Pistachio Crunch Dobos

Method

Pistachio Cream

In a medium saucepan (preferably stainless steel or nonstick – avoid aluminum), heat the butter just until it's all melted.
113 grams unsalted butter
In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar aggressively for a minute, until the mixture becomes smooth and runny, with no more chunks.
4 large egg yolks room temperature, 67 grams granulated sugar
Temper the eggs by streaming the butter into the egg yolk mixture, while continuing to whisk.
Dump the whole mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, while whisking continuously. Within a few minutes, the mixture should start to thicken, now whisk aggressively for another 30-60 seconds. Remove from the heat and pour into a bowl.
Add the pistachio butter and stir it in until it's all smooth and combined.
227 grams Pure Pistachio Butter linked above
Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to cool completely (this may take several hours - I don't like to refrigerate it because then it gets too firm. *I usually make my cakes during this time*).
Once the custard has cooled, place the custard and Cool Whip into the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl with the hand mixer and beat until it's well combined.
10.5 ounces Cool Whip *see blog post for using homemade whipped cream

Sponge Cake

Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C)convection and generously grease three 18x13 sheet pans with baking spray or oil and line them with parchment paper.
Place the pistachios and flour in a blender and turn to high speed until the pistachios are as small as they're going to get. It won't get fine like nut flour but there shouldn't be anymore large chunks either.
120 grams all-purpose flour sifted, 45 grams lightly salted pistachios (without shells)
Sift the pistachio flour into a bowl and set aside. Then separate the egg whites and egg yolks.
On medium speed, begin beating the egg whites and water and slowly add in the sugar, like the start of a meringue. Beat until it is fluffy - about doubled in size.
6 large egg whites, 100 grams granulated sugar, 30 mL cold water
Add in the egg yolks and the oil and beat until they're fully combined.
65 mL olive oil, 6 large egg yolks
Turn the mixer to medium speed and spoon in the flour. This is important because if you add all of it (or even half at a time) it clumps together.
Use a rubber spatula to scrape the edge of bowl well and make sure all the flour is mixed into the batter.
Use 1/3 of the batter in each pan - it should be roughly 7 ounces of cake batter for each cake layer.
Make sure to go all the way to the edge, and spread it out as evenly as possible so it bakes evenly. It will be a very thin layer.
Bake for about 5-7 minutes, until it's golden - not white and not brown so keep a close eye on it.
Remove from the oven and let it rest in the pan for a few minutes. I leave it in there until I'm ready to assemble but if you're making a larger quantity, transfer them out of the pan with the parchment paper after a couple of minutes.

Assemble

Slice the sponge cakes into three long rectangles each. I do it from short end to short end so they're long and skinny.
Place the first layer onto a flat surface and then spread a layer of the cream on top. The cream should be roughly as thick as the cake - I used 3 small scoops which totaled to about 2.7 ounces of cream per layer.
Repeat until you've reached the top layer - don't frost the top layer. Refrigerate the cake for several hours or overnight. The fridge is fine for the chocolate glaze but I recommend freezing it if you're doing the burnt sugar topping.

Olive Oil Chocolate Topping

Place the chocolate chips, oil and milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.
130 grams dark chocolate chips, 80 mL olive oil do 80 mL if skipping the pistachios , 10 mL milk

I did 80 mL of oil instead of 60 when I skipped the pistachio - I did less with the pistachio because I wanted it to have a crunchier texture.

Stir until it's completely smooth and either pour on top of the cake or stir in the chopped pistachios and spread on top of the cake, allowing the excess to run off the edge.
52 grams pistachios finely chopped
To even the top perfectly, lightly tap the cake on the counter.
Chill the cake again before slicing. For the crunch version - I chilled it until the top looked MOSTLY set - it made it a little easier to slice this way but if you skip the pistachio crunch on top, chill until the chocolate is fully set.
To slice, use a large non-serrated knife, run it under hot water, and wipe it dry between every single slice. This will ensure clean slices.

Equipment

Ingredients

Pistachio Cream

Sponge Cake

Chocolate Glaze

Method

Pistachio Cream

Sponge Cake

Assemble

Olive Oil Chocolate Topping

Notes

Nutrition