Ingredients
For the Frosting:
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1/3 cup cream
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature
- 6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
For the Cake:
- 1 cup shelled roasted and salted pistachios
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 1 whole egg
- 1 tablespoons vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 3 eggs whites
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter
For the Garnish:
- Blackberries
- Pistachios
Directions
For the Frosting:
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Mix sugar and flour together in a sauce pan and then whisk in milk and cream. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until thick and begins to boil (about 15 minutes start to finish, should be considerably thick). Pour into a bowl or Tupperware, cover with plastic wrap pressing it against the mixture, and then place in the fridge until no longer warm (if you leave it in overnight, let it come to room temperature). Meanwhile, make the cake. When the cake is cool and ready to assemble, finish making the frosting.
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Place cold frosting mixture in the bowl of a standing mixer and beat on low speed using the paddle attachment. Add butter a tablespoon at a time and then cream cheese an ounce at a time. Turn up the speed and beat until smooth. Mix in the honey and vanilla until combined.
For the Cake:
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees (if using a dark colored pan, preheat to 325 degrees F). Grease the bottom and sides of 3 (8-inch) cake pans with shortening and then dust with flour.
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In a mixing bowl, mix together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
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Puree pistachios in a food processor or blender until coarsely chopped and then take 2 tablespoons and add it to the dry ingredients. Continue to puree the rest of the nuts until it becomes a powder. Mix into the dry ingredients.
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In the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, whip the butter for 2 minutes. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Mix in the whole egg and the vanilla until just combined.
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In 3 batches, alternate mixing the dry ingredients and milk into the butter. Mix completely before adding each additional batch. Scrape down the sides as needed.
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In a separate mixing bowl, whip egg whites and cream of tartar until it reaches soft peaks. Fold the whipped egg whites into the batter until combined.
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Pour batter into 3 cake pans and smooth the tops. Bake for 28-32 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing and cooling completely on a wire rack.
Assembling the Cake:
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Using a large serrated knife, cut off the tops of cakes to make them evenly flat.
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Place one cake round on a plate or cake platter and then frost the top of it. Top with another cake round and frost again. Add the last cake round and then add a thin layer of frosting (crumb coat) to the top and sides of the cake. Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes and then frost the cake with the remaining frosting (save some of the frosting in a piping bag if you wish to decorate with frosting). Garnish with extra frosting, pistachios, and/or berries as desired.
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Store cake in the fridge until ready to serve.
Recipe Notes
White tender cake made with fresh ground pistachios and decorated with a silky smooth cream cheese frosting, pistachios, and blackberries.
Adapted from Eats Well with Others
the cake was fine. the frosting was a mess -runny and lumpy. I think either the proportion of custard to butter is wrong or the instructions are backwards. if I was to try again I would whip the butter first and then slowly add the custard. but I’ll probably just look for a different recipe.
I have been using this recipe for years and I always get rave reviwes from family and friends! By far THE BEST pistachio cake I have ever tried
I’m absolutely thrilled you love this pistachio cake!
Can cake flour be used in this recipe instead of all purpose flour? I have an entire box of cake flour.
This is my favorite cake ever! I’m making it for my sister who is coming to visit.
Hi,
If I add the Jello Instant Pistachio Pudding to the final mixture – how do you reckon it would turn out?
Why did my cakes fall in the middle? Everything was room temp and oven temp gauges confirm 350.
If my oven is not big enough to hold 3 pans, can i bake the cakes one at a time? My fear is that the egg white might be deflated by the time i bake the 3rd pan as that will be at least 1hr later when it goes into the oven. Or alternatively, should i bake the 3 layers in 1 pan but bake longer – say 1.5hrs? I’m not sure if there is too much batter to fit 1 pan. My oven can only fit 1 eight inch pan. Thanks for your advice!
Made this cake for Christmas Eve. The cake was tasty but very dense.
I used a mascarpone icing instead because the cake was heavy. It was good
I made the icing as instructed and it came out perfect. The taste was amazing, not too sweet and my friends loved this cake and they all commented on how good the icing was.
Hi what cream is meant to be used here ? heavy cream? whip cream ? what do you mean by cream ? In my country, we do not have anything is sold as just cream. Please help ! thanks
Thanks..
I have made this cake a few times and has become a favorite with the girls in the office! I have not used the cooked icing on it but I have used that recipe for frosting before. One of the other ways to be sure the flour mixture is lump free is to pass it through a sieve before adding it to the cream cheese mix. I use a regular buttercream frosting but have added a cream of pistachio liquer to it. Amazing!! This recipe is definitely a keeper!!
I absolutely love this cake! It is so delicious and light. The frosting as been a big hit with my family as well. I made additional frosting and used it on cupcakes. We were on vacation in the Bahamas and I made the frosting again and smothered the cupcakes. To quote one of the children, “This is bestest thing I ever ate.” I couldn’t agree more!
