Looking for something a little different to a regular vanilla cake? Why not give this simple Lemon Pistachio Cake a try. Simple enough for an afternoon treat and fancy enough for dessert!
This is such an easy cake using simple fresh ingredients. It could be served just as it is or, as I love love it, with Greek yogurt. You could even whip up some fresh cream and top it off. Whatever you decide, it’s a great cake with hints of Mediterranean flavour. Much like the Tunisian Orange Cake, it’s a keeper.
Ingredients
- For the Cake:
- Dry ingredients – plain flour, ground almonds, baking powder, salt, sugar
- Dairy and eggs – butter, eggs, Greek yogurt
- Flavours – Vanilla, Cointreau, lemon zest and Juice, lime zest and juice
- Nuts – pistachios
- For the Glaze and Garnish:
- Dry ingredients – icing sugar
- Dairy – milk
- Flavours – lemon juice, lime juice, lemon zest, lime zest
- Nuts – pistachios
REMEMBER, The full recipe and instructions is always found at the end of the post in the recipe card.
Instructions to Make The Lemon Pistachio Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and line a 10 inch round baking tin. Set aside
- In a large bowl sift together the flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter on high speed for about 30 seconds. Add all the sugar at once and continue to mix for 2-3 minutes, until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Whisk in the vanilla extract.
- In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, Cointreau, lemon and lime juice. Stir to combine.
- Add half of the flour mixture to the batter and stir to combine. Pour in the yogurt mixture and incorporate. Add remaining flour mixture and stir just to combine. Fold in pistachios and zest of the lemon and lime.
- Pour into prepared baking tin and evenly spread out. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs. Remove from oven and place on a baking rack to cool for about 10 minutes.
- Loosen the sides with a knife and remove cake from tin and leave on the cooking rack to cool completely.
- Drizzle glaze over cooled cake. Top with chopped pistachios and zest. Will keep up to 2 -3 days in an airtight container.
Notes about the Lemon Pistachio Cake
- Careful not to overbake the cake – If so, you will have a very dry and crumbly cake on your hands. So, check it at 20 minutes. You want to get moist crumbs on the toothpick. If you reached the stage of no crumbs, it will be dry. I have tried many versions of this cake out and I have over baked it before and the result wasn’t the best. The flip side of that, when baked to the right amount of time, it has a beautiful texture that is slightly moist, but light and a little crumbly. But not dry. So, check the cake.
- Pan size – Which lead to about a cake only 2 inches in height. I have done this before in a smaller baking tin and it was higher but needed about 10 minutes longer in the oven. So if you do use a smaller tin of say 8 inches or so, up the time by 5 minutes and check it from there.
Frequently Asked Questions
What flavours go well with this pistachio cake?
It goes great with whipped cream, mascarpone whipped cream, caramel sauce, vanilla ice cream, Greek yogurt and even Lemon curd.
What kind of pistachios are used for baking?
I generally used raw and unsalted pistachios.
Should you toast pistachios before baking?
Although it isn’t essential, you can toast them to give them more of a crunch texture.
Lemon Pistachio Cake
Looking for something a little different to a regular vanilla cake? Why not give this simple Lemon Pistachio Cake a try. Simple enough for an afternoon treat and fancy enough for dessert!
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 292kcal
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 Cup flour
- 1 Cup almonds ground
- 2 Teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon salt
- 1/2 Cup butter
- 1/2 Cup sugar
- 3 Eggs
- 1 Teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 Cup Greek yogurt
- 2 Tablespoons Cointreau
- Juice and zest of 1/2 Lemon
- Juice and zest of 1/2 Lime
- 1/2 Cup pistachios roughly chopped
For the glaze and garnish:
- 1/2 Cup icing sugar
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon lime juice
- 1 Tablespoon milk
- 1/4 Cup pistachios roughly chopped
- Zest of 1/2 lemon
- Zest of 1/2 lime
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and line a 10 inch round baking tin. Set aside
- In a large bowl sift together the flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter on high speed for about 30 seconds. Add all the sugar at once and continue to mix for 2-3 minutes, until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Whisk in the vanilla extract.
- In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, Cointreau, lemon and lime juice. Stir to combine.
- Add half of the flour mixture to the batter and stir to combine. Add the yogurt mixture and incorporate. Add remaining flour mixture and stir just to combine. Fold in pistachios and zest of the lemon and lime.
- Pour into prepared baking tin and evenly spread out. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs. Remove from oven and place on a baking rack to cool for about 10 minutes.
- Loosen the sides with a knife and remove cake from tin and leave on the cooking rack to cool completely.
- Drizzle glaze over cooled cake. Top with chopped pistachios and zest. Will keep up to 2 -3 days in an airtight container.
*A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.
Nutrition Facts
Lemon Pistachio Cake
Amount Per Serving (1 slice)
Calories 292
Calories from Fat 162
% Daily Value*
Fat 18g28%
Saturated Fat 6g38%
Cholesterol 62mg21%
Sodium 255mg11%
Potassium 201mg6%
Carbohydrates 27g9%
Fiber 3g13%
Sugar 15g17%
Protein 8g16%
Vitamin A 328IU7%
Vitamin C 1mg1%
Calcium 99mg10%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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