Pistachio Cake

Jump to Recipe

Many countries throughout centuries have adapted their own version of a pistachio cake.

During the Victorian age in the mid 1800’s, Stuttgart, which was the capital of Germany at the time, published a recipe for a wonderful pistachio cake. There is also an Italian variation of a pistachio cake, and the classic Watergate cake recipe that originated from the Watergate break-in scandal of June 17, 1972. All in all, pistachio cake is traditionally a delicious cake that has been enjoyed throughout generations by different countries, cultures, and traditions.

My birthday was back in March, and I have been wanting to celebrate this year’s 30th milestone by creating a cake with a flavor I would love ever since. 

But life has its way of keeping you busy, and so, I was only able to get around to it just now. And that’s how it’s like – life gets in the way of your ideas, your plans, the steps you would like to take, and what you would ultimately like to do. Don’t let it bring you down. Don’t give up. Ride the wave. This cake and this plan has been special to me since before March, and it continued to be my plan regardless of when I was able to make it. 

It just happened to be now. :)

I thought to myself, what cake flavor would I ultimately enjoy? And the combination of pistachios and a cream cheese buttercream (which is my absolute favorite) is divine!

The slight acidity of from the cream cheese combined with the nuttiness of the pistachios are heaven. Decorating it was extremely fun too!

It’s usually harder to have a refined finish with a cream cheese buttercream, so that was the first challenge. To combat that, I added more confectioners’ sugar to be able to keep the buttercream stiffer than usual for a smoother finish, and because of wanting that cream cheese buttercream, I had to create a stiff buttercream for the decorations with the Russian piping tips since the cream cheese wouldn’t hold the shape.

I used gel food coloring so it wouldn’t interfere with the consistency of the buttercream I made, and divided the buttercream into different bowls to color them into different colors. I chose my Russian piping tip nozzles and inserted them into piping bags.

Interestingly, Russian piping tips don’t have numbers on them, so figuring out what kind of flower you will get purely depends on observing how the holes look like and searching what outcome you’ll get, or testing it out yourself. The best thing with Russian piping tips is creating flowers with more than one color, and a simple way to do that is using your off-set spatula to scrape the color around the piping bag, then place the main color with a spatula at the center.

I do love piping my own roses and flowers, but Russian piping tips have their own kind of fun and I can’t wait to experiment with decorating more cakes, more piping tips, more colors, and more designs!

Funnily enough, I was excited to create the cake, preplanned all the ingredients I would need, and spent the time to create the sponge on the first day and left it to cool so I would be able to make and decorate it on the second day. Little did I know, I completely forgot to get the cardboard cake pad! Not only is it essential for transporting the cake, but it’s also essential to have it slightly bigger (2 inches) from your actual cake to be able to make transport easier, to be able to make decorations at the base, and just overall have a sturdy cake! I was so determined to do it, however, that I managed to find a flat plate that fits the cake and did it anyway. I was not going to postpone this cake any longer! I wanted that cake! Hahahaha

Unfortunately, it did make decorating the cake slightly harder to perfect but at least I had a makeshift solution… AND cake. Lesson learned!

Print

With ImageWithout Image

Pistachio Cake

( 0 reviews )

Yield: 121x2x3x4x5x

Author: Yasmeen's Kitchen Diary

Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 25 MinInactive time: 15 MinTotal time: 1 H & 10 M

This pistachio cake is made with finely ground and delicious pistachios! It's soft, fluffy, vanilla-y, and nutty, and pairs perfectly with a silky smooth cream cheese buttercream!

IngredientsUSMetric

Pistachio sponge:

• 120 g (1 cup) unsalted pistachios
• 210 g (1¾ cup) self-raising flour
• 115 g (½ cup) butter, softened at room temperature
• 150 g (¾ cup) sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 115 ml (½ cup) whole milk
• Optional: a tiny drop of green food coloring

Cream cheese buttercream:

• 225 g cream cheese
• 150 g unsalted butter, softened in room temperature
• 350 g confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Buttercream for decorating:

• 150 g unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
• 340 g icing sugar, sifted
• 3-5 tablespoons of whole milk/other liquid
• Gel food coloring

Instructions

To prepare sponge:

1. Preheat oven to 177ºC (350ºF).
2. Line and grease 2 6-inch pans.
3. Blend pistachios until finely ground.
4. Combine the sifted flour and pistachios in a bowl.
5. In a mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and milk until smooth and silky.
6. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. Do not overmix.
7. Divide the batter between 2 6-inch pans evenly.
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

To prepare cream cheese buttercream:

1. In a bowl fitted to a standing mixer with a paddle attachment, cream butter on medium speed until creamy.
2. Add the room temperature cream cheese, vanilla extract, and salt. Beat on medium speed until they're well combined.
3. Turn down the mixer speed to low and add the sifted powdered sugar slowly, one tablespoon at a time, until combined.
4. Once all the sugar is combined, beat it on medium speed for a minute until it's smooth and fluffy.

Buttercream for decorating with Russian piping tips:

1. In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter until soft and smooth.
2. On low speed, slowly incorporate the confectioners' sugar until well combined.
3. Add the milk one tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is achieved.
4. Divide the buttercream and add gel food coloring for decorating.

Notes

• Self-raising flour already has baking powder and salt incorporated. If using cake flour or all-purpose flour, add 1 teaspoon of baking powder and ½ salt.
• The amount of confectioners' sugar determines the consistency of the frosting, depending on the look of the cake you would like to achieve. If you want a more rustic look, less sugar can be added. If you would like a more refined look, the frosting should be on the thicker side.
• Gel food coloring is best to add in the buttercream for decorating since it doesn't add more liquid or change the buttercream's consistency.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

523.31

Fat (grams)

30.29

Sat. Fat (grams)

16.15

Carbs (grams)

58.69

Fiber (grams)

1.45

Net carbs

57.24

Sugar (grams)

43.09

Protein (grams)

6.78

Sodium (milligrams)

186.18

Cholesterol (grams)

94.88

All rights reserved for Yasmeen's Kitchen Diary/Yasmeen AlSawwaf

cake, pistachio, birthday cake, cake decorations

dessert

Bon appétit!