Sabrina says: “The pistachio is the king of Persian nuts, and using naturally bright green Persian pistachio slivers helps create the electric green colour of this cake. Fragrant with lemon zest and aromatic rosemary, it’s also gluten free.”

Serves 8–10

Ingredients

150g unsalted butter
4 x 10cm sprigs of rosemary, leaves very finely chopped
3 eggs
100g golden caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract (alcohol-free)
2 heaped tablespoons Greek yogurt
finely grated zest of 3 large unwaxed lemons
100g ground almonds
300g pistachio slivers (or whole nuts), very finely blitzed in a food processor, plus extra to decorate

For the icing:

150g icing sugar very finely blitzed in a food processor, plus extra to decorate
25ml freshly squeezed lemon juice

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan), Gas Mark 4. Take a large square of baking paper, scrunch it up, then smooth it out and use to line a 22–24cm round cake tin or ovenproof dish.

Warm the butter in a saucepan over a gentle heat until just melted, then remove from the heat, stir in the rosemary and leave to infuse.

Put the eggs, caster sugar and vanilla and lemon extracts into a mixing bowl and beat together until well combined. Mix in the yogurt, followed by most of the lemon zest (reserving a little for decorating the cake), the ground almonds and pistachios. Pour in the infused melted butter and mix again until evenly combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin or ovenproof dish and shake to level the surface, then bake for about 45 minutes until golden brown on top and springy to touch. Remove from the oven and leave the cake to cool completely in the tin or dish.

Mix the icing ingredients together in a small bowl until smooth.

Carefully remove the cake from the tin or dish and set it on a serving plate. Pour the icing on top and leave to set, then scatter with the pistachios and reserved lemon zest before serving.

From Simply: Easy Everyday Dishes by Sabrina Ghayour (£26, Mitchell Beazley), out now

3 Persian-inspired pistachio recipes by Sabrina Ghayour, from sticky chicken to lemon cake