Pistachio Cake

This cake is the reason I bought this cookbook. Well, no, not exactly. The person who submitted this cake recipe to this awesome Bicentennial cookbook, is the reason I bought this cookbook. She and her husband are longtime friends of mine. A shout-out to Karen and John Ellis, of South Paris, Maine. Love you both!

I do own a large bundt cake pan. But I got into miniature pans some years ago, and prefer baking in miniature now, especially since there is just myself and The Resident Archaeologist in the home most of the time. I have what I would call "medium" sized bundts, and "small" bundts. So, I chose to bake the recipe in both medium and small sizes, and the smalls are bite-sized little wonders, and the mediums, well, I'm trying to be good and not touch them until the Birthday Girl comes over (she turns 22 this week, my youngest step-daughter). 

The recipe does not have any particular frosting recommended with it, so I just made a simple glaze of 1 cup confectioner's sugar, 1 tablespoon soft butter, and 2-3 tablespoons whole milk. 

The recipe calls for 1 box of instant pistachio pudding. If you want a "greener" effect, (maybe on St Paddy's Day?!) and a deeper flavor, I'd use 2 boxes. Wicked versatile recipe and quick to prepare. Ultimately, you could choose any cake mix you like, and any complimentary flavor of instant pudding. There is a secret ingredient, which is way-fun (kids will want to help bake this cake, just for the excuse of sampling the secret ingredient) and you'll just have to buy the cookbook to discover it.

Note: if using medium or small bundt pans, be sure to reduce the bake time accordingly. My oven runs a little hot, so I would bake for fifteen minutes and check them, then add small increments of time and keep an eye out so it doesn't dry out or burn. You do want some "crisp" to the exterior, so don't worry if it is browning a bit in the pan, that is to be expected.