Made from scratch with real pistachio and almond flavors, this rustic-chic layered pistachio cake is full of flavor, and enhanced with silky cream cheese frosting. Garnish with fresh berries, pistachios, and flowers for a truly remarkable dessert that’s perfect for spring.
The pink flowers pictured on the finished cake are called kalanchoe.
As nut flavors go, pistachio is one of the most subtle. In fact, did you know that pistachio ice cream gets most of its flavor from almond extract? The almond extract works to enhance the pistachio flavor, and I’m using this concept in today’s pistachio cake. I’m often asked how to change my pistachio cupcakes into a layer cake, so this is the perfect opportunity to show off those delicately nutty flavors again.
Tell Me About This Pistachio Cake
- Texture: The combination of real pistachios + almond extract results in a soft, buttery pistachio cake. Cake flour and egg whites keep the texture light and delicate.
- Flavor: This pistachio cake is made without any artificial flavors. The natural flavors of pistachio, almond, butter, and vanilla really shine through in each bite.
- Ease: This pistachio cake with cream cheese frosting is “nearly naked,” so no expert-level cake decorating skills are required. It looks gorgeous garnished simply with fresh berries, crushed pistachios, and some flowers, if you’re feeling extra springy.
One reader, Kathy, says: “Absolutely divine!!! Made this for my daughter’s bday and everyone loved it. The ground pistachios gave it a perfect light green tint. The texture was great-light cake with some bite from the pistachios. Not too sweet, either, which I prefer. This is a GREAT RECIPE.”
The full recipe is below, but first I’m going to share some of the main things I’ve learned while testing this pistachio cake recipe.
How to Get Real Pistachio Flavor Into Cake
We’ll grind shelled pistachios and then mix the pistachio crumbs into the cake batter for the best quality, real pistachio flavor. I know what you’re thinking: chunks of hard nuts in a cake? Don’t worry! The pistachios are ground into a soft and creamy crumb, which adds pure pistachio flavor without a chunky texture. I recommend using a food processor for this step. Just be careful not to overdo it and make pistachio butter!
The cake batter may resemble spicy brown mustard, but it smells fantastic. The ground pistachios tint the cake a light spring green. I also add a drop of green food coloring to deepen the color, but that’s completely optional.
Key Ingredients You Need & Why
I used my favorite white cake recipe as a starting point for this cake.
- Pistachios: Instead of using artificial pistachio flavor, grind shelled pistachios to add to the cake batter. I usually use unsalted raw pistachios for this cake recipe, but you can use raw or roasted pistachios, salted or unsalted, whichever you prefer. I recommend buying them already shelled, to save time.
- Almond + vanilla extract: Use pure vanilla and almond extracts for truly outstanding flavor. Almond extract enhances the pistachio flavor, so don’t leave it out.
- Cake flour: Cake flour is almost 30 times finer than all-purpose flour and provides the structure for this pistachio cake. We use slightly less cake flour in this recipe than in a white cake because of the pistachio crumbs, but the result is equally delicate and delicious.
- Egg whites: Using only egg whites ensures a light crumb that isn’t weighed down by the fat in egg yolks. Lighter confections such as marshmallows and angel food cake require only egg whites. Same rule applies here.
What Frosting Goes Well With Pistachio Cake?
I like pairing this sweet and nutty cake with smooth and tangy cream cheese frosting. But there’s no shortage of delicious options that would complement this cake! You could easily replace the cream cheese frosting with:
- Vanilla Buttercream
- Salted Caramel Frosting
- Strawberry Buttercream
- Lemon Buttercream
- Chocolate Buttercream
You could also use this pistachio cake recipe as the base for my fresh berry cream cake!
Decorating Inspiration
To frost and decorate this pistachio cake, I use a good amount of frosting inside and on top of the cake, and minimal frosting around the sides. This frosting style is called a naked cake, which exposes the gorgeous cake layers and reveals the deliciousness to come!
- For smooth sides, use a bench scraper (you can follow this vanilla naked cake video for a little guidance). I also recommend a cake turntable to make cake decorating even easier. Or simply just swipe the frosting on—this pistachio cake is so delicious no one will care what it looks like!
Today’s recipe makes enough cream cheese frosting to decorate this cake in the “naked” style. If you’d prefer more frosting on the sides of your cake, use the ingredient amounts for the cream cheese frosting from my favorite carrot cake recipe.
