I layered it with some lemon curd, finished with olive oil, as well as a blueberry mousse, just to add in more contrast and flavor, and a pistachio cream, made from pistachio paste and mascarpone cheese.

For the cake:
3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cups finely ground pistachio
1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 cups granulated sugar
3 egg yolks
6 egg whites
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons spirulina powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lemon zest
a pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Whip egg whites with half the sugar to stiff peaks. Whisk egg yolks with remaining sugar and olive oil until ribbon stage. Sift dry ingredients together. Fold together all three mixtures and pour into a lined shallow baking tray. Spread into an even layer. Bake for 25 minutes and cool completely at room temperature before removing from the tray.

For the curd:
1 cup Meyer lemon juice
1/4 cup Meyer lemon zest
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 egg yolks
a pinch of salt
3 tablespoons olive oil

Whisk yolks with sugar and cornstarch. Reduce juice with zest and salt. Temper yolks with juice and continue whisking on medium heat until thickened (3-4 minutes). Whisk in the olive oil, off heat, and pass through a strainer into a bowl. Chill down.

For the mousse:
1 cup blueberry puree
1 1/2 teaspoons gelatin powder + 1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
2/3 cups heavy cream, whipped to stiff peaks

Bloom then melt the gelatin into the blueberry puree. Reduce the puree with sugar and salt by half. Cool completely. Fold in the cream and transfer to the refrigerator to set for at least 30 minutes.

For pistachio cream:
1/4 cup pistachios, ground into a paste with 2 tablespoons of water
6 oz mascarpone cheese
1/2 teaspoon spirulina powder
a pinch of salt

Puree ingredients together into a cream. Whip until stiff peaks form. Transfer to a piping bag and refrigerate.

For assembly:
Punch out two 6-inch rings with a 6-inch ring mold. Make the third(bottom) layer with the scraps. Line the mold with parchment and then assemble the layer with the fillings(mousse and curd), distributing them evenly along all three layers. Top with fresh pistachios and blueberries, as well as dollops of pistachio cream to finish!