Distinctively nutty with a sweet and salty pistachio flavor combination, our delicious and moist pistachio cake is guaranteed to become a family favorite.
Featuring ground pistachios throughout and a cream cheese frosting that will melt in your mouth, it will be impossible for you not to fall in love!
Our pistachio cake recipe calls for the use of a food processor, but if you don’t have one, you can use an immersion or regular blender or a Ziploc bag and a rolling pin to crush your real pistachios for use in this recipe.
Drops of green food coloring added to your homemade cream cheese frosting are optional, but will make this cake a bright visual masterpiece when you serve it! This cake is great for any event or special occasion, but it’s also fun for events with green color themes, like St. Patrick’s Day.
Our three layer pistachio cake is surprisingly easy to make, yet looks like a dessert you’d find at a fancy restaurant. I love the elaborate, textured look of the cake itself thanks to the added ground pistachios.
I always save some frosting to pipe along the top- it adds to the finished look.
Why You’ll Love Pistachio Cake
Pistachio cake is a little lighter and less sweet than some other cakes. It hits the spot for your sweet tooth but also boasts a refined flavor that is both likeable and sophisticated.
The texture of real pistachios gives this cake just the right amount of pleasant crunch, yet surrounded by soft and fluffy cake and frosting, the pistachios don’t distract from a polished end result.
With a flavor that is hard to compare to other cakes, pistachio cake is memorable and also stands out visually among a dessert spread, so your cake will always be the talk of the party!
Ingredients to make a Pistachio Cake
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make our pistachio cake recipe. In Chef Speak, this is called the Mise en Place, which translates into Everything in its Place.
Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed the cooking process, but it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
How to make Pistachio Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Grease three 9-inch round cake pans, then line them with parchment paper circles. Grease the parchment paper and set the pans aside until needed.
- Add the unsalted pistachios to the bowl of a food processor.
- Pulse until they are very fine crumbs. You should have about 2 ¼ cups of crumbs.
- Add the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, table salt, and 1 ½ cups of ground pistachios to a large bowl (save the rest for the garnish).
- Whisk the dry ingredients to combine and set aside until needed.
- Add the room temperature unsalted butter and granulated sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large bowl and an electric mixer).
- Beat on high speed until smooth and creamy (3-4 minutes). Scrape the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Add the room temperature egg whites to the bowl.
- Whip on high speed until combined (2-3 minutes).
- Add the room temperature sour cream, vanilla extract, and almond extract to the mixture.
- Whip to combine. Scrape the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
- Mix on low speed until just incorporated.
- Add the room temperature whole milk to the batter.
- Mix until just combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure none of the dry ingredients are sticking to the bottom or sides of the bowl. If you see any lumps, whisk by hand to remove them.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake pans (for easy removal add a circle of parchment paper to the bottom of each cake pan, and grease the parchment).
- Place the cake pans on the center rack of the preheated oven and bake for 20-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Place the pans on a wire rack and allow them to cool completely in the pans.
*The cakes must be completely cool before frosting and assembling.
How to Make the Frosting and Assemble the Pistachio Cake
- Add the cream cheese and butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large bowl and electric hand mixer).
- Beat until light and fluffy.
- Add the confectioner’s sugar to the mixture.
Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. - Mix on low speed until combined.
- Add the vanilla extract and continue whipping until light and creamy.
- Add the 1-3 drops of green food coloring to the frosting to get your desired color.
*If you prefer a natural color leave out the food coloring. - Mix to combine the color throughout the frosting, then whip on high speed until light and fluffy.
- Place the first cake layer on a cake stand or serving platter.
- Cover the top of the first layer with frosting.
- Repeat the process with the next two layers, spreading the remainder of the frosting on the sides of the cake. Save a little of the frosting to decorate the top of the cake if desired.
*Use a large serrated knife to slice a thin layer off the tops of the cakes to create a flat surface.
- Garnish the sides and top of the cake with the remaining pistachio crumbs.
- Refrigerate the finished cake for at least 60 minutes before slicing. This will help the cake to keep its shape when slicing.
Wouldn’t your friends and family love to sit down to a slice of this tender and delicious pistachio cake? Serve with a cold glass of milk or a cup of hot coffee and watch the smiles around the table.
Store leftovers in an airtight container on the counter for 3-4 days or in the refrigerator for 5-6 days. The cake can be frozen in a freezer-safe container or double-wrapped with plastic wrap for up to two months.
Recipe FAQ’s
If you find yourself left with pistachios after preparing this recipe, we’ll help to decide how to best store them.
Unopened pistachios in the shell can last 6 months in a cool, dry space such as a pantry.
Opened pistachios should always be stored in the fridge. If kept in an airtight container, they are good for up to a year.
If you don’t think you’ll need pistachios again anytime soon, I recommend freezing them. Pistachios remain fresh for up to three years in the freezer.
High-fat ingredients keep a cake moist. Our pistachio cake calls for unsalted butter, sour cream, and whole milk. Bake only as long as recommended, and consider checking the cake sooner to prevent the cake from drying out. Do not overmix your ingredients as this can also make a cake more dense and lose some of that fluffy moisture you’re looking for!
Leave a Comment