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
Hi Sally!
Just made pistachio cake, it is truly delicious. Thank you for all the wonderful recipes.
My cakes didn’t rise much though. Not too big an issue, as they turned out super tasty anyways. But I was just wondering why? Is that normal when there’s lots of nuts in it? I ground and sifted mine.
Thank you!
Millie
Hi Millie! Were the cakes dense? If the texture was perfect, then there isn’t an issue! If the cakes turned out dense, we recommend double checking to make sure your baking powder and soda are fresh. We find they lose strength after just 3-4 months. Here’s a helpful blog post about preventing dense cake as well. So happy you loved the cake!
Hello, thanks for getting back to me. Nope, cakes weren’t dense. Just absolutely delicious with cream cheese frosting too. I also scattered fresh raspberries throughout the cake. Yum. Thanks again, and I will make sure I always use super fresh baking powder and soda. Xx
Can’t wait to try this recipe!! I am on a pistachio kick lately so much that I made some pistachio paste to use in different recipes. Could I add some to your cake? Thank you! Will definitely be trying this out this weekend.
Hi Rosalva, we haven’t tested this recipe with pistachio paste so can’t say for sure. You can try adding about 1/2 cup to the batter and leaving out the ground/chopped pistachios. Let us know how it goes!
Thank you for this! Such a simple recipe yet so indulgent and rich! A true treat indeed!
The only thing I would alter is the sugar next time , was way too sweet ! Would reduce sugar by 1/3rd next time around.
This is an amazing recipe – Elegant, sophisticated flavor, texture. Is a winner with family and friends – since first coming across this, I’ve baked this cake almost every month.
I baked this today. It was very tasty and moist. Very summery cake.
I used an 8 inch cake pan and only baked two cake layers rather than the three. It took about 28 mins.
I struggled with getting that pistachio powdery consistency when blending so my cake had some chunks to it (which I didn’t mind as it gave it a crunch)
I may reduce the almond extract to 1/2 tsp next time. I do think it can be a little overpoweing.
Thank you for the recipe Sally!!
Can I sub non dairy sour cream & cream cheese?
Hi Carol, we haven’t tested it ourselves, but we’d love to know if you give anything a try.
Absolutely in love with this recipe. The cake was a major, major hit! I used curd instead of sour cream because it isn’t readily available and your homemade cake flour.
Hi Sally, I wonder if this recipe works with pistachio paste? Do you know what will be the difference using nuts or paste? Hope you can help clarify my doubts. Thanks
Hi Manda, we haven’t tested this recipe with pistachio paste so can’t say for sure. You can try adding about 1/2 cup to the batter and leaving out the ground/chopped pistachios.
Hi Sally!
This recipe is amazing, but my question is how do I keep the cake moist? When it’s fresh out of the oven it was moist but after a day in the fridge, it disappeared. I still love the cake but any suggestion on how to keep the moist?
Hi Sally,
Can I use heavy cream (instead of whole milk and sour cream?) Or is there an alternative to using whole milk and sour cream?
Hi Kate, you can replace the whole milk and sour cream with buttermilk. Use 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml).
This cake is wonderful! I love to bake and try new recipes and this one is a keeper! One of my sons said it should be called Biscotti Cake. It is moist, flavorful and has a great texture. It seems like an old fashioned cake, one that satisfies and comforts. I added 1/2 box of pistachio instant pudding mix with the dry ingredients hoping to increase the pistachio flavor as my husband loves pistachios. I baked it in a Bundt cake pan and it was perfect. (I loosely covered it with foil to keep the top from becoming too dark.) Next time I’m going to try a cream cheese marzipan icing…
Can I make it and leave it for one night at room temp for the next night or should I refrigerate?
Hi John, After decorating anything with buttercream or cream cheese frosting, it’s fine for 1 day at room temperature. After that, it’s best to refrigerate it. As always, use your best judgement and whatever you are comfortable with.
Hello Sally!! I’m making my dads birthday cake and typically I make a poppy seed cake with custard center but I’m thinking that a pistachio poppy seed would be a fun change up! I am planning on adding 2-3 tablespoons seeds to the batter when I put in the pistachio crumbs…thoughts? Too many too little? Do you think the cake will hold the extra grit? I have made your classic vanilla cake as the base in previous birthdays! Thanks!
I’m not sure if you followed the recipe correctly. I’ve made this exactly as written several times and the cake is not dense. It’s very fluffy and not overly sweet. Perhaps try rereading the recipe?
