Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
All-purpose flour — 2 cups (250 g)
Unsweetened cocoa powder — ¾ cup (75 g)
Granulated sugar — 1¾ cups (350 g)
Baking powder — 1½ teaspoons
Baking soda — 1½ teaspoons
Salt — ½ teaspoon
Ground cardamom — ½ teaspoon (optional but very Dubai-style)
Eggs — 2 large
Vegetable oil — ½ cup (120 ml)
Milk — 1 cup (240 ml)
Hot water or hot coffee — 1 cup (240 ml)
Vanilla extract — 2 teaspoons
Pistachio Cream Filling
Shelled pistachios (unsalted) — 1½ cups (180 g)
Powdered sugar — ½ cup (60 g)
Heavy cream — ½ cup (120 ml)
Butter, softened — 3 tablespoons (40 g)
Rose water — 1 teaspoon (optional)
Chocolate Ganache
Dark chocolate — 200 g (about 1¼ cups chopped)
Heavy cream — ¾ cup (180 ml)
Butter — 1 tablespoon (optional, for shine)
Garnish (Optional but Luxe)
Crushed pistachios
Edible gold dust or gold leaf
Dried rose petals
Instructions
Heat the oven to 170°C / 340°F and grease two 8-inch cake pans. Mix flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cardamom in a bowl. Add eggs, oil, milk, and vanilla, then mix until smooth. Slowly pour in the hot water or coffee and stir gently; the batter will be thin. Divide into pans and bake until a skewer comes out clean, then cool completely.
For the pistachio cream, blend pistachios into a fine paste. Beat butter and powdered sugar until light, then add the pistachio paste. Slowly pour in the cream and rose water, whipping until smooth and spreadable.
For the ganache, heat cream until just steaming, pour over chopped chocolate, let sit briefly, then stir until glossy. Mix in butter if using and allow to thicken slightly.