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slices of iced pistachio cake on a large white platter topped with chopped pistachios

Original Pistachio Cake Recipe (Pistachio Bread)

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4.70 from 10 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Cooling Time 1 hour
Total Time 2 hours 20 minutes
Yield 1 loaf (8 servings)
Category Dessert
Cuisine Amercican
Author Lauren Grant

Description

A simple yet elegant and unique Pistachio Bread prepped in a food processor and baked in a loaf pan. It's a cross between a cake and a sweet quick bread. Finished with a lemon glaze, this cake is nutty, citrusy and perfectly sweet.

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Ingredients

Pistachio Cake

Lemon Glaze

Instructions

Pistachio Cake

  • Heat oven to 325ºF with rack set in middle position. Line an 8½ × 4½-inch loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides.
  • Process 1 ¼ cups (160g) pistachios, 1 cup (200g) sugar, and ½ teaspoon salt in a food processor until finely ground into a powder, but not a paste, about 1 ½ minutes; scraping down sides and bottom halfway through.
  • Pulse 8 tablespoons butter into pistachio mixture (10 pulses), then process until the mixture is clumpy yet smooth and shiny, about 2 minutes, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl halfway through. (The mixture will go from very loose and batter-like to clumpy yet shiny—this is what you want.)
  • Stream in 3 eggs (150g) and ⅓ cup (85g) buttermilk and blend to combine, 1 minute. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and ½ teaspoon almond extract; process to combine.
  • Add 1 cup + 2 tbsp (145g) whole-wheat flour, 1 ¼ teaspoons (6g) baking powder, 1 teaspoon ginger, and ¼ teaspoon cardamom; process just until combined.
  • Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle granulated sugar over top (1–2 tablespoons). Transfer to oven and bake until cake is tall, browned, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 65–72 minutes.
  • Let cake cool in pan on rack for 15 minutes, then run a knife around cake and use parchment overhang to lift cake out of pan; transfer to cooling rack and cool completely.

Lemon Glaze

  • In a medium-small bowl, whisk together 1 ¼ cups (140g) confectioners’ sugar, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest, and a pinch of salt until smooth.
  • Pour glaze over cooled cake, allowing it to drip down sides of cake, and sprinkle with chopped toasted pistachios. Let glaze set, then slice and serve.

Equipment

Food processor
Loaf Pan
parchment paper
food scale

Notes

After adding the butter, the mixture will first turn into a loose, pale batter, but keep processing until it is no longer pale, is somewhat balled up and is very shiny.
Make Ahead:
  • The cake can be made up to 1 day ahead of time. If you plan on making it ahead, we recommend waiting to glaze it until the day of serving.
  • To store this cake, wrap it tightly in foil and store at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Topping Alternatives:
  • Skip the lemony glaze and instead serve slices of this cake with lemony whipped cream. Simply add a teaspoon or two of grated lemon zest to whipped cream (you can also add a splash of lemon extract).
  • Top with whipped cream, fresh berries, chopped pistachios and lemon zest.
  • Give it the ultimate cake treatment and frost the cake with a lemon buttercream.
Toasting Pistachios:
The best way to toast shelled pistachios is to arrange them on a baking sheet and toast them in a 350ºF oven until golden brown and fragrant. Depending on how many nuts you’re toasting and how spread out they are, this can take anywhere from 8 minutes to 18 minutes. Keep an eye on them! 
All of our loaf cakes and quick breads are developed in 8½ × 4½-inch loaf pans. If your pan is larger, you will need to keep an eye on the cake as it bakes—it’s likely it will need less time to bake.
If you want this to be “green cake” you can add a few drops of green food coloring to the batter.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 piece (1/8 recipe)Calories: 475kcalCarbohydrates: 60gProtein: 9gFat: 22gSaturated Fat: 8.5gCholesterol: 100mgSodium: 276mgFiber: 4gSugar: 43g
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