Pistachio Cake Recipe

Finely ground pistachios enrich every mouthful of this cake! Whipped honey mascarpone icing completes the pistachio cake.  

– 2 cups roasted and salted shelled pistachios I used Wonderful Pistachios (275 grams) – 2 ¾ cups cake flour spooned & leveled (315 grams) – 1 tablespoon baking powder – ½ teaspoon salt – 1 ⅓ cups buttermilk at room temperature (320 ml) – 2 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract – ½ teaspoon almond extract

Ingredient

– 3 to 4 drops green liquid food coloring optional, but recommended – 1 cup unsalted butter softened (2 sticks; 230 grams) – 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar (350 grams) – 5 large egg whites at room temperature

Direction

Make pistachio cake: Heat oven to 350°F (180°C). Separate three 8-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray and parchment paper bottoms.

1

Process pistachio shells into fine crumbs. Avoid overprocessing pistachios! Watch pistachios crush in a high-speed blender. Quickly make pistachio butter from crumbs.

2

Mix cake flour, baking powder, salt, and pistachio crumbs in a large bowl. In another bowl, mix buttermilk, vanilla, almond, and green food coloring. 

3

Low-speed A stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a big basin with a handheld mixer may cream butter. Mix all sugar on medium speed for 4–5 minutes until foamy.

4

Add flour to creamed butter and sugar three times, alternating with buttermilk at moderate speed. Avoid overmixing by whisking each ingredient until incorporated.

5

In a clean mixing bowl, whip egg whites on medium speed until stiff peaks form (raise beaters). After gently folding half the egg whites into the batter, add the rest until barely combined.

6

Spread cake batter evenly between prepared cake pans with a spoon or spatula. Bake cakes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 23–28 minutes. 

7

Also See: 

Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce