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My Pistachio Cake is So Good!
Every once in a while I create a new cake recipe that I become utterly obsessed with. I’ll make it anytime someone comes over or when I’m invited as a dinner guest somewhere. It was Olive Oil Cake for, like, 3 years, then my Almond Cake for many, many occasions. Recently, it’s been my Chocolate Loaf Cake…that was until I developed this Pistachio Cake.
Move over every other cake because this one has the most gorgeous green color (just from pistachios—no artificial food dye around here), a soft and moist texture, and a fragrant rose water-infused cream cheese frosting that pairs so well with the nutty, sweet pistachio flavor. I’ve brought this cake over to friends’ houses twice so far and it’s been a 10 outta 10 for everyone! I hope you love it, too!
This recipe is part of our monthly Cooking Challenge for March 2025!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Pistachios: You can try raw or roasted pistachios. Roasted pistachios will add a nuttier flavor. Just be sure to use unsalted!
- Water: Boiling the pistachios with water will allow you to easily remove their skin.
- Milk: You can use any kind of milk—whole, low-fat, almond, oat.
- Dry ingredients: Flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, and salt! While I haven’t tried it, you can substitute the all-purpose flour for your favorite gluten-free blend. Also, I recommend using aluminum-free baking powder to avoid any metallic taste.
- Wet ingredients: Olive oil, eggs, Greek yogurt, vanilla extract! I love the flavor olive oil gives this pistachio cake. You can use another type of oil if that’s what you have, like coconut or avocado. If you don’t have Greek yogurt, sour cream could work instead!
For the Frosting
- Cream cheese: Make sure the cream cheese is softened so it’s easy to get fluffy.
- Butter: I prefer to use unsalted butter and just add a pinch of salt myself.
- Powdered sugar: This is also known as confectioner’s sugar! It’ll mix into the frosting super quickly.
- Rose water: If you can’t find this, I’ve used vanilla extract before.
Popular Additions
- Spices. Mix in up to ½ teaspoon of ground cardamom, cinnamon, or nutmeg into the dry ingredients.
- Chocolate. Who doesn’t love chocolate? I know I do! I want to try stirring ½ cup of chopped, white chocolate or chocolate chips into the cake batter before baking!
- Citrus. Lemon and pistachio are so good together. Try zesting 1 lemon and adding the zest to the cake. You could also mix a little lemon juice into the frosting!
- Coconut. Substitute coconut milk for the milk and top the pistachio cake with toasted coconut flakes.
- Top with crushed pistachios and dried rose petals. My recipe doesn’t call for this, but it adds crunch and flavor I highly recommend it. (the rose petals are what is pictured on top of the cake with the pistachios)
How to Make Pistachio Cake
The first step of this pistachio cake is homemade pistachio butter, which will make sure every bite of the cake has so much nutty flavor!
Make the Pistachio Butter
Make the Cake Batter
Cream Cheese Frosting with Rose Water
My Best Pistachio Cake Recipe Tips
- Add rose water to your frosting. Rose water pairs well with pistachio and a splash in the cream cheese frosting adds a fragrant touch. I usually have to order rose water online, but it keeps for a while and is so worth it. (Fact: It’s really, really good in lemonade!)
- Let the cake cool in the pan first. If you try to remove it right away, the cake could easily crumble! Letting it cool in the pan first will help it set.
- Sift the powdered sugar if you’re dealing with clumpy powdered sugar. I use a fine-mesh strainer to do this! It takes less than a minute and will make sure there are no clumps in the cake’s frosting.
Recipe Help & FAQs
Kept in an airtight container in the fridge, the cake will last 4-5 days! You can add pieces of parchment or wax paper in between the cake slices to stop them from sticking together.
Yes, you can! But I would only freeze the cake unfrosted. Wrap the cake in a layer of plastic wrap, then a layer of foil. It’ll keep in the freezer for up to 6 months! I recommend thawing it in the fridge for a few hours before slicing.
I highly recommend it. The pistachio skins will only muddy the color of the cake–and we want a nice, bright green color!
More Pistachio Dessert Recipes:
- Pistachio Pudding
- Pistachio Baklava
- Pistachio Cookies
- Pistachio Butter Cups
- Lebanese Rice Pudding
- Dubai Chocolate Bar
- Layali Lubnan (Semolina Pudding)
- Pistachio Biscotti
- White Chocolate Bark
If you try this Pistacho Cake recipe or any other recipe on Feel Good Foodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below! It helps others who are thinking of making the recipe. We would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots, share it on Instagram so we can repost on Stories!
Pistachio Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups shelled pistachios
- 2 cups water
- ½ cup whole milk warmed
- Cooking spray
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup olive oil
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Frosting:
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon rose water or vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
Pistachio Butter
- Place pistachios and water in a small pot. Bring to a boil, then boil for 3 minutes. Drain and set on a clean tea towel. Pull the towel over the nuts and rub them gently to remove the pistachio skin. Discard the pistachio skins.
- Add the pistachios to the bowl of a small food processor with the warmed milk. Allow them to soak for about 30 minutes to help infuse the pistachio flavor. Then, process for about 5-10 minutes, depending on the strength of your food processor, scraping the bowl down often, or until the mixture resembles a smooth nut butter.
Pistachio Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the pistachio butter, oil, eggs, yogurt, and vanilla extract until evenly incorporated.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix just until combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for about 20 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Place cream cheese and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until smooth and fluffy.
- Add powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth and light.
- Once the cake is cooled, spread frosting on top. Garnish with crushed pistachios, if desired.
Equipment
- Round 9" Cake Pan
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
