mom's pistachio nut cake

when i was little, one of the most requested desserts of my mom's was her pistachio nut cake.  my siblings and i thought she was magic.  when the cake batter was poured into the bundt pan, it was done in two layers.  the bottom layer was green and the top layer was chocolate.  an hour long magical trip in the oven transformed that cake.  when mom pulled the cake out, the chocolate had switched places with the pistachio batter.  i told you.  magic.

i recently saw the recipe on The Pioneer Woman's web site and all the memories of this cake came flooding back.   if you know me at all, you know i mostly pretend to cook.  but i wanted my kids to experience the "magic" in our kitchen.  (little did they know, the real magic was that i actually turned on the oven.)  my mom's 45 year old recipe was very similar to Ree's, except for one additonal ingredient.  my mom's version calls for a teaspoon of almond extract.  since almond extract does not exist in my pantry, i substituted some homemade vanilla extract.  it was just as tasty as i remember.   

public service announcement:  if you bake a lot, you MUST make your own homemade vanilla extract.   follow the recipe at whipperberry.  it's simply amazing.  it makes a wonderful gift for family and friends, too. 

so, back to our baking adventure.  

mix all the ingredients, except the chocolate syrup.  pour 2/3 of the batter into a "prepared" bundt pan.  if you are anything like me in the kitchen, you have no idea what that means.  never fear.  google helped me, so i'll help you.  prepare your pan by spraying it with pam and then sprinkling it with flour.   easy.  if i can do it, anyone can do it.   

then mix the remaining batter with the chocolate syrup.  pour the chocolately batter on top of the batter that's already in your bundt pan.  try to keep the chocolate layer in the middle of the green layer if you can.  it should look something like this.

then you bake it for 50-55 minutes.  when a toothpick comes out clean, it's done.  it should look like this.

did you notice the magic happened?  the chocolate layer disappeared.   after it cools for a bit, you will need to turn it out onto a cake plate.  

and here is our cake.  the chocolate traveled all the way to what is now the top of the cake.  magic.  

it's super moist and very delicious.  

and here's the recipe so you can make some magic in your kitchen, too.

enjoy!

Pistachio Nut Cake

Ingredients

• 1yellow cake mix
• 1 box pistachio pudding
• 4eggs
• ½ c vegetable oil
• ½ c orange juice
• ½ c water
• 1 tspalmond or vanilla extract  
• ¾ c chocolate syrup

combine all ingredients except the chocolate syrup.  mix on low for 5 minutes.  pour 2/3 of the batter into a prepared bundt pan.  add syrup to the remaining batter.  mix well.  pour into the bundt pan.   bake at 350º for 50-55 minutes.  remove from oven.