Name: Easy Pistachio Cake
Cook time: 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: ¾ cup unsalted shelled pistachios (approximately 4 ounces; not dyed red); 1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour; 2 tsp. baking powder; 1 tsp. ground cardamom; ¼ tsp. kosher salt; ½ cup whole milk; ¼ tsp. vanilla extract; ½ cup (1 stick; 4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened; 1 cup (200 grams) sugar; 2 Tbsp. finely grated orange zest (from about 3 medium oranges); 3 large eggs

A slice of pistachio cake topped with whipped cream on a plate with a fork.

Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Drew Aichele

The flavor of this Italian-style pistachio cake depends largely on the nuts, so first things first, make sure your pistachios are fresh. We highly recommend buying pistachios that are already removed from their shells to cut down on prep time (and to save your fingers from the pain of prying open four ounces of nuts). You can opt for raw pistachios or roasted ones here. Using raw nuts will give the cake a pretty, faintly green hue; roasted pistachios will give the cake a bolder pistachio flavor but a less striking appearance. The choice is yours.

You’ll blitz the nuts in a food processor, which is where we should stop to say, yes, if you have pistachio flour on hand, you can substitute it in this recipe by weight. (If you’re going this route, you can skip the food processor and simply whisk the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl.) However, you will need either a hand or stand mixer to cream the butter and sugar together and finish mixing the cake batter.

The other big players here are cardamom and orange zest, complementing the pistachios with floral brightness. Want to boost the nuttiness even more? You can add about ⅛ tsp. of almond extract along with the vanilla. This simple dessert needs little adornment, but if you like, you can dust the cooled cake with a bit of powdered sugar or serve slices with a dollop of ice cream or freshly whipped cream.

Recipe information

Total Time
1 hour
Yield
8 servings

Ingredients

¾ cup unsalted shelled pistachios (approximately 4 ounces; not dyed red)

1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. ground cardamom

¼ tsp. kosher salt

½ cup whole milk

¼ tsp. vanilla extract

½ cup (1 stick; 4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup (200 grams) sugar

2 Tbsp. finely grated orange zest (from about 3 medium oranges)

3 large eggs

Preparation

Step 1
Arrange oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 9-inch-diameter round metal cake pan and line bottom with parchment paper. Butter parchment, then dust pan with flour, knocking out excess. (Alternatively, spray pan with nonstick spray, line with parchment paper, and spray the parchment.)
Step 2
Using food processor, pulse pistachios until finely ground, about 40 seconds. (Do not overprocess, or mixture will become paste.) Add flour, baking powder, cardamom, and salt and pulse briefly to combine.
Step 3
In small bowl, combine milk and vanilla.
Step 4
In large bowl using electric mixer at medium speed, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 1½ to 2 minutes. Add orange zest followed by eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce speed to low and add pistachio and milk mixtures alternately in batches, beginning and ending with pistachio mixture and beating after each addition just until combined.
Step 5
Spread cake batter evenly in prepared pan and bake until wooden skewer, toothpick, or cake tester inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack 10 minutes, then run knife around cake to loosen and invert onto rack. Remove paper and serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Editor’s note: This recipe for pistachio cake was first published in November 2007. Head this way for more of our easiest cake recipes →