This easy Pistachio Cake Recipe made from scratch requires just a few minutes of hands-on preparation time and 10 ingredients. It stands out above all the other recipes because it's made from scratch with freshly ground pistachios. There are absolutely NO artificial colors or cake mix here. By the way, have you tried my pistachio cookies yet?
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Video Tutorial
Why You Will Love This Pistachio Cake Recipe
- Made 100% From Scratch. Other pistachio cakes rely on cake mix, pudding, or other processed ingredients to create this cake recipe but ours doesn't!!
- Simple Cake Recipe. There's no need to complicate things here! All you need are TEN ingredients to make the best pistachio cake.
- Flavor Combination. We keep things simple for the cake but then add a simple orange-flavored syrup that fully enhances the pistachios creating the most amazing flavors.
Love baking cakes? You've got to try this Texas Sheet Cake and our Air Fryer Vanilla Cake next!
Ingredients
- Pistachios: These are the stars of the show so don't take any shortcuts. I use green peeled pistachio kernels grade A from Iran. They have a dark green color because they are harvested before they are fully ripened and therefore don't turn yellow. This results in an intensely green cake without using food coloring. Keep in mind, the color, appearance, and taste of this cake will depend greatly on the type of pistachio you use. You can use raw or roasted but it's important to make sure they're unsalted! If you have any pistachios left, you can make a batch of pistachio biscotti next!
- Sour Cream: Adding sour cream to your cake keeps the texture very moist and rich. You can use the same amount of Greek yogurt instead for a similar result. You can also use cream cheese in place of it but will need to whip the cream cheese with milk to get a thinner, sour cream-like texture. Remember that making substitutions for sour cream may alter the cake’s taste and texture.
- Butter: Adds moisture and richness to the cake. If you prefer to cook with oil you can use it instead but the texture will be slightly moister and denser. If you’re going to use oil, use ½ cup (or 120 ml) of oil in place of the butter.
- Vanilla Beans: If you want the best vanilla flavor you want to use vanilla beans. Another good option is to replace it with two teaspoons of vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract.
- Fresh Orange: The juice and zest add the perfect amount of orange essence to the syrup poured over the top of the cake.
How to Make Pistachio Cake
- Step 1: Place the pistachios in a food processor and pulse them into fine crumbs. Transfer the ground pistachios to a bowl and mix together with the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Step 2: Beat the butter and sugar until fluffy, pale, and creamy. This will take about 2 minutes.
- Step 3: Add one egg at a time and mix into the sugar and butter mixture after you add each one.
- Step 4: Add the sour cream and vanilla to the bowl and stir to combine.
- Step 5: Alternate adding the dry ingredients and milk. Be sure to start and end with the dry ingredients.
When you're done mixing the batter will be very thin.
- Step 6: Transfer the cake batter to a parchment paper layered 9" baking pan. Bake for 25-28 minutes until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
- Step 6: Make the orange-pistachio syrup and drizzle it over the cake just before serving.
Expert Tips for Success
- Don’t over-grind your pistachios. Grind just long enough to finely chop the pistachios. Too long and you will end up with a paste.
- Use the right pan. The timing for this recipe is based on using a 9-inch round cake pan. You can also use an 8" (20cm) pan but you will need to adjust the baking time to about 10 minutes longer as the cake will be a bit thicker.
- Make it a day ahead. I recommend making the cake a day before serving. as the flavor develops overnight when the cake is allowed to sit before serving. This makes it a delicious make-ahead cake.
Storage
- Storing: Store leftover cake at room temperature in an airtight container for up to three days or in the refrigerator for up to a week. Note the cake may dry out the longer it sits.
- Freezing: You can freeze the cake after baking but for best results freeze it before adding the syrup. Let the cake cool completely, then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and place it in a freezer bag. It freezes well for up to 1 month. To thaw, unwrap, and let sit at room temperature for 1-2 hours. Then, drizzle the syrup on top as desired.
- Make Ahead: You can make the syrup in advance as it won’t crystallize, however it will get thick. Just reheat it again for a minute to make it liquid again. If the consistency doesn't seem right you can add more orange juice. Avoid baking the cake more than 24 hours in advance. It's really best when eaten fresh.
Pistachio Cake Recipe FAQs
Yes, that is possible but be sure to leave out the salt in the cake. It's important to use only lightly salted as if they are too salty it will affect the outcome of your cake.
Baking with almond flour is different than with all-purpose flour. It leads to a completely different texture. Because I have never tried it on my own to make this recipe with almond flour, I sadly can’t recommend it. I am also pretty sure that the cake would end up too dense with almond flour.
Yes, you can totally double the recipe to make a two-layer cake. Just remember not to pour the syrup topping until just before serving, as your cake might end up mushy, soggy, and soaked.
No, you don’t need food coloring. If you use the right type of pistachios your cake will be a vibrant green color.
Yes, you can! When I'm in the mood for chocolate, I like to serve this cake with a few dollops of chocolate cream cheese frosting on top. I use the frosting from my Banana Chocolate Cake and only make half of the recipe. It will also work well with a regular cream cheese frosting too!
More Easy Cake Recipes to Try
If you love easy cake recipes, then you've come to the right place. I'm sure you will love these recipes as well!
If you tried this Pistachio Cake Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Recipe
Easy Pistachio Cake Recipe From Scratch
Ingredients
- 1 cup pistachios, shelled, unsalted
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated white sugar
- 3 large eggs
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 2 vanilla beans* (or 2 teaspoon vanilla extract)
- ½ cup milk
OPTIONAL: orange pistachio syrup
- ⅓ cup pistachios, roasted, shelled, salted
- ¼ cup granulated white sugar
- 1 large orange - zest and juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F / 175°C. Line the bottom and the sides of a 9" (23cm) springform pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Place pistachios in a food processor and pulse into fine crumbs. Don't grind too long. Otherwise, it turns into a paste. Transfer to a bowl and add flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl with a stand or handheld mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar until creamy for about 2-3 minutes. Add 1 egg at the time and mix until incorporated. Add sour cream and vanilla* and stir to combine. Alternately add dry ingredients and milk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Stir just until combined.
