Chocolate Pistachio Torte

With pistachios in the batter and on top, our fudgy cake is truly holiday-worthy.

For the Cake:
½ cup (1 stick) butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup all-purpose flour, unbleached, spooned and leveled
½ tsp. sea salt
¼ tsp. baking powder
8 oz semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1¼ cups sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
½ cup low-fat buttermilk
¾ cup pistachios, shelled and coarsely chopped

For the Ganache:
½ cup heavy cream
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
¼ cup pistachios, shelled and coarsely chopped

Make the Cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour an 8” round cake pan; line bottom with parchment or waxed paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.

In a large heatproof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water, melt butter and chocolate, stirring frequently, 4-5 minutes. Remove bowl from pan. Whisk in sugar and vanilla, then eggs, buttermilk, and pistachios. Fold in flour mixture just until combined.

Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 60-70 minutes. Let cool in pan 5 minutes; run a knife around edge, and invert onto a wire rack. Remove paper, and let cool completely, about 3 hours. (To store, wrap in plastic, and keep at room temperature, up to 3 days).

Make the Ganache:
In a small saucepan, bring cream to a simmer; remove from heat. Add chocolate, and let stand 5 minutes; whisk until smooth. Let cool until mixture falls back in ribbons when lifted with a spoon, 2-6 minutes.

Set cake on a serving platter; tuck strips of parchment paper under edge of cake to prevent ganache from dripping on platter. Pour ganache onto center of cake; using a table knife, spread evenly over the top and down the sides. Let set, about 30 minutes. Remove paper from under cake; sprinkle top with pistachios.

Makes 10 servings.