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.
More Baking Recipes You Will Love!
PrintPistachio 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!
I am going to make this cake with a mascarpone-cannoli icing that is a bit heavier and denser than regular cream cheese frosting. Would it be recommended to switch out some of the egg whites for whole eggs to make the cake a bit sturdier? Or do you think this has enough structure to stay s up to a heavier frosting without changing anything? I am a bit newer to baking everything home-made and this is for my husbands birthday so I just don’t want to mess it up!
Hi Erin, That sounds delicious! While we haven’t tried that exact type of frosting here, the cake should hold up as written. Let us know if you give it a try!
Your natural decorations on the pistachio cake are beautiful! What is the name of the greenery with the beautiful little pink buds?
Thank you, Wendy! Those are called kalanchoe flowers. When decorating cakes with fresh flowers, be sure that they haven’t been sprayed with pesticides as that could linger on the edible cake.
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. I will try the white cake next.
Hi Sally, I tried to make the recipe like 4 times and it sinks in the middle. Why is that?
Thant you!
Hi Lucia, If you middle is sinking it’s likely under baked. Next time adding even and extra minute or two to your bake time should help. If you notice that your edges are getting too brown before the center is baked through, you can loosely cover the top with aluminum foil.
Came out perfect! I think I beat the cream cheese too much so it was goopier than it should be. Could have fixed it with more powdered sugar but i didnt want the frosting to be overly sweet so I left it as is. Still tasted & looked amazing!. Thanks for the wonderful recipe, Sally!
This was one of THE BEST cakes I have ever made…thank you, Sally, for this awesome recipe!! I did swap out the cream cheese frosting for Swiss Meringue (with 1.5 tsp vanilla and .5 tsp almond extract) because my family doesn’t love cream cheese…and it was unreal!
I just made the recipe as a birthday cake for my wife (6 inches instead of 9 inches baking pan) and used the rest in my mini donut machine. OMG.
The only thing I would change is the cooking time, it was way more than the suggested time.
Love it! Already a classic here!
Hello! I made this recipe last year with three 9-inch cake pans. The result was delicious! I would like to attempt to make this again on a sheet pan so that I can cut layers and stack. Is there a sheet pan size recommended? Thank you!
Hello! To bake in a 9×13 pan: Simply pour the batter into a greased and lightly floured 9×13 pan and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Hi! Can I substitute the sour cream and milk to a non dairy ingredient? Thanks
Hi Suzanne, we haven’t tested any substitutions ourselves, but we’d love to know if you give anything a try. You can also try a dairy-free butter alternative (do not use margarine) or even solid coconut oil.
Can you help me narrow this recipe down just for a 13×9 spring form pan?
Hi Manisha, To bake in a 9×13 pan: Simply pour the batter into a greased and lightly floured 9×13 pan and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Could you use a 13 x 9 pan to bake this recipe?
Hi Brooke, Sure can! To bake in a 9×13 pan: Simply pour the batter into a greased and lightly floured 9×13 pan and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
So delicious! Made this for my son’s birthday and this cake was so light and tasty. I used your vanilla buttercream frosting and it was a perfect pair. Lots of compliments and I will definitely make again. Thank you Sally for another amazing recipe! You’re the best!
i’m getting ready to bake today and wondered if i could use egg whites from a carton instead of cracking 5 eggs? If so, do you know how many grams?
Hi Lilli, You can use carton egg whites if needed. The carton should give instructions for replacement quantities.
Hi Sally! Can I combine vanilla, almond and pistachio extract? In what proportion?
Hi Klaudia, You can use pistachio extract if you can find it! We haven’t tested it but you can try simply replacing one teaspoon of the vanilla with it, so you are using one tsp of each. Let us know if you give it a try.
Why does the recipe calls for 260 grams pistachios to be ground up even though not all of it gets used in the batter? Is it because it’s the extra is meant to be used as garnish? Also, what shade green of food colouring did you use? My green wasn’t as bright. I thought the cake was moist and delicious.
Hi Stephanie, If you have more than you need in the recipe, set it aside for garnish. So glad you enjoyed the cake!
So sorry to be a pain, I have a regular springform pan 9 inch. Is it still make all the batteries above as the recipe states and bake for 40 mins at 350
Hi Manisha, You can use your springform pan but we still recommend baking this cake in at least 2 layers, and not all at once in one pan. Your layers would be thicker so you’ll likely need to add a few extra minutes to the bake time (same oven temperature) and be sure to use a toothpick to check for doneness.
Dear Sally, This looks delicious. I am going to try it today as a bundt cake. Would you recommend a simple glaze or confectioner’s sugar dusting or ???
Thanks for any tips.
Hi Nancy, Both would be good. We also love this cake with strawberry buttercream. The bake time will be longer in a bundt pan. We are unsure of the exact bake time so keep your eye on it and use a toothpick to test for doneness. Enjoy!
