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 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 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 (scaled up to cover the cake!). 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! I have a detailed post on how to assemble and decorate a layer cake, which would also be a helpful guide!
More Baking Recipes You Will Love!
- Pistachio Shortbread
- White Cake
- Pistachio Cupcakes
- Lemon Pistachio Loaf
- Lemon Blueberry Cake
- Coconut Cake
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
Cake
- 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*
- optional: 1 tiny drop green food coloring*
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 16 ounces (452g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 cups (480g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- pinch of salt, to taste
- optional: garnishes such as berries and leftover pistachios
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease three 8-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.
- Pour 1 and 1/2 cups (180g) of pistachio crumbs in a large bowl. (Reserve the remaining pistachio crumbs for garnish.) 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 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 bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the dry ingredients, then start the mixer on low speed. With the mixer running, slowly 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.
- Divide batter evenly among the prepared cake pans. Bake for 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: In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together on medium-high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high speed and beat for 3 minutes until completely combined and creamy. Add more confectioners’ sugar if frosting is too thin, a little milk if frosting is too thick, or an extra pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet. Frosting should be soft, but not runny.
- Assemble and frost: First, using a large serrated knife or cake leveler, layer off the tops of the cakes to create a flat surface. Place 1 cake layer on your cake turntable, cake stand, or serving plate. Evenly cover the top with frosting. Top with 2nd layer, more frosting, and then top with the 3rd layer. Spread remaining frosting all over the top and sides. Decorate the sides and top of the cake with the remaining pistachios. Refrigerate cake for at least 30 minutes before slicing. This helps the cake hold 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 for 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 | 8-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 gel food coloring to help brighten the green color. This is completely optional!
- 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 roo-temperature ingredients.
- 9-Inch Pans: You can divide this batter between two 9-inch cake pans. The bake time is closer to 30 minutes, same oven temperature. Use a toothpick to test for doneness.
- 9×13-inch Pan: This batter fits nicely in a 9×13-inch pan. The bake time is closer to 38 minutes, same oven temperature. Use a toothpick to test for doneness.
- Bundt Pan: This cake batter will fit in a 10- to 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.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Just made this cake last night! I didn’t have sour cream or yogurt, so I substituted homemade buttermilk (1/2 cup of milk + 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice), I only had salted pistachios, and I cut the sugar some, by 1/3 cup, and the cake turned out light and wonderful with a fantastic flavor! It paired beautifully with a strawberry cream cheese frosting. I’m wondering if you beat the egg whites separately and then fold them into the beaten butter/sugar/vanilla mixture (like you do with your gorgeous red velvet cupcake recipe), would that make the cake even airier? Or maybe too puffy for layers?
Forgot to rate it! Amazingly delicious cake! Even without any frosting, it is so tasty! I will definitely make this again.
Hi Sally I’m making this now and used a coffee grinder to make pistachio powder. It’s very fine but I have 3+ cups from the 2 cups shelled pistachios. Way more than the 1.5 expected cups. Should I still only use 1.5 cups or will that throw the recipe off?
Hi RA, You didn’t grind up the shells, correct? “Shelled” means that the nuts have been deshelled. (Just checking here.) Regardless, use the amount–1 and 1/2 cups– called for in the recipe.
Hi Sally,
Yup, it was 2 cups already shelled pistachios. I was just surprised how 2 cups ground was so much more than 2 cups shelled. I ended up using 1.75 cups as I was worried that I would not use enough and the consistency might be off. Turned out not to be an issue, the cake was amazing! I used a cardamom buttercream to top it off. Thank you for this amazing recipe!
Hi Sally! How would you adapt the recipe for 3 8″ pans?
Thank you!
Hi Rachel, If you use 8 inch pans your layers will be a bit thicker than mine. The bake time may need an extra couple of minutes but keep an eye on them and to test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, it’s done.
I plan on making this tomorrow. I made the cupcake version a while ago an omgsh they were so light and airy, absolutely wonderful. I see the serving size is 12. The images are 3 layers, but what size pan did you use for the 3 layers?
Hi Angela, I use three 9-inch cake pans. The 12 servings are very generous size pieces 🙂
I made this cake today. I followed the directions exactly. On a scale of 1-10, it is a 25 !
I made it in a Wilton Anniversary Bundt Pan. It had plenty of room. I baked it at 350 F for 53 minutes. 50 minutes would have been plenty. I let it sit in the Bundt pan on a rack for ten minutes and the cake came out of the pan cleanly. I let it cool completely for two hours on rack on a cool porch. I then cut the cake horizontally. I frosted between the two layers and then did the cake. I did not need to start with a crumb layer and had enough frosting to do the whole cake. I used the exact amount of Pistachio Nuts but had almost 3/4 cup left after making the batter. I threw the leftover pistachios in the mixer with the frosting. The cake is now one of my favorites. I gave some to 6 other people and they called me to tell me what a great baker I am. I told them all I had to do was read the directions and follow them. Sally did all the “heavy lifting.”
