Pistachio Cardamom Amish Friendship Bread
Oh this is a must ~ Pistachio Cardamom Amish Friendship Bread with, dare I say it, Chocolate Ganache!
There I said it!
I remember one year, my mom received a container of this yeasty, beerish smelling batter with a recipe lovingly scribbled and attached in a fun, cutesy way. We gladly received it and gave it a home for the next 10 days, pampered it, cared for it and even fed it.
Ten days later we divided up our starter, placed a cup each into several other containers with similar scribbled notes and passed them along to willing friends and family that wanted to share in the fun. We did manage to keep some back to bake and a cup to continue feeding. It sort of reminds me of that plant, Audrey, from the Little Shop of Horrors … “Feed me Seymore, feed me!”. Thankfully, our kitchen pet didn’t completely take over, but the experience has obviously left an impression on me … not to worry, it’s been for the good.
Here I am today, with my own Amish Friendship Bread starter, after 9 days of staring at it *while pinching my nose*, I’m eager and ready to bake a gorgeous Pistachio Cardamom Amish Friendship Bread, bundt cake style. The beauty of this recipe is that you can make it in a bundt pan, muffin pan or a loaf pan. Enjoy it your way and have fun.
Before we start, I want to thank Darien from the Friendship Bread Kitchen for getting me back into making Amish Friendship Bread and putting together this brilliant 10 Days of Amish Friendship Bread Giveaway. It’s been exciting and I’ve loved being a part of it all. Thank you!
Being that it’s the Holidays, I wanted to create a recipe around some of my family’s favorite flavors, dark chocolate (that really should go without saying) and pistachios. Then to up the ante, I added in the beautiful, aromatic spice, Cardamom. The aroma of Cardamom is pure pleasure and it adds a bright and uplifting bite to this gorgeous bread. Finally, I then had to go and top it off with a dark chocolate ganache and crushed pistachios, you’re most welcome.
Now off you go to make your own “kitchen pet” and then give this Pistachio Cardamom Amish Friendship Bread a try.
Pistachio Cardamom Amish Friendship Bread with Chocolate Ganache
Enjoy this aromatic and bursting with flavor Pistachio Cardamom Amish Friendship Bread with Chocolate Ganache.
Ingredients
For the Amish Friendship Bread:
- 2 Tbls Sugar for Dusting pan (I like to use Demerara Sugar)
- 1 cup Amish Friendship Bread Starter
- 3 Eggs, room temperature and whisked
- 1 cup Oil, such as Canola
- 1/2 cup Milk, brought to room temperature
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 cup Sugar
- 2 cups All-Purpose Flour, divided
- 1 cup Pistachios, shelled and roasted
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 small (3.6 oz) Instant Pistachio Pudding Mix
- 2 tsp ground Cardamom
- Zest and Juice of 1 Lemon (the juice is optional)
- Chocolate Ganache (recipe below)
- 1/2 cup Pistachios, well chopped in food processor
For the Ganache:
- 8 oz Heavy Cream
- 8 oz Semi-Sweet (Dark) Chocolate
- Pinch of Salt
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 325°F. Grease and dust pan with 1 - 2 Tbls Sugar. I used an 8 inch Bundt pan and for the second "loaf" I made them in a paper-lined muffin pan.
*DO NOT USE METAL Spoons or Bowls for mixing.
- In a large bowl, mix the Starter with the whisked Eggs, add in the Oil, Milk and Vanilla. Mix well.
- To the batter, add the Sugar and 1 1/2 cups of the All-Purpose Flour, mixing well.
- In a food processor, add the Pistachios with 1/2 cup of the All-Purpose Flour, giving it a good blitz until the Pistachios are chopped and combined well with the flour.
- Add the Pistachio blend to your batter along with the Baking Powder, Salt, Pistachio Pudding Mix and Cardamom, mixing until well combined.
- Now add the Zest of 1 Lemon and if using, add the Juice.
- Pour the batter into the greased and sugar dusted pan until 2/3 full. You can bake the remaining batter in paper lined muffin pans or a small loaf pan, always filling 2/3 full.
- Bake in pre-heated 325°F oven. For 8-inch Bundt Pan: 50 -65 minutes. For a Muffin Pan: 25 - 30 minutes. For loaf pan: 45 - 55 minutes. All times may vary depending on your oven.
- The Bread is ready when a cake tester inserted, comes out clean. If needed, add 3 - 5 minutes at a time until done. Top should be lightly golden.
To make the Ganache:
- In a small saucepan over low heat, simmer the Heavy Cream until heated through, about 5 - 8 minutes, do not boil.
- Remove cream from stove and add in the Chocolate, allowing to sit for about 3 - 5 minutes.
- Stir for about 2 minutes until well blended, scraping the bottom and sides to incorporate all of the chocolate.
- Add the pinch of Salt and stir until Ganache is well blended and glossy.
- Allow to cool to room temperature for a pourable icing or chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes for a spreadable icing.
To finish off:
- For the bundt cake version, I like to generously spoon the room temp Chocolate Ganache and allow it to cascade down the sides.
- For the loaf pan version, using the chilled Chocolate Ganache and spreading it like a thick icing works wonderfully.
- For the muffin pan, my favorite way is to pull off the paper liners, then dip the tops, swirling it around a bit, into room temp Chocolate Ganache.
- Finally top them off with welled chopped Pistachios.
- Enjoy.
Stacey is a Southern girl with a taste for travel, thriving on the discovery of the world through food. After spending many years traveling and living overseas, she’s now back home in her beloved deep south enjoying life with her three little ones and loving the adventure. She’s a food stylist and food photographer, as well as, the creative behind Little Figgy Food, where she loves to inspire others to try new flavors and foodie techniques.