Thanks for the advice Sally. I made this as a Bundt cake and baked at 350 for 40 minutes. I would do 35 next time. Just FYI for others. Delicious.
Hello
We made this cake over the Christmas holidays and it was amazing. We just decided to make it again but this time we tried to make it as a Bundt cake instead , it completely flopped. How would you recommend we adjust the recipe for this? Do you suppose it had too much liquid in the recipe to make a Bundt cake?
Hi Elly, This batter should work as is in a bundt pan, but the bake time will be longer. Did you try baking it longer than the layer cake? We are unsure of the exact bake time so keep your eye on it and use a toothpick to test for doneness.
Not a fan of frosting so I baked this as a simple one-layer cake, scaling down the recipe to 2/3 of the batter and baking in a 24cm round springform pan. It tastes delicious, nutty but really soft, and I will be definitely making it again in the future – my mom especially loved it.
SUGAR: the cake came out slightly too sweet for my tastes and next time I will use less sugar, but it’s worth noting that I used unsalted pistachios so I had less flavour contrast to play with. I think the sweetness is probably just right if you’re following the recipe to the letter and adding cream cheese frosting to provide a flavour contrast, BUT if you are planning on using a sweeter buttercreams to frost the cake AND are also using unsalted pistachios you may want to go easy on the sugar.
SOUR CREAM: It’s hard to get here, so I just subbed full-fat yogurt in the same quantity. In hindsight I should have added less yogurt than the amount of sour cream the recipe calls for OR subbed full-fat greek yogurt 1:1, because the density of regular yogurt and sour cream is slightly different. I corrected it by adding slightly less milk than the recipe calls for so that the batter had the right consistency at the end.
Really a delicious recipe 10/10 will try again.
Thank you! I think I will try the strawberry frosting.
Happy New Year and all the best in 2022!
Hi Sally, do you think peanut butter frosting will taste good with this pistachio cake?
Hi Irina, sounds interesting! Let us know if you try it. We love this cake with strawberry buttercream as well.
Execellent recipe – baked 4 x 12 inch layers for the base of my niece’s wedding cake. Held its shape beautifully ,stacked really well, delicious taste. Got loads of compliments. Thanks for sharing it!
Hi Jane, I am also interested in making this for a wedding cake. I am just curious as to the quantity you used. Did you double this recipe? And how long did you bake? Thanks very much!
Excellent recipe!! Baked this for my dad’s birthday and everyone loved it.
This looks incredible and I can’t wait to try! Do you think it would work to bake in a Bundt pan? If so, how long in the oven?
Hi Victoria! This cake batter will fit in a 10-12 cup Bundt pan, but we’re unsure of the exact bake time. Use a toothpick to test for doneness.
Hi Sally! When making this cake, would it fit into 3 6 inch pans? Thanks!!!
Hi Melanie, for a 3 layer, 6 inch pistachio cake, we recommend using the batter from our pistachio cupcakes. It yields the perfect amount! Then use the baking directions for 6 inch cakes.
Melanie, I cut the recipe in half and the batter fit into three 6 inch cake pans. Each layer is slightly taller than an inch.
Hi Sally ..
tried this cake and the it was awesome..can you help me with my doubts, can we use gluten free plain flour and corn flour instead of cake flour ..
Hi Hema, we haven’t tested this cake with gluten-free flour, so we’re unsure of the results. Corn flour would likely give you a very dry, crumbly cake. For best results, we recommend sticking to the recipe as written. So glad you enjoyed this one!
can this cake be made ahead of time? frozen even before assembling into a 2 tier?
Hi Nathaly, absolutely! See recipe notes for freezing details.
Hi, I’m excited to get going on this, but trying to plan my timing. Why does the total time say 5 hours, if the prep time is only 35 minutes, cook time is 22 minutes, and the cream cheese frosting time is 5 minutes?
Oops, nevermind, I see the instruction to let it cool completely before frosting!
This came out extraordinary! I used salted pistachios and it balanced nicely!
Cake was too sweet and also a bit dense, with a few tweaks and cutting back sugar it would be better. I’ll be making it again. Thank you for recipe
Hey Sally, do you think this cake is sturdy enough to put 1-2 more tiers on top? Thanks!
Hi Rachel, with proper cake dowels and boards, this cake should hold up as a tiered cake. It’s a favorite – enjoy!
Hi sally…i always come back to your recipe .My friends loved this cake .. And i am always asked to bake again and again.i always have this doubt . How many days before we can bake any cake. And it is ok to store in the fridge with cling wrap tightly or is anyother way i have to store ..kindly help me in this ..
Hi Mangai, we’re so glad to hear this cake is a favorite for you and your friends! You can bake the cake and store tightly wrapped for just a few days in the refrigerator, but much longer than that and we recommend freezing your cake layers for best freshness.