I agree with all the comments shared about the cake being delicious but the icing not measuring up. It was runny and lumpy even with following the instructions (which are very confusing, by the way – chill the milk mixture overnight and bring it to room temp but it should be added cold?). I used a whisk attachment after the paddle, which helped get rid of some of the lumps, but it mixed in too much air. This made the runny problem worse. A simple buttercream or cream cheese frosting would have been better, and I’ll probably do that next time or omit the frosting altogether. This recipe is not unique – my mom sent me a very similar one that my grandmother used, and I’ve pasted it below.
Cook 3 Tb flour with 3/4 cup milk to custard consistency.
Chill thoroughly.
Soften one cup butter to room temperature in large mixing bow. Add chilled custard and beat 10 minutes. Add one cup granulated sugar and beat 10 minutes. Add 1 tsp. flavoring and approximately 1 cup powdered sugar and continue to beat until stiff.
The cake itself is good, but the icing recipe is a disaster. To say it is better after refrigerating overnight should have been a big warning bell, but I tried it as written anyway — always like to give the original cook or baker an honest chance. Regardless, it would have been much better with a traditional light vanilla buttercream icing and maybe a touch of tartness, like a swirl of blackberry syrup with the actual fruit. I will probably make it again with some changes.
Tried this recipe today at work and I must say, this is one of the best cakes I have made! I did add Orange zest to my battery to give it some flavor and it came out great! Had trouble with the icing so I just made regular cream cheese icing. Wish I could upload a picture of the outcome.. will definitely be making this again, delish!
This is an amazing cake! I have some tips for people having problems. If you cake is crumbling you need baked it too long. If you icing is too thin you did not reduce the Milk, cream sugar for a long enough time in the beginning or at a high enough heat. If you get clumps it is because you did not read the directions which say to take it out of the frig and let it come to room temperature. I agree that was a little unclear however these ingredients must always be at room temperature when you combine. This way when you bring the mixer to high the clumps will go away. I made my icing a little too thin but my cakes are still amazing. I also substituted a mix of gel vanilla bean and real vanilla bean for the liquid vanilla.
I thought it might not be enough nuts but using the recipe I found I was wrong. This cake is soo amazing! lots of great rise and such amazing flavor!
Is that a typo in your frosting recipe? Should it “16 ounces cream cheese” instead of only “6 ounces cream cheese”? That would certainly explain everyone’s trouble with it turning out too thin, including mine.
Hi! I’m planning to make this cake later and I just want to know, can I ssubstitute milk with buttermilk?
I was wondering about the saltiness of the nuts. I bought slightly salty pistachios and plan to omit the salt in the recipe.I did not find unsalted pistachios.
I sort of combined Tessa’s frosting with the one Arden posted:
I made the flour/milk/sugar/cream mixture as printed in the original, but only used about 3/4 of it. (Next time I will work out the smaller quantities!) I used 16 oz. cream cheese and 1/2 cup butter. I let everything come to room temperature before mixing. The frosting is creamy smooth and so delicious. I refrigerated it before frosting the cake, which baked up beautifully. Although, I did wonder about using salted pistachios. Doesn’t the cake taste salty? I used unsalted.
I just made this cake for my boyfriends birthday. We used the raspberries instead. It was amazing BEST birthday cake he’s EVER had! Thanks for the recipe!!!
May I use cake flour? Thank you
I’ve made this cake twice – second time at the request of my husband for his birthday. It’s been a hit both times and I love the taste of the frosting! It’s the only 3 layer cake I’ve ever made, and while it does take some time it’s not actually difficult. Two questions: I have only 9 inch pans, so the cake is not nearly as tall as pictured. Anyone know a simple way to increase and convert this recipe for 9 inch pans? Also, both times I’ve made it the frosting is a little too soft and slowly slides does the sides of the cake, even while refrigerated. Makes it difficult to do any decorating on the top. Suggestions? Am I whipping it too much to get all the lumps out? I’ve whipped it until very smooth.
HI, I want to know why have you use cream of tarter.
Also can I use pastry cream frosting?.
For everyone struggling with the icing, here is a recipe that is very similar, but doesn’t have the lumping and thin problem. With this icing, the cake is amazing. I love that it’s moist and not too sweet.
16 oz. cream cheese, room temp
1 stick of butter, room temp
0.25 cup flour
1 cup white sugar
1 tbsp corn starch
0.25 tsp salt
1.5 cups whole milk
3 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla
Whip the cream cheese and butter together in a stand mixer on medium for about 5 minutes, until very smooth
Remove and place in a different bowl
Sift the flour
Add sugar, salt and cornstarch together with the flour in a sauce pan
Pour in the milk while stirring
Heat over medium high heat until the mixture starts to get thick and pasty. Boil while whisking constantly for about a minute
Add to the mixing bowl and whisk on about 6 for 10 minutes or until the mixture has cool to about lukewarm to room temperature
Slowly add in the cream cheese butter mix, waiting for it