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Pistachio Cake Recipe: 4 Ways to Make Pistachio Cake

Written by MasterClass

Last updated: Sep 7, 2024 • 4 min read

You can make pistachio cake in various shapes and sizes and decorate it with your favorite frostings and garnishes. The flavorful cake’s pale-green color and mildly nutty flavor work with your favorite frostings, from traditional buttercream to tangy cream cheese frosting.

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What Is Pistachio Cake?

Pistachio cake is a baked good featuring pistachio as the main flavor component. While many associate pistachio nuts with a bright-green color, they are more subtle in hue. This tender cake’s color usually comes from green food coloring or other color additions. Matcha powder is a natural way to add green color to pistachio desserts.

4 Variations of Pistachio Cake

Pistachio cake is easily customizable: You can bake it in layers, as cupcakes, or in a bundt pan. Consider the following variations:

  1. 1. Boxed pistachio cake: Customize your favorite boxed yellow cake mix by adding chopped pistachios, almond extract, and green food coloring or matcha to the batter. Boxed cake mixes contain all the dry ingredients found in a homemade cake recipe, meaning less prep time and cleanup.
  2. 2. Pistachio bundt cake: Instead of baking pistachio cake in layers, pour the cake batter into a greased, nonstick bundt pan. Make a sweet glaze to drizzle over the warm cake or pipe whipped cream or buttercream frosting on the top.
  3. 3. Pistachio cupcakes: Portion the cake batter into lined cupcake pans for individual pistachio cupcakes. Fill the cupcakes with pistachio pudding for extra pistachio flavor.
  4. 4. Pistachio pudding cake: Adding instant pistachio pudding mix to a standard cake recipe adds extra flavor, moistness, and a bright-green color to the cake. The key is to leave the pudding mix in powder form instead of rehydrating it.

4 Tips for Making Pistachio Cake

Use the tips below for the best texture and color.

  1. 1. Add almond extract to bump up the nuttiness. Many pistachio desserts only contain a small amount of real pistachios. Instead, they feature green food coloring and widely available almond extract, which has a mild nutty flavor similar to pistachio. Even if you use real pistachios in your cake, you can amplify the nuttiness with a small amount of almond extract.
  2. 2. Add matcha powder for a natural green color. Instead of green food coloring, use matcha powder for a bright-green color and slightly grassy flavor. Bloom the matcha powder in hot water before adding it to the cake batter for even dispersal.
  3. 3. Mix the cake batter by hand. To achieve a tender, soft cake, mix the batter by hand instead of using a stand mixer or electric mixer. Overmixing pistachio cake batter results in a tough, chewy cake.
  4. 4. Choose your favorite garnishes. Use toasted, chopped pistachios, edible flowers, or other complementary ingredients to garnish a pistachio cake.

Layered Pistachio Cake Recipe

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makes

1 9-inch layer cake

prep time

35 min

total time

1 hr 10 min

cook time

35 min

Ingredients

For the cake layers:

For the cream cheese frosting and assembly:

Note: The total time does not include 2 hours of inactive time.

Make the cake layers:

  1. 1

    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

  2. 2

    Grease 2 9-inch cake pans with nonstick cooking spray. Line the bottom of each cake pan with parchment paper.

  3. 3

    In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the pistachios until they have a fine consistency.

  4. 4

    In a large bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground pistachios.

  5. 5

    In a separate mixing bowl, add the buttermilk, sour cream, and vegetable oil.

  6. 6

    In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed for 7–10 minutes.

  7. 7

    To the butter and sugar mixture, add the large egg, followed by 2 large egg yolks.

  8. 8

    With the mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, sugar, and eggs for 10 minutes until light and fluffy.

  9. 9

    Add the vanilla extract to the butter, sugar, and egg mixture.

  10. 10

    With the mixer on low speed, alternate adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk mixture to the beaten butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.

  11. 11

    Pour the cake batter evenly into the prepared pans.

  12. 12

    Bake the cake layers until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 35 minutes.

  13. 13

    Carefully remove the baked cake layers from the pans and transfer them to a wire rack.

  14. 14

    Cool the cake layers completely, about 2 hours.

Make the cream cheese frosting:

  1. 1

    In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, cream cheese, and confectioners’ sugar on medium speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes.

  2. 2

    Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined.

  3. 3

    Slowly add the whole milk.

  4. 4

    Beat the cream cheese frosting until light and fluffy, 5–7 minutes.

Assemble and finish the cake:

  1. 1

    Place one cooled cake layer onto a plate or cake stand.

  2. 2

    Spread an even layer of cream cheese frosting on top of the cake layer.

  3. 3

    Put the second cake layer on top of the first one.

  4. 4

    Scoop the remaining cream cheese frosting on top of the second cake layer.

  5. 5

    With an offset spatula or butter knife, spread the frosting on top of the cake, over the edges, and around the sides.

  6. 6

    Smooth out the frosting as much as possible or leave it rustic.

  7. 7

    Garnish the cake with chopped pistachios.

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