This is the best pistachio cake! It's extra moist with lots of nutty pistachio flavor, filled with pistachio cream, topped with luscious cream cheese frosting and chopped pistachios. This easy pistachio cake recipe is the perfect thing to bake for a pistachio lover in your life!
For this cake, pistachios are finely ground and added into the cake batter for the best nutty pistachio flavor, then, after baking, the cake is poked with holes and filled with a delicious pistachio cream. The cake is frosted with silky cream cheese frosting and swirls of more pistachio cream. I can't even describe how good the flavor of this cake is! It also has a slight natural green color so it would be great to bake for St. Patrick's Day!
If you're looking for other desserts, try my pistachio cookies, Andes mint cookies, cornflake cookies, banana cream cake, lemon poppy seed muffins, white chocolate cupcakes or chewy peanut butter cookies!
Why You'll Love This Pistachio Cake
It has the best nutty flavor- It's made with real pistachios instead of instant pistachio pudding mix, so there's no artificial pistachio flavor!
It's a super soft and moist cake. This cake is super moist thanks to the ground pistachios and buttermilk. One bite and you'll see what I'm talking about!
It's frosted with cream cheese frosting. The frosting makes each bite of cake just completely melt in your mouth.
It's filled with homemade pistachio cream. Each bite is full of creamy pistachio goodness!
It's all homemade! This cake is super easy to make, and it's all from scratch! No yellow cake mix, instant pudding or cool whip here; we're making everything homemade!
Simple Ingredients for Pistachio Cake
- Pistachios- I like to use roasted and salted for the best pistachio flavor!
- All Purpose Flour– gives the cake the best, most tender crumb
- Granulated White Sugar– used to sweeten and add moisture to the cake
- Eggs– make sure they are room temperature
- Unsalted Butter-make sure it is softened
- Buttermilk– makes the cake extra moist
- Vanilla Extract – adds a sweet note to the cake
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda– help to give the cake it's fluffy texture
- Salt– helps to bring out all the flavors
- Powdered Sugar– used to sweeten the cream cheese frosting
- Heavy Whipping Cream- used to make the pistachio cream
- Sweetened Condensed Milk- used to make the pistachio cream
- Cream Cheese- used to make the delicious frosting
Step by Step Instructions
See the recipe card below for complete measurements and baking time.
STEP ONE: Add the pistachios to a food processor and pulse until finely ground.
STEP TWO: In a medium bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Then set aside the flour mixture.
STEP THREE: Add the softened butter and granulated white sugar to a large bowl. Cream together for 2 minutes with an electric mixer. (You can also use a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment.)
STEP FOUR: Then add in the eggs and vanilla and mix on medium speed until pale in color and smooth, about 1 minute.
STEP FIVE: Add in the buttermilk the dry ingredients a little at a time until all is added. Mix on medium-low speed until combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as necessary.
STEP SEVEN: Fold in the ground pistachios.
STEP EIGHT: Pour the batter into a greased 9 x 9 baking pan lined with parchment paper.
STEP NINE: Bake the cake and then let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack until completely cool.
STEP TEN: While the cake cools, make the cream cheese frosting. Add the butter to a large mixing bowl and mix on high speed with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Then add in the cream cheese and mix until fluffy. Sift in the powdered sugar and mix until fluffy again. (If using a stand mixer, use a whisk attachment.)
STEP ELEVEN: Make the pistachio cream by grinding the pistachios in a food processor until they turn into pistachio butter. Add the pistachio butter and sweetened condensed milk to a bowl and whisk to combine. Add the heavy cream to medium bowl and beat it with an electric mixer on high speed until firm peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the pistachio mixture. Transfer to a piping bag until ready to use.
STEP TWELVE: When the cake is completely cooled carefully turn the pan over to release the cake. Transfer it to a serving plate. Poke holes on the top of the cake using a wooden stick or the handle of a wooden spoon.
STEP THIRTEEN: Pipe the pistachio cream into the holes of the cake.
STEP FOURTEEN: Frost the top of the cake with a thick layer of cream cheese frosting. Swirl pistachio cream into the frosting and sprinkle with chopped pistachios.
FAQs
How do I store this cake? Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to three days.
What pistachios are best for baking? I personally love to use roasted and salted pistachios for this recipe. I buy the de-shelled ones for convenience!
Can I add almond extract to the cake batter? If you're looking for that classic pistachio flavor found in pistachio pudding, add ¼ teaspoon of almond extract to the batter.
Do I have to use the pistachio cream filling? No! If you don't want to, skip this step and just frost the cake with cream cheese frosting!
Why is my batter not green green? This cake has a natural light green hue, but if you want a truly green cake, add a few drops of green food coloring to the batter.
