Pistachio Cake

4.98 from 42 votes

Recipe video above. Using freshly blitzed pistachios makes this cake really special, for both real pistachio flavour and a soft, moist cake texture. So don't be tempted to buy pre-powdered (if such a thing even exists!). Finished with what I've christened a Cream Cheese Whip which is like a much lighter, less sweet version of Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting. Goes so well with the nuttiness of this cake.

Note: Every ingredient has a purpose, I never include things just for the sake of it! See Ingredients section for the reason for each.

Prep Time20

Cook Time55

Cooling (pistachios and cake1 15

Total Time2 30

Course: Cake, Sweet Baking

Cuisine: Western

Keyword: pistachio cake

Servings: - 12

Calories: 317cal

Author: Nagi

Ingredients

125g/ 4.4oz (just shy 1 cup) pistachio kernels , unsalted (Note 1)

Dry ingredients for batter:

1 cup plain flour (all-purpose flour)
1 1/4 tsp baking powder (check yours still still good if it's old)
1/4 tsp baking soda (bi-carb soda) (Note 2)
1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt

Wet:

3/4 cup yogurt , plain, full-fat, at room temperature (Note 3)
60g/ 4 tbsp unsalted butter , melted and slightly cooled
1/4 cup plain oil (canola, vegetable, cottonseed etc)
3/4 cup caster sugar (superfine sugar)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg (50-55g/2oz), at room temperature

Colouring (optional)

4 drops green food colouring , optional (Note 4)

Cream cheese whip:

100g/ 3.5oz cream cheese , at room temperature (block best, tub ok)
3/4 cup thickened cream (heavy cream) or whipping cream (Note 5)
3 tbsp caster sugar (superfine sugar)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp lemon juice (optional)
Pinch of salt

Cups - Metric

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F (160° fan-forced). Grease and line a 20 cm / 8" round cake pan with baking paper (parchment paper).

Pistachio powder:

Toast - Spread the pistachios on a tray. Bake for 12 minutes, shaking once halfway, or until the pistachios smell nutty and are crisp (eat to check!). Fully cool on the tray (~15 minutes).
Blitz - Measure out 3/4 cup pistachios (save the rest for decorating). Blitz into a powder using pulses, taking care not to turn it into a paste. I use a NutriBullet (2 x 2 sec bursts). Spice grinder or small food processor would also work. Some larger pistachio bits are fine, but aim for 98% powder. (Note 6)

Cake:

Break up clumps - Put the pistachio powder in a large bowl with the flour. Briefly whisk to combine then use your fingers to rub pistachio powder clumps into a powder. No need to be meticulous here, just get the larger ones.
Dry - Add the remaining Dry ingredients then whisk to combine.
Wet - Put all the Wet ingredients in a separate bowl and whisk until combined.
Combine wet & dry - Pour the Wet into the Dry ingredients bowl. Use a rubber spatula to mix until the flour is almost mixed in.
Colour it! Add the food colouring. Then finish mixing the batter until mostly lump free (small lumps will dissolve when baked).
Scrape the batter into the pan and spread out it out (no need to be meticulous, the surface will smooth out in the oven).
Bake for 40 minutes, turning the pan at 30 minutes so the surface browns evenly, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out without batter on it.
Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack and cool completely. (~1 hour)
Chop the reserved pistachios (mix of finely chopped and larger chunks).
Spread the cake with the Cream Cheese Whip (steps below). Sprinkle with chopped pistachios. Cut and eat!

Cream cheese whip:

Beat the cream cheese for a good 2 minutes on medium high until it's really light and creamy, scraping down the sides as needed. Do not shortcut this step, else you may end up with cream cheese lumps!
Whip - Add the remaining ingredients then beat until the cream is softly whipped and spreadable, about 1 minute on medium high.

Notes

1. Pistachios - I use kernels already pre shelled which are typically unsalted. If you use the pistachios in the shells, use 225g / 7 oz pistachio in shells (125g/4.4 oz once shelled) and reduce toasting time to 7 minutes. If your pistachios are salted, skip the salt in the recipe.

2. Baking soda (bi-carb soda) - Substitute with 3/4 tsp extra baking powder, but expect the cake to dome a bit (rather than pictured flat surface).

3. Yogurt - Make sure it's at room temperature else it makes the batter cold which inhibits the rise. Substitute with sour cream (give it a good mix to loosen before measuring out). Low fat is acceptable, it won't ruin the recipe!

4. Green food colouring - Cake needs a helping hand to have a lovely green colour. If using colouring gel, which is much stronger than liquid, just dip the tip of a toothpick into the gel and smear it onto the batter. Add as much as needed to make the batter a pistachio green colour (note: colour fades as it bakes, see in post for before/after baking).

5. Cream - Make sure the cream you get can be whipped (not all cream is made for whipping). It will say on the carton.

6. Pistachios go from powder to paste fairly easily. Avoid this problem by using very short pulses and shake/scrape down the side of your appliance to blitz evenly. With a NutriBullet it takes me 3 x 1 second bursts, shaking in between. Some clumping of powder is ok because we break up clumps (mixing with flour makes this step easier).

7. Different in cup sizes in different counties - see FAQ above recipe card.

Storage - Keep leftover cake in the fridge for 4 days. Cream will not weep like regular whipped cream! Note that pistachio flavour is strongest when freshly made, but still a darn tasty cake even on day 4.

Nutrition per slice, assuming 12 slices.

Nutrition