Locanda Verde's Pistachio Brown Butter Cake

From Chef Karen DeMasco                                                                                                                                        From her new cookbook “The Craft of Baking”

Ingredients:

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, plus more for the pan
1 cup unsalted pistachios
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cake flour
2 3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
7 large egg whites (3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons)
1 cup sliced plums and apricots
2 tablespoons Demerara sugar

Procedure:

Put the butter in a small heavy bottomed saucepan and cook it over medium heat until it is light brown and smells nutty, (about six minutes). Remove from the heat and strain through a fine mesh sieve into a small bowl.

Combine the pistachios and flour in the bowl of a food processor and grind until fine.

Whisk together the ground pistachios, cake flour, powdered sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl.  Whisk in the egg whites, all at once.  Whisk strained butter into the cake mixture once the eggs are incorporated.  Let batter chill in the refrigerator until thickened, about one hour.  Up to this point, the batter can be done several days in advance. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Pour batter into a buttered tart ring or loose bottomed tart pan.  Lay sliced fruit on top.  Keep the fruit from touching the baking ring or it will stick.  Sprinkle the Demerara sugar over the top.

Place the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake until the edges of the cake are golden and the top springs back to the touch, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer the cake to a wire rack, removing the outer ring from the pan, and let it cool. Rewarm to serve or serve at room temperature.

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