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Pistachio Cake
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes
- Total Time: 5 hours
- Yield: 12 servings
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Make this pistachio cake with real pistachio and almond extract flavors. This “naked cake” is finished with silky cream cheese frosting. Read the recipe notes before beginning. The pink flowers pictured on the finished cake are called kalanchoe.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (260g) unsalted pistachios (out of shells)
- 2 and 1/3 cups (275g) cake flour (spooned & leveled)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 and 3/4 cups (350g) granulated sugar
- 5 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120g) sour cream, at room temperature*
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup (240ml) whole milk, at room temperature*
- cream cheese frosting
- optional: 1 tiny drop green food coloring*
- optional: garnishes such as berries and leftover pistachios
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease three 9-inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment paper. Parchment paper helps the cakes seamlessly release from the pans. (If it’s helpful, see this parchment paper rounds for cakes video & post.)
- Make the cake: Pulse the pistachios in a food processor until ground up into very fine crumbs. See photo above for a visual. You’ll have about 1 and 1/2 cups of crumbs. (If you have more than that, set aside for garnish.)
- Pour 1 and 1/2 cups of pistachio crumbs in a large bowl. Whisk in the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Beat in the egg whites on high speed until combined, about 2 minutes. Beat in the sour cream, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients until just incorporated. With the mixer still running on low, pour in the milk (and the green food coloring, if using) and mix just until combined. You may need to whisk it all by hand to make sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl. The batter will be slightly thick.
- Pour batter evenly into cake pans. Bake for around 21-23 minutes or until the cakes are baked through. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, it’s done. Allow cakes to cool completely in the pans set on a wire rack. The cakes must be completely cool before frosting and assembling.
- Make the frosting: Prepare the cream cheese frosting (see note below).
- Assemble and decorate: Using a large serrated knife, slice a thin layer off the tops of the cakes to create a flat surface. Discard (or crumble over ice cream!). Place 1 cake layer on your cake stand, cake turntable, or serving plate. Evenly cover the top with frosting. Top with 2nd layer and evenly cover the top with more frosting. Top with the third cake layer. Spread the frosting all over the top and sides. (I used a bench scraper to smooth out the sides.) Decorate with garnishes, if desired. Refrigerate for at least 30-45 minutes before slicing. This helps the cake keep its shape when cutting.
- Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: The cake layers can be baked, cooled, and covered tightly at room temperature overnight. Likewise, the frosting can be prepared then covered and refrigerated overnight. Let it sit at room temperature to slightly soften for 10 minutes before assembling and frosting. Frosted cake or unfrosted cake layers can be frozen up to 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before decorating/serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Food Processor | 9-inch Round Cake Pans | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Cake Turntable | Straight Icing Spatula | Bench Scraper | Marble Cake Stand or Serving Platter | Cake Carrier (for storage)
- Pistachios: I usually use unsalted raw pistachios. However, the cake is still sweet even if you use salted pistachios. Salted actually adds extra flavor! You can use roasted or raw (not roasted), whichever you prefer.
- Full Fat Ingredients: Whole milk and full-fat sour cream are strongly recommended for the best taste and texture. A full-fat plain yogurt would work instead, though the cake may not be as light. Same goes with a lower fat milk.
- Food Coloring: While the pistachio crumbs tint the batter light green, I added 1 *very teeny* drop of green food coloring to help brighten the green color. This is completely optional!
- Frosting: My recipe for cream cheese frosting will be enough to decorate your cake like I did in these photos. Minimal on the edges with more frosting inside and on top of the cake. Do you want more frosting? If so, make the amount of cream cheese frosting included in my carrot cake recipe.
- Room Temperature Ingredients: All refrigerated items should be at room temperature so the batter mixes together easily and evenly. For more information, read my post about the importance of room temperature ingredients.
- Bundt Pan: This cake batter will fit in a 10-12 cup Bundt pan, but I’m unsure of the exact bake time. Use a toothpick to test for doneness.
- Here are my pistachio cupcakes!
If I want to make these into cupcakes, how long should I bake them and at what temperature?
Hi Reg, you can use this recipe for about two dozen cupcakes, baking for about 19-22 minutes at the same oven temperature. Or, for a smaller yield, use our pistachio cupcakes recipe instead — same great taste and texture!