Pro Tips
For best results, measure your flour properly. This is always my #1 baking tip. Do not ever scoop a measuring cup into your flour. This will always lead to using too much flour. Instead, scoop spoonfuls of flour into your measuring cup and swipe excess flour off with the back of a knife. Or better yet, weigh your flour. 1 cup of flour equals 120-125 grams.
Make sure all your wet ingredients are room temperature. You'll have the best textured cake when the ingredients are room temperature instead of cold. Cold wet ingredients can make any kind of cake batter/donut batter "gummy".
If you make this cake please leave a star review! Tag me on Instagram @inbloombakery_ so I can see! Follow me on Pinterest for other dessert ideas!
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📖 Recipe
Pistachio Cake
Ingredients
For the Pistachio Cake
- 1 cup (140 g) pistachios (deshelled)
- 2 ¼ cups (281 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 10 tablespoon (140 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ½ cups (300 g) granulated white sugar
- 3 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) vanilla
- 1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk, at room temperature
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- ¾ cup (168 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 6 oz (170 g) cream cheese, cold
- 2 ¼ cups (293 g) powdered sugar
For the Pistachio Cream
- ½ cup (70 g) pistachios (deshelled)
- ½ cup (150 g) sweetened condensed milk
- ½ cup (120 ml) heavy cream
Instructions
For the Pistachio Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x9 pan with non-stick spray and line it with parchment paper.
- Add the pistachios to a food processor and pulse until finely ground.1 cup (140 g) pistachios (deshelled)
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Then set aside the flour mixture.2 ¼ cups (281 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- Add the softened butter and granulated white sugar to a large bowl. Cream together for 2 minutes with an electric mixer. (You can also use a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment.)10 tablespoon (140 g) unsalted butter, softened, 1 ½ cups (300 g) granulated white sugar
- Then add in the eggs and vanilla and mix on medium speed until pale in color and smooth, about 1 minute.3 eggs, at room temperature, 1 tablespoon (15 ml) vanilla
- Add the buttermilk and the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients a little at a time and mix on low speed until the cake batter is combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as necessary.1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk, at room temperature
- Fold in the ground pistachios.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan.
- Bake the cake for 38-44 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean from the center.
- Then let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack until completely cool.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- Add the butter to a large mixing bowl and mix on high speed with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes.(If using a stand mixer, use a whisk attachment.)¾ cup (168 g) unsalted butter, softened
- Then add in the cream cheese and mix on high speed until fluffy, about 1 minute.6 oz (170 g) cream cheese, cold
- Sift in the powdered sugar and mix on low speed until combined. Then mix on high speed until fluffy again.2 ¼ cups (293 g) powdered sugar
For the Pistachio Cream
- Grind the pistachios in a food processor until they turn into pistachio butter.½ cup (70 g) pistachios (deshelled)
- Add the pistachio butter and sweetened condensed milk to a bowl and whisk to combine.½ cup (150 g) sweetened condensed milk
- Add the heavy cream to medium bowl and beat it with an electric mixer on high speed until firm peaks form.½ cup (120 ml) heavy cream
- Fold the whipped cream into the pistachio mixture. Transfer to a piping bag until ready to use.
Assembling the Cake
- When the cake is completely cooled carefully turn the pan over to release the cake. Transfer it to a serving plate. Poke holes on the top of the cake using a wooden stick or the handle of a wooden spoon.
- Pipe the pistachio cream into the holes of the cake.
- Frost the top of the cake with a thick layer of cream cheese frosting. Swirl pistachio cream into the frosting and sprinkle with chopped pistachios. Then serve!
Made this for my husband, who loves pistachios. We all really enjoyed it! Had to bake mine closer to 60 minutes as it wasn't ready in 45. Suspect it will taste better tomorrow after chilling and the filling saturates the cake a bit more.
Is it possible to substitute gluten free flour? If so should I use the same amount?
Hi Sharon, I have not tested this recipe with GF flour. I would suggest using a 1 to 1 equivalent and using the same amount as regular flour.
Would this work in a 9x13 pan..??
Hi Shannon! Yes but the baking time would definitely be less. I have not tested this cake in a 9x13 pan but I would suggest starting with 28 minutes, and adding more time as necessary.
This looks delicious, can I make as a bunt or single layer cake
Are the pistachios roasted or raw?
Amazing flavor !
I use roasted, but you can use either raw or roasted 🙂
Yay! So glad you liked! It's one of my all time favorites!
This cake looks amazing! Would I be able to bake it in a 9in round pan?
Hey Cheryln! It would depend on how deep the 9 inch round pan is. If it's 3 inches deep I would say yes you could!
This cake is amazing!! It is not overly sweet and is super moist. The cream cheese frosting is perfect for it, and the pistachio cream is delicious. Also it was fun to make pistachio butter as I’ve never done that before! Will definitely make this again.
