This triple-layer Pistachio Cake with cream cheese frosting is a rustic yet elegant dessert you’ll want at all of your special events. Thanks to real pistachios in the batter, each slice has buttery and nutty flavors, a soft and fluffy crumb, and a decadent green tint. You’ll find this easy cake surprisingly fancy.
There’s nothing quite like a layered cake for dessert. My philosophy is the more layers, the better! I often make my cakes, like Funfetti Cake and Hummingbird Cake, with three layers just to make them that much more “wow-worthy” for a crowd.
The Best Pistachio Cake
A pistachio cake is similar to a vanilla cake, made with real, ground pistachio nuts. Grinding the nuts into a fine powder helps them blend seamlessly into the batter. This lends a green color and a buttery, nutty flavor to the cake. Its elegant flavors, soft crumb, and pale green tint make this cake perfect for spring, but I’ll usually find an excuse to make it year-round.
You don’t see pistachios in many baked goods here in North America because they’re one of the more expensive nuts in the grocery store. But baking with pistachios is nothing new… They’re a popular ingredient around the world.
Pistachios can easily be ground into a fine powder to bake right into cakes (like this pistachio cake. You can also use them in my Pineapple Upside Down Cake), muffins, quick breads, and cupcakes. In Europe, you’ll find the finely chopped nuts used as a topping on danishes, fruit tarts, and other pastries. People in Turkey, Asia, and throughout the Middle East use pistachios in the filling for baklava and ma’amoul.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Pistachios – I used shelled, unsalted pistachios. You can use pistachios in the shell as a budget-friendly option. However, only do this if you have time to remove the shells by hand.
- Flour – I typically bake my cakes with all-purpose flour to give them a fluffy and sturdy crumb.
- Cornstarch – Combining flour with cornstarch gives you homemade cake flour. This mixture makes the dry ingredients much lighter, resulting in a more delicate, airy, and fluffy pistachio cake.
- Baking Soda – This leavening agent creates air bubbles in the batter, which help the cake rise.
- Baking Powder – Another leavening agent that will give you a tall and fluffy cake.
- Butter – I almost always use unsalted butter when baking because it gives me more control over the sodium level. Remember to take the butter out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before making the cake. This allows it time to soften and reach room temperature.
- Sugar – I used white granulated sugar. Cane sugar will work as a substitute.
- Vanilla – This balances the sweet and nutty flavors in the cake.
- Eggs – Both whole eggs and egg whites add moisture to the cake. They also help bind the ingredients in the batter together and keep the cake light in color.
- Oil – I typically use any neutral-tasting oil I have on hand. Some options are vegetable oil, canola oil, or peanut oil.
- Milk – I like using whole milk in my cake recipes. 2% or 1% milk will also work.
- Frosting – I decorated the cake with a double batch of my cream cheese frosting recipe. A classic vanilla buttercream frosting or homemade whipped cream would also be nice with the cake.
How to Make Pistachio Cake
Grind the Pistachios: To start, I process the pistachios in a food processor until they’re finely ground. This leaves me with a heaping half cup of ground pistachios.
Dry Ingredients: Next, I whisk the ground pistachios, flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl.
Whip: I beat the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer until it’s light and fluffy. Then I add the sugar and mix it with the butter, first on low speed and then on high speed, until the mixture is airy.
Wet Ingredients: I reduce the speed on the mixer and add in the vanilla, then the eggs and egg whites. I make sure to beat in a few eggs at a time until they’re completely incorporated, then continue adding the remaining eggs.
Combine: To finish the batter, I slowly mix one-third of the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients, and then I pour in 2 ¼ cups of the milk. Once the milk is incorporated, I mix in the remaining dry mixture, then the remaining milk. I remove the bowl from the mixer once I have a smooth and creamy cake batter.
Bake: I divide the batter between 3 cake tins before baking them on the middle rack in the oven. I know they’re done baking when they’re firm in the center or when a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out mostly clean.
Cool: I set the cakes (still in their tins) on a wire rack and let them cool completely.
Make the Icing: While I wait for the cakes to cool, I make a double batch of cream cheese frosting.