A great cake! Thank you. I only had 1 cup of whole pistachios so I added 2 1/2 cups of cake flour, instead of 2 1/3 cup – ended up needing 2 more tbsp of milk that way. Baked it in 3 layers but had to reduce the total baking time to 17 minutes each. It came out delicious & very moist, thanks. Paired it with your cream cheese buttercream from your coconut cake recipe, omitting the coconut & substituting almond extract. Topped with berries and it came out beautifully!
Hi Sally, I dont have 9″ pan, so i’m gonna use an 8″, would you happen to know the conversion? thanks 🙂
Hi Colin, You can use your 8 inch pans with no changes to the recipes. The bake time may be a minute or two longer because your layers will be thicker, so keep an eye on them while baking.
Do you use bleached or unbleached cake flour? What brand do you use. I want to make sure I get the right thing. I’m not a baker so I don’t want to buy the wrong thing. Thanks
Hi Donna, It won’t make a huge difference either way, but we always try to use unbleached flour when we can. We love King Arthur Flour brand.
Hi Sally! This looks wonderful and I want to make it for my dad’s birthday next week, but I don’t have enough pans or oven space to make three layers. Do you think I could use one/two thirds of the ingredients in your recipe to make a one or two layer pistachio cake?
Hi Tania, You can reduce the amount of batter if you wish. Or make the recipe as written – no need to reduce the recipe– and divide between the two pans. Bake for a couple extra minutes until baked through.
Hi Sally, would you recommend adding ground cardamom to this cake to give extra flavor? If so, how much should I add? Thank you for all of your amazing recipes!
Hi Vidya, You can add anywhere from 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of ground cardamom to this batter for a different flavor. Let us know if you try it!
Hi there! I have wanted to try this recipe for a long time but didn’t get to it until a couple of days ago… it is SOOOOO delicious! I made it a 2 layer cake and the frosting amount was just perfect. I didn’t have berries so I used the leftover pistachios on the entire top part of the cake which made it look very fancy. And I even felt it tasted better the following day like your carrot cake! It’s amazing!!! Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
Absolutely amazing! Tastes so natural. I skipped the almond extract(not a fan) and reduced sugar to 275 gms instead of 350 and it just came out perfectly sweet. I am not sure if the recipe calls for sea salt or iodized, I put way less since Iodized salt could be more concentrated and din’t want to risk it.
Also it took much longer to cook through for me like 35 mins or so. Over all the cake turned out just great! Thanks for sharing!
Hi sally!
I wanted to make this into a 3 layer 10 inch cake. What modifications do I need to make. Should I make more batter or can I keep my quantities the same?
Thanks!
Nooreen
Hi Nooreen, For different pan sizes you can use the post Cake Pan Sizes & Conversions to help calculate how much batter you would need.
Absolutely DELICIOUS. This is the best smelling cake I’ve ever made. Pistachio is such an underrated flavor and smell. Thank you so much for this recipe!
This is another level of cake. It was moist and had an amazing taste. I used almond essence instead of extract and it was delicious. Thank you for sharing this recipe. Definitely a keeper ♥️
This cake has a wonderful pistachio taste and is nice and light. I used regular flour and it was still fine. I made it with lemon curd, fresh whipping cream, and strawberries.
Absolutely delicious! I cannot stand the consistently of cake flour, so I used all purpose and it was wonderful. Everyone mentioned it being super light in texture. It wasn’t too sweet, and the icing was perfect! Going to eat for breakfast, haha! Thank you so much.
Do we bake all 3 cake pans at once? Or one at a time?
Hi Taylor, if your oven is big enough you can certainly bake all 3 cake pans at once. Otherwise, bake 2 at a time and leave the remaining batter covered at room temperature while the first 2 layers bake. Enjoy!
Hi Sally!! Just a quick question, can I use 1/2 cake flour and 1/2 regular flour? Thank you!
Wow this looks amazing. I can’t wait to make it for my daughters birthday in 2 weeks. I wanted to make a very different cake and this is perfect.
I want to ask if I can substitute oil for butter. Would that work ok?
Made this cake this past weekend and it turned out lovely! Best cake I’ve ever made. The crumb and texture was amazing.
Changes I made:
-used a bundt pan instead of the 3 layers; baked it for 35min at 350
-did not put the cream cheese icing on it; personally I think it was sweet and delicious on it’s own. It didn’t need it. I think it would’ve been way too sweet at that point.