- Transfer to the prepared baking pan and bake for about 25-28 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 20 minutes. Then transfer to a wire rack to let cool completely.
- Orange pistachio syrup (OPTIONAL): In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, cook pistachios, sugar, orange juice, and orange zest until sugar is completely dissolved and syrup coats the back of a spoon, about 3-4 minutes.
- Pour syrup over cooled cake slices just before serving. Store leftover cake in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days. Reheat leftover syrup to liquefy again, if necessary.
Notes
- Prepping the Vanilla Bean: First, cut off the straight end of the vanilla bean. Then place the tip of your knife below the curled end and cut the vanilla bean through the middle of the bean lengthwise with a sharp knife. Although you don't need to cut it all the way through, it's ok when you do so. Then open the vanilla bean and scrape out the flavorful seeds with the back of your knife. Just use the seeds.
- Don’t over-grind your pistachios. Grind just long enough to finely chop the pistachios. Too long and you will end up with a paste.
- Use the right pan. The timing for this recipe is based on using a 9 inch round cake pan. You can also use an 8" (20cm) pan but you will need to adjust the baking time to about 10 minutes longer as the cake will be a bit thicker.
- Make it a day ahead. I recommend making the cake a day before serving. as the flavor develops overnight when the cake is allowed to sit before serving. This makes it a delicious make-ahead cake.
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Red
I made this cake as muffin like a week ago. This recipe is really cook cause it doesn't use the store bought mix. I accidently left out sugar when I creaming butter, which was a total mistake, hahaha. When I realized that I forgot to put sugar in batter, I already pour the batter into the first batch in the tin, so I added some sugar to each one. I put 3/4 amount of sugar to the rest of the batter, then I baked them. In short, I love both versions. This is so delicious and even less sugar version is delicious, too. I probably make the less sugar version and regular version again. Thanks so much!
Olivia
Can I bake this in a 7-inch cake tin?
Sabine
It would work. However, keep in mind that the baking time needs to be longer because the cake is higher. Check with a toothpick. Hope that helps.
Nes
Ahhhhhh! Thank you for your recipe! I just made the best cake ever. 😀 just swapped the sour cream for yogurt and all purpose for cake flour. Such a simple recipe that yield amazing results.
Sabine
That is awesome! I'm super happy that you like the recipe. Thank you so much for your feedback!
Jessica
This recipe looks really great... But what changes would I make if I wanted a sheet cake?
Sabine
For a 9x13" baking pan, I would calculate the ingredients x 1.5. The eggs would be 4.5 but you can go with just 4 eggs. It can be that the cake takes a couple of minutes longer to bake through. I recommend checking with a toothpick. Hope that helps!
Kazzi
Thanks for the recipe! I made it last night with only one change - I used half vanilla and half almond extract. The cake is good, nice texture, not too sweet. I’d probably do 1/4 tsp salt next time since I use salted butter, and maybe see how it turns out with two eggs instead of three. But overall it’s a nice change from my usual. Thanks again!
Sabine
Yes, when using salted butter, the salt should be reduced. I always use unsalted butter for baking to have full control over the sweetness/saltiness of the baking goods. Thanks for the feedback!
Annemarie
I made minicupcakes from this recipe. Worked perfectly!!!! About 14 minutes was enough and they are stil light but moist. I topped them with a creme cheese frosting with vanilla and orange zest en on every cupcake a fresh raspberry to cut throug the sweetness of the frosting. They were amazing !!!!
Sabine
Wow, that sounds beyond delicious, Annemarie. I need to try this. Thank you so much, I'm super happy that you like the recipe!
Gretchen
I’ve made this cake several times. It is moist and delicious and people rave when I make it. Sometimes I top it with chocolate ganache followed by the orange syrup/pistachios, and other times just the orange syrup with pistachios. Either way it is a wonderful recipe to keep!
Sabine
Aww, Gretchen, this is so nice of you! I'm so happy that you like it. It sounds just wonderful to top it with chocolate ganache. I definitely try this next time! Happy baking (:
Teresa
Hi
How do you roast the pistachios ?
Sabine
Hi Teresa, I bought them already roasted.
Joumana
Made this cake and it was divine! A definite crowd pleaser and high up on my hall of fame cakes. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Sabine
Awww, Joumana! This is so nice. I'm happy that you like this cake. Thank you so much!
Emily wilson
Im going to make this!! I am going to a womens meet up group and think this will be lovely. I dont have a spring form pan though. Do you think cupcakes would work? I have a loaf pan but i worry it wont be as beautiful or dessert-like. I also have 8” cake pans but will it get stuck? What do you think?
Sabine
I'm not sure about cupcakes because of the baking time. Also, the texture is not that light like cupcakes should be. It is more moist than cupcakes. You could bake them in 8" cake pans for sure. They will bake slightly longer till they are baked through, just check with a toothpick. That the cake doesn't stick to the pan, cut out an 8" circle and about 2" strips of parchment paper and line the bottom and the sides of the pan. When the cake is cooled, flip over the pan and the cake will come out easily. Then remove the paper and voilá. Hopefully, this helps.
Emily Wilson
Awesome! Thanks! I'll try it and presuming success I'll snap a pic, too!
Now i just have to decide if I want to frost or not. I'll surprise you! 🙂
Sabine
Great, Emily! I can't wait to see it. (: Happy baking!