Decorate: I use a serrated knife to carefully slice the rounded part off of the cooled cake tops to make a flat surface. I ice the cake until it’s completely coated between each layer, on the sides, and on top. Before slicing and serving, I decorate the cake with the remaining ground pistachios and raspberries.
Chef Tips + Notes
I made this cake in three 8-inch round cake tins. If you’re looking for a change, you can bake the cakes in one or two bundt pans (depending on the size), two 11×7-inch rectangular pans, or two 9×5-inch loaf pans instead.
- Toast the pistachios: Reveal the hidden oils and aromas in the pistachios by toasting them in a dry skillet over medium heat until they start to turn golden. Toasting pistachios won’t keep their bright green color in the cake, but it will boost their nutty flavors to a whole new level.
- Don’t overmix the batter: Because this cake is very delicate, mix the dry and wet ingredients only until just combined, ensuring no dry flour remains in the bowl. Overmixing the batter will deflate the air bubbles and make the cake flat, dense, or gummy.
- For even baking, rotate the cake pans in the oven halfway through the baking time to help them cook evenly.
- Check that the cakes are done: You’ll know each cake layer is finished baking when the batter in the center is no longer jiggling and when a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached.
- More decoration ideas: Decorate the cake with whole or ground pistachios (in the middle and/or in a circle around the edges), dollops of piped icing, fresh fruit (like raspberries, cherries, apricots, or peaches), edible flowers, or a drizzle of honey.
Serving Suggestions
I like making this cake for warm-weather events, such as birthday parties, Mother’s Day, and Easter, but it also fits in at most special occasions. I find that the cake’s rich and nutty flavors really pop when I serve the slices with warm tea, a plate of fruit, and scoops of vanilla ice cream.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: You can make the cake layers and icing up to 1 day ahead of time.
How to Store: Cover the decorated cake and keep it on the kitchen counter for up to 5 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. The undecorated and covered cake layers will also freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw the cake in the fridge overnight before decorating and serving.
More Cake Recipes
Pistachio Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 12 ounces of shelled unsalted pistachios, about 2 ¼ cups processed
- 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 7 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 ½ cups softened unsalted butter
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 5 large egg whites
- ½ cup neutral-flavored oil
- 2 ¼ cups whole milk
For the Frosting:
- Butter cream cheese recipe x 2, I used 6 cups of powdered sugar instead of 7
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Add the pistachios to a food processor and process them on high speed until finely ground. Set a heaping half cup of the ground pistachios to the side.
- Add the remaining pistachios to a large bowl and whisk together with the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Next, add the butter to a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and whip on high speed for 5 to 7 minutes or until light and fluffy.
- Add in the sugar on low speed so that it does not go everywhere, and then continue to mix on high speed for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Next, turn the speed down to low-medium and add the vanilla. Then, add the eggs and egg whites a few at a time. Don’t mix in the next batch until the first batch of eggs is completely mixed in. Stop and scrape the bowl.
- On low speed, add in a third of the dry ingredients (flour mixture). Once it’s fully mixed, pour in half of the 2 1/4 cups of whole milk. Once that’s in there, go back to the dry ingredients and add in a third. Stop and scrape the bowl. Then, add the remaining milk, and finally, the last of the dry ingredients. Give it a quick blast on high speed for 10 seconds to incorporate, and then remove the bowl from the mixer.
- Now, evenly divide the batter between the three cake tins that have a parchment rounds in them and have been sprayed with non-stick spray.
- Bake on a middle rack at 350°F for 30 to 32 minutes or until just firm in the center. I usually come back after half the cooking time and rotate the cakes to ensure they are cooking evenly.
- Remove the cakes and place them on a rack to cool to room temperature, which takes about 90 minutes.
- In the meantime, make the cream cheese frosting recipe x 2.
- Once cooked, remove the cakes and, using a serrated knife, carefully cut off the rounded part of the cake on top so that it is flat.
- Ice the cake in layers until it is completely coated, both between the layers and on the sides, and on top.
- Garnish by sprinkling the remaining ground pistachios on top. Add on optional raspberries.
Pistachio Cake Recipe