This looks so delicious: do you have a recommendation for adapting this for someone who can’t do cream cheese? My guess would be making double the pistachio cream, but wanted your thoughts. Came here from tik tok, thanks for posting such beautiful desserts!
Hi! I been looking for pistachio cake that doesn’t use artificial food coloring Ana your looks so good and moist. I want to make this cake for my husband’s birthday, but I was wondering if I could make it in 8” round cake pan? I want to stack at least 3 layers, any suggestions. Thank you!
Do you recommended salted or unsalted pistachios?
I agree, took an hour to bake lol
I have a pretty standard GE oven
9x12 pan
Pistachio cream and cream cheese frosting was so good but my cake turned out really dry. I baked it in a round pan for about 35 min.
This was super delicious. We paired with a scoop of pistachio ice cream, and oh boy! So good. Mine cooked quickly in a 9x9 pan; I cooked it thirty eight minutes, and I think I should have taken it out sooner because it was a little dry. Good to know for next time. Additionally, the recipe made a LOT of frosting and filling which is fine if you like a lot of frosting, but it was so much I couldn't use it all. When I make it again, I'll definitely make half servings of the frosting/filling. Otherwise, it was delicious. Perfect amount of sweetness. I will definitely be making it again.
Many recipes call for cake flour. Can I use it in this?
Hi Dorothy. Yes, you can use cake flour. Because cake flour weighs less than AP flour, be sure to use 2 1/2 cups, spooned and leveled, which equals 280 g.
Hi
It looks so good.I was wondering what size of round pan would be good for this recipe?
Thanks
Hello, can you omit the pistachio cream from the recipe ?
Joan
Yes you can!
Wow, this was absolutely amazing! As a lover of all-things pistachio,
this was to die for, especially the next day! First off, all of the flavors melded together from the cake to the frosting & cream were heavenly! It was an "uninvolved" cake for novice bakers yet looks like a bakery cake when it is finished. Definitely a keeper in my rotation of favorites of savories. Thank you so much for sharing this incredible recipe, love it!
How amazing does this look??!! Any idea on bake time if I converted them to cupcakes? Think they would turn out nice?
Hello I am really interested in making this cake it looks incredible but I only have round tins what would be the equivalent pls ?
Hi Andrea. You could use a 9 inch round pan. Just make sure it's at least 3 inches high 🙂
Would it be possible to make this a day ahead without the cream cheese frosting and frost it the next day for serving?
Loved making this! I used a 9” round and did a base layer of philo dough for fun. Took about 45 min in a gas range middle rack. I recommend adding an extra little sprinkle of flakey salt to the finished product. So yummy! Thank you!
P.s. i LOVED the structure of the written recipe. Good work!
This cake is amazing! Strong pistachio flavor, which I often find is lacking in other pistachio recipes. Everyone I’ve made this for has raved about it, one person going so far as to say it was the best cake they’d ever tasted. It’s now one of my go-to cake recipes. A few things:
• It’s not technically difficult, but is a bit time consuming.
• My food processor has a hard time making pistachio butter from 1/2 cup nuts (it’s just not enough volume and after it gets reduced to a certain amount, most of it just sits under the blades as they spin. It might be easier to double the amount of pistachios before putting in the food processor and then just using half of the nut butter it makes for this recipe).
• It would help to know how much pistachio cream to set aside for swirling on top of the frosting at the end, rather than hoping for enough leftover in the piping bag. Depending on how many holes put in the cake, the amount needed for piping has varied for me.
• I always need the full baking time in my oven to get a toothpick inserted in the center to come out clear. This typically results in a cake with a big difference in textures from the edges to the center - the edges being pretty browned, and the center still collapsing a bit after cooling. Hasn’t negatively impacted the cake I don’t think, just something to be aware of.
This was my first time on your site, and I must say I'll be back for sure. Yum! We enjoyed this recipe very much, I have filed the directions away in a safe place. It had just the right amount of sweetness. I've never made a poke cake before, and I think that was what I enjoyed the most. Every bite had a burst of goodness 🙂
This was my first time on your site, and I must say I'll be back for sure. Yum! We enjoyed this recipe very much, I have filed the directions away in a safe place. It had just the right amount of sweetness. I've never made a poke cake before, and I think that was what I enjoyed the most. Every bite had a burst of goodness 🙂
Hi, sorry, i have a question, can i use milk instead of buttermilk?
Hi Mary Jane! If you don't have buttermilk on hand you can use 1 cup of milk mixed with 1 tbsp of white vinegar or lemon juice.
Do you think there is enough batter in this recipe to make an 8” layer cake? Want that look for a birthday celebration.
Hi Tina! You could definetly do 2 8-inch cake layers, but if you wanted to do 3 I would do 1.5 of the recipe!