A light and fluffy vanilla sponge cake with a hidden pistachio shamrock inside. This St Patrick’s Day Loaf Cake is a real showstopper and is topped with light and airy whipped cream and dark Mint Chocolate Ganache. Make this for a crowd-pleasing vegan and easily gluten-free cake.
By Nourishing Amy
St Patrick’s Day Loaf Cake
Prep Time: 30
Serves: 10-12 People
Ingredients
For the Green Pistachio Loaf
120g thick coconut yoghurt
120ml plant-based milk
30ml (2 tbsp) light olive oil
120g caster sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla essence
180g plain/GF plain flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
100g ground pistachios*
A pinch of salt
2-3 drops green food gel or 1 tsp matcha tea powder
For the Vanilla Loaf
120g thick coconut yoghurt
120ml plant-based milk
30ml (2 tbsp) light olive oil
120g caster sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp vanilla essence
180g plain/GF plain flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
100g ground almonds
A pinch of salt
For the Topping
120ml vegan whipping cream
90g Dark Mint Chocolate, chopped small
30g coconut butter, coconut oil or vegan butter
Sprinkles, pistachios, cake crumbs
Method
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 160Fan/180ºC and line a loaf tin with baking paper.
Step 2
Start by making the green loaf cake: whisk together the yoghurt, milk, oil, sugar, lemon and vanilla till smooth. Sift in the plain flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and add the ground pistachios and salt. Stir/whisk to a thick, smooth batter. Before it is totally mixed in, add the food gel to your desired colour
Step 3
To bake: spoon into the loaf tin and smooth over the top. Bake in the middle of the oven for 38-40 minutes, until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Remove from the oven, cool for 10 minutes then carefully lift out the tin to cool fully
Step 4
For the shamrocks: once cool, slice the green loaf cake into slices that are just thinner than your shamrock cookie cutter. From each slice, cut out a shamrock and line them up in order. Save to one side.**
Step 5
Prepare the main loaf cake: preheat the oven to 160Fan/180ºC and line a loaf tin with baking paper. Make the vanilla loaf: whisk together whisk together the yoghurt, milk, oil, sugar, lemon and vanilla till smooth. Sift in the plain flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and add the ground almonds and salt. Stir/whisk to a thick, smooth batter
Step 6
To create the loaf cake: spoon a thin layer of cake batter into the loaf tin. Now line up the shamrocks down the middle of the loaf tin, nestled together. Spoon the vanilla cake batter up and around the sides of the shamrocks, making sure to cover the tops, too
Step 7
To bake: place in the middle of the oven for 35-38 minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. You can cover the top with tin foil after 25 minutes, if it is browning too quickly. Remove from the oven, cool for 10 minutes then carefully lift out the tin to cool full
Step 8
Once cool, prepare the toppings: whip the cream till fluffy. Melt together the chocolate and coconut butter/oil or vegan butter till glossy and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes, until thicker but still pourable
Step 9
To decorate: spread the cream over the cake and now pour over the chocolate ganache. Decorate with sprinkles, pistachios and some green cake crumbs. Enjoy straight away or allow the ganache to set
Step 10
Once set, use a warmed knife to slice through the chocolate ganache. Keep in a sealed container for 2-3 days in the fridge. You can freeze the loaf (without the toppings) for 1 month and allow to defrost thoroughly before decorating
Step 11
*make your own ground pistachios by adding shelled raw pistachios to a blender and processing to a fine crumb (stopping before it clumps together into a pistachio butter). If not, use ground almonds **use leftover green cake to make cake pops
