Pistachio And Cherry Mexican Wedding Cakes Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 3 heavy large baking sheets. Using electric mixer, beat 2 cups butter and 1 cup powdered sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and salt, then pistachios and cherries. Using spatula, stir in all flour (do not overmix dough).
• Shape dough by generous tablespoonfuls into football-shaped ovals. Place on prepared sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until bottoms just begin to color, about 16 minutes. Cool cookies on sheets 10 minutes before coating.
• Pour generous amount of powdered sugar into medium bowl. Working with 5 or 6 warm cookies at a time, add cookies to bowl of sugar; gently turn to coat thickly. Transfer cookies to sheet of waxed paper. Repeat to coat cookies with sugar again; cool completely. do ahead Can be made 4 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F and lightly grease a 9 in/24cm diameter ring cake tin with butter.
• Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Pour over the melted butter and mix in the eggs. Spoon the batter into the pre-greased tin and smooth down.
• Remove the pits from the cherries-you can do this with a cherry pitter or by just pulling them apart and popping the pits out with your fingers. I like to do this over the cake tin, so that any juice drips onto the cake and adds color. Drop the pitted cherries onto the batter and sprinkle the top of the cake with the remaining 1 1/2 tbsp/20g of sugar and the roughly chopped pistachios. Bake in the center of the oven for 25-30 minutes, then turn the cake around and bake for a further 8-10 minutes, until the cake between the cherries goes all golden.
• Allow the cake to cool in the tin, as it needs time to settle, then gently remove by running a knife around the edges. Covered well, it will keep in the fridge for up to a week (not much chance of that happening), but for the best flavor, allow it to return to room temperature before eating.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease a round 8-inch (20-cm) cake pan and line with parchment paper.
• Add the pistachios to a food processor and pulse until you have a fine powder. Set aside.
• Using a stand mixer or electric whisk, beat the butter, sugar and vanilla for 3 to 5 minutes, or until pale and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl every so often. Add the flour, baking powder and ground pistachios, mixing on low speed until just combined. Stir in the sour cream before transferring the batter to the prepared pan. Smooth the surface of the batter with an offset spatula and arrange the cherries randomly on top without pressing them into the batter.
• Bake for 32 to 38 minutes, or until the cake is well browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan and setting on a wire rack. Once the cake is completely cool, use a sieve to dust lightly with confectioners' sugar and top with extra cherries.