I loved this recipe! The cake came out beautifully. I was wondering what would happen if I used 1) more butter (2 vs. 1/2 sticks) and buttermilk instead of milk. I found the cake to be a teeny bit dry.
Hi Leslie, we’re glad you enjoyed it! You can replace the whole milk AND sour cream with buttermilk. Use 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml). We don’t recommend adding more butter. Here’s more about how to prevent dry and dense cakes.
I wanted to make Pistachio Tres Leches using this cake as the base, do you think it would work well. I want the cake to have pistachio flavour as well, so this cake seems like a really good idea. Maybe if I use whole eggs instead of just egg whites, that would make it little denser and not so light, so that it can absorb the milk mixture? Please guide me I really love your recipe
Hi MP, we haven’t tried a tres leches cake using this recipe before. You’re right, it is quite a light and delicate cake, so it may not be the sturdiest choice for the added milk. We don’t recommend using whole eggs here, as it may also require some tweaks to the other ingredients. It may be best to search for a pistachio cake recipe that’s specifically developed to use whole eggs and produce a tighter crumb. Let us know what you decide to try!
I was wondering if this could be done in 2x 6inch pan and how do I adjust the recipe?
Hi CBau, I think so, but you would have to make just 1/3 of the recipe. 2 6-inch round pans holds 8 cups batter, and 1 9-inch round pan holds 8 cups batter, and this recipe makes 3 9-inch layers. See cake pan sizes and conversions for more info. You could also use this pistachio cupcake recipe to make the right amount for a 3-layer 6-inch cake, if you have 3 6-inch pans.
Can I just use 2 9 inch rounds and bake a bit longer to make a 2 layer rather than 3? I don’t own 3 9 inch pans. If so, how much longer would the cook time be?
I have made this cake three times and it’s a new family favorite!! We absolutely love it!
I wanted to see though if I could use whole eggs vs just the whites? I feel so bad wasting yolks when eggs are so expensive! And if so what would the conversion be?
Thanks!
Hi Ticia, we’re so glad it’s a favorite! Only using egg whites ensures that the crumb is not weighed down by the fat in egg yolks. We don’t suggest substituting whole eggs. Here are some recipes that call for egg yolks, if you’d like to browse.
This may seem like a silly question, but would this cake be good with a vanilla swiss buttercream? Or do you recommend something else for the frosting? I am making this for someone’s birthday and would like to be able to pipe some decorations!
Hi Claudie, absolutely! Vanilla buttercream or Swiss meringue buttercream would both work great here.
Thank you! I’ve also been thinking about adding something between the layers. I had thought about either some pistachio paste or raspberry compote. Do you have any tips? I’m worried the raspberry compote would overwhelm the cake’s flavor.
Hi Claudie, either would be great! We have this raspberry cake filling, which also has tips on how to fill a cake.
Hi Sally, can the egg whites be substituted with cartoned liquid egg whites? Would that affect the flavor and texture?
Hi Aswini, you can use carton egg whites if needed. The carton should give instructions for replacement quantities.
Hi I just wanted to know if I can do this recipe in half easily please for a smaller cake
Hi Sadaf, yes, you can halve this recipe. Here’s everything you need to know about cake pan sizes and conversions.
Okay this is my first comment ever on a recipe but I have to! Seriously this cake is out of this world good. I made it for my own birthday instead of getting a cake because it’s better every time i make it! Such a hit even with my 3 year old!
I chanced upon this, read the great reviews and used the pistachio cupcakes version of recipe as advised to make a 6″ cake. Used a tad of rosewater coz I didn’t have almond essence, and frosted with cream cheese + whipped cream frosting.
IT WAS SOOOO DELICIOUS.
Moist, light, definitely tasted like pistachio (unlike what one reviewer said). I did add a hint of green food colouring and the cake was just so pretty to look at also.
This is now my new favourite cake. Will bake again and again! Thank you!
I may have missed it in the recipe, but how many tins do you split the batter into?
Hi Jessica, you’ll use three 9 inch cake pans here.
By any chance so you know how much batter I would need for a full size baking sheet pan (18″x26)?
hi, I am wanting to make this for a wedding because it’s a cake flavor that was requested by the bride. I was wondering If the pistachios you are using our raw shelled, unsalted, or are they roasted unsalted shelled
Hi Courtney, we typically use unsalted raw pistachios (out of the shell). You can use roasted or unroasted, whichever you prefer. Hope the cake it a hit!