I made this for Easter Sunday and it was fabulous and received nothing but compliments. Even my son who never wants anything but chocolate gave this high praise. The cake is very moist and has such an incredible authentic pistachio flavor, nothing artificial like you normally would get by using extracts. I’ll be making this again and again!
For Easter, I made this recipe as cupcakes with your lemon cream cheese frosting! They came out great! Made 18 cupcakes. Thanks for the recipe!
Sally,
I need this cake for Tuesday afternoon. I want to bake it ahead but not freeze it. Will it keep in the fridge for the two days? I have all t he ingredients already.
I made this cake for an early birthday celebration for dad. The pistachio flavor really shines through and the icing is complimentary. I served it at room temperature but everyone thought it wouldve been better refrigerated.
I would make this again.
I made this for my husband’s birthday while stuck at home during isolation since we had pistachios on hand. It was the highlight of a tough week. It was amazing and so good- thank you for a great recipe! I baked in 2 9 inch pans with buttercream- delicious! Thanks for making a day special.
Followed the recipe verbatim. The cake didn’t cook so much as the top layer burned and the rest was liquid
Hi Lola! If you decide to try my cake recipe again (which you should, it’s highly loved by many!), this could easily be fixed with a few adjustments in your oven. First, try baking the cakes on a lower oven rack to prevent the top and edges from cooking too quickly (and the batter not cooking in the center). Similarly, tent the cakes about halfway through bake time with aluminum foil to help them bake a little more evenly. Finally, you can try lowering the oven temperature and baking for longer (which ALWAYS helps) so the cakes can cook a little more evenly. Make sure you’re using the correct size cake pans, too. Thank you!
This was my first time ever baking a cake and it turned out pretty well!
I had an issue with the baking time, the middle of the cakes just wouldn’t set while the edges began to brown and I ended up baking them way longer even with the foil on top and on the bottom rack. So the cake came out a little dry.
Also, the layers practically didn’t rise. I read through the comments and found that freshness could be an issue. All my ingredients were fresh except for the baking soda, could it have affected the rise that much?
This was a practice run ahead of a dinner party in a few weeks so I’ll be trying this again with new baking soda, reducing temp to 325 and adding the foil earlier.
While it turned out delicious, personally I feel like I want to add something like cardamom or another complimenting flavor to make it pop even more. Do you have any suggestions? If so, would you recommend adding it to the batter or frosting?
Thank you so much! This was a great, easy to follow recipe.
Hi Vicky, we’re so glad you had success with this recipe! They aren’t especially tall layers, but fresh baking soda should certainly help. You can absolutely experiment with other flavors. Cardamom would be great in the batter or the frosting. If you add to the frosting, it will be easier to start with a small amount and then adjust further to your liking. But either will work great. Please do let us know what you decide to try!
This is a spectacular cake! I have made the cake and the cupcakes. So delicious and delicate and full of pistachio flavor. I do use Pam with flour spray and parchment (which I then spray again with the Pam) and have no problems at all with the getting the cake out of the pans. I top with a mascarpone whipped cream frosting. Delicious!
Hi Sally – I’m going to make the pistachio cake this weekend. I was thinking of using your brown butter cream cheese frosting instead. What do you think of that combination?
The brown butter cream cheese frosting from my banana layer cake would be fantastic with this!
Hi Sally,
Thank you for the recipe, it was the first time for me making a triple layer cake with frosting. I made these yesterday and everyone loved it, it was so light and moist.
However, I reduced the sugar to half in both the cake and cream cheese frosting.
Despite that, the frosting was still very sweet for my liking.
The first time I made this cake it came out perfectly. My family and friends could not get enough, and it has been requested that I make it again. I bake using your recipes at least once a week. No recipe has ever gone wrong. My family and I are grateful; the desserts we serve our guests are very popular and extremely tasty. I can’t wait to bake for Easter! Thank you, Sally, for helping me get to the next level of baking.
Hi Sally,
I’m from Canada and live on a dairy farm so I’m all about rustic looking (not perfect) desserts! I think your cake looks absolutely beautiful with the semi-naked sides and the added flowers and fruit and nuts! You should be so proud because this is probably my favourite decorated cakes on your blog!! I’m a big fan….keep the rustic cakes coming
Can you use this batter to make muffins?
You can see how I made the same flavor cupcakes in my post Pistachio Cupcakes (and they are still wonderful without the frosting if you wish to skip it).
Hi Sally!! Can i use 8×3 pans as well? Any changes to the baking time? Super excited to try this one! Looks amazing!!!
Sure can! The layers will take longer to cook through since they will be thicker. Use a toothpick to test for doneness.
I love the taste and the pillowy texture of this cake, but because it has such a lightness to it, it was hard to work with, and it turned into crumbles when I tried taking it out of the pan and moving it afterwards too. I greased and floured my pans, and I waited a while after I removed them from the oven in order to turn them out, but still they crumbled to dust with hardly any touch at all. I think next time I would recommend lining the pans with parchment.
I would definitely make this again, because it is so light and unique. I will just need to work out a special way to handle it. Maybe freezing the layers after they come out of the pans, in order to successfully frost them.
Do you have any idea of the bake time for cupcakes?
Hi Joanie, Cupcakes take 19-22 minutes. You can see the full instructions in in Pistachio Cupcakes.
Hi Sally,
I don’t have a KitchenAid mixer, only a small handheld one. Can I use this? Will it contribute to over-mixing, or making the cake tougher, since the attachments are much smaller than the ones the KitchenAid uses. Any tips to make this better with a hand held?
You can use a handheld mixer with no problem. I often do!
Hi Sally, I just made this for my family. It was a huge hit! I’ve tried a few of your recipes and they have all turned out great. Thank you for sharing with us!
Just finished making this and my layers came out flat. Any thoughts? I followed the recipe. Smells amazing, just flat.
Hi Nicole, Do you mean that your cakes didn’t rise at all? How was the texture of the cake when you cut it? Be sure that you are using cake flour (not all purpose) and that your baking soda and baking powder are both fresh!
This is the best cake ever for many reasons. First and foremost, it is soft and luxurious and you can taste the pistachios. I followed the recipe exactly and had no issues. I followed the cream cheese frosting and used about 1/2 to 3/4 cup less sugar and it was just fine. It is just a personal taste, nothing wrong with the original. I had some leftover chopped pistachios so I covered the cake with them. Just gently patted into the frosting. It was green pistachio heaven. I wish I had taken a picture.
The second reason I loved this recipe is that it is one of the few that turned out like the picture and as explained. I am a baker, and I can’t tell you how often my cakes do not turn out as nicely as the author says. Thank you, Sally. Must say, that my nephew was impressed as were all the guests at his birthday party. He left me free reign to bake what I wanted for his birthday and this was a hit.
My question is, have you tried any other nut in this cake instead of pistachios? The cake is so amazing, that I was thinking of trying it with almonds or walnuts perhaps. It is so easy to and with such flavor, that I want to try other flavors as well.
Again, thanks and I look forward to trying some of your other recipes.
We love this recipe. We, my guy and I, tweaked it just a tad. We omitted the sour cream, the almond extract, and the food coloring because we didn’t have any on hand, but it still turned out wonderfully moist, totally green, and the flavor profile is off the charts fantastic. We started out with two pounds of pistachios with their shells, and shelled them ourselves, we opted not to blanche. We used two cups of crumbed, as you pictured, pistachios in the cake and we pulsed the remaining pistachios to an almost butter state and used that in lieu of the butter in your cream cheese frosting. It turned out so well, we impressed ourselves. I wish I could attach pictures because it is a beautiful vibrant green and the pistachio flavor is perfectly retained. This was our first homemade, from scratch, cake. I suspect our presentation will get better with practice and more baking pans haha. Thank you for your time and the awesome recipe
-Erica and Brandon
Hi Erica and Brandon, I’m so glad you were able to make this cake work for you and the frosting sounds delicious! You can always email me a picture or tag me on social media so that I can see it – I love seeing photos of my recipes so much!!
It doesn’t look like anyone else had this problem but my layers stuck very badly to the pan. I totally mangled the first one and managed to rescue the other two by slicing them across the center. I greased and floured as directed – not sure what happened.
Next time I will use parchment. There will definitely be a next time because this cake is amazing!
Hi Joanne, If you have problems with your pans sticking I highly recommend using parchment paper! I always lightly spray my pans with baking spray, place a parchment round in the bottom, and then spray it again. Works every time!
One day, my husband ordered a slice of pistachio cake at an upscale cafe in our city. I said ‘I can probably make this pistachio cake’ and found your recipe. It is highly requested by friends and family for dinner parties, birthday parties and now for a pre-Christmas dinner at friends. Will need to try ALL your cakes as I love to bake and don’t want to only make pistachio cake. Thank you so much for the simple recipes to follow and the cream cheese icing is divine So happy I discovered your website!
Sally, this cake is delicious! I have tried a few pistachio cake recipes and am also very against pudding as an ingredient so I was eager to try this. It looks great, the texture is lovely and overall it’s wonderful. Thanks for sharing! Next on my list is your pistachio cookies which look just as delicious 🙂
Half a batch of this cake makes 2 x 7” rounds which is a nice small size for the house although it will disappear fast!
Hi Sally! Will this cake freeze and thaw well?
Hi Maddy! Yes, this cake freezes and thaws well- make sure it’s sealed tightly before freezing.