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Active Time
15 minutes
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Total Time
1 hour
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 forraw pistachiosor roasted ones here. Using raw nuts will give the cake a pretty, faintly green hue;roasted pistachioswill 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 ahandorstand mixerto 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 ofpowdered sugaror serve slices with a dollop of ice cream or freshlywhipped cream.
Ingredients
8 servings
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 withnonstick 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 was first published in November 2007.Head this way for more of our easiest cake recipes →
Leave a Review
Reviews (35)
Back to TopThe recipe calls for 1/2 cup (8 oz) whole milk. 1/2 cup milk weighs 4 oz, not 8. so what is the correct amount of milk to use - 1/2 cup of 8 oz? They can't both be correct
Anonymous
6/11/2023
Nice
Jade
3/13/2023
Made 4 of these cakes and sandwiched with vanilla buttercream for a naked wedding cake. Cake was made to recipe with the suggested reduction in sugar and changed the orange zest for lemon. Beautiful, moist, flavoursome would definitely make again.
Momac2
Northern Ireland
8/29/2018
My 2nd time making this cake. I used a scant cup of sugar as I will serving the cake with creme anglaise. It takes a lot longer than 40 mins to bake this cake...... I am using an oven thermometer. At 40 mins, the cake was still a bit soupy. Ended being in the oven for 56 mins
53greendragon
LLosLos Angeles, CA angelesLos AngelLeLos angeles, CAs
11/23/2016
Easy and lovely, decorated with powdered sugar design, sliced oranges and scattered pistachios. Would post a photo but seems that's not possible. Will make again!
mmparisi
Milan
5/1/2016
我发现这道菜在寻找一种to repurpose the ground pistachios strained out of a batch of pistachio gelato I'd made. It seemed just too wasteful to throw them away! Since this cake recipe called for 3/4 cup whole I used 1/2 cup of the strained ground pistachios, reducing the milk just a little to compensate for the moisture in my strained nuts. The cake turned out beautifully, and I've enough pistachios left thst I've frozen to make 3 more.
vgibbs
Victoria, BC
1/13/2015
This is a yummy recipe. It was a big hit at my St. Patrick's Day party.
Oliverich
10/18/2014
首先这是伟大品尝蛋糕。但我公司于ld rather call it orange cardamom cake. You cannot taste the pistachio. You can use any other nut and I am sure it would not make any difference. Cardamom and orange are both too strong. Pistachio is too mild to pair it with these flavors. That said the cake itself tastes awesome. I would probably use a little but less sugar next time. Its a tad bit on the sweet side. Thats fine if you are eating it with whipped cream or by itself. But if you are going to frost the cake then I would suggest reducing the sugar by about 1/4 cup. I made it in a bundt pan and used a simple sugar glaze with some orange juice mixed in. The sweetness of the cake balanced nicely with the citrus of the glaze. Yummy.
shimmering
Parsippany, NJ
5/15/2014
This cake is awesome! Baked it in a deep cookie sheet and then cutout rounds and using it for the base of a Baked Alaska. The orange zest gives it a wonderful subtle flavor. Thanks!
jtalvy
Staten Island, NY
4/12/2014
This cake is really delicious, I have used it for a sculptured birthday cake(birdcage) and am now making a three tier wedding cake with it.
sharmar
Waikerie South Australia
3/9/2014
This cake was the perfect ending to a dinner of marinated grilled lamb chops, spinach and roasted pear salad and mashed potato and roasted cauliflower gratin. The pistachio, cardamom and orange had just the right Mediterranean flair. I glazed the cake with a powdered sugar, cream cheese, vanilla, orange flower and Elderflower liquor glaze. It was sooo good! Couldn't get the computer to let me give it four forks.
shivece
Canterbury, NH
2/18/2014
Very tasty and moist, with a good balance of flavors. The cardamom gives it a really nice spice.
evarlet
10/7/2012
The cake is delicious. I made frosting with a stick of butter & about 1/2 a box of powdered sugar, plus a bit of milk and about a teaspoon of rose flower water (not rose extract), which really made it delicious. It came together quickly and easily. Once the cake cooled, it was really sturdy, so I understand why the person who used it to make a wedding cake had such success.
nonsequiteuse
Texas
9/8/2012
I made about 15 times this volume and turned it into a wedding cake, with a vanilla-orange cream cheese frosting off of the raspberry fondant wedding cake. It holds up really well as a wedding cake because of the density, and tastes delicious.
rmm257
Ithaca, NY
5/17/2012
I made this cake for a dinner party and it was a great success. I added a nice rose buttercream frosting and decorated it with chopped pistachios for a little added flair.
Anonymous
1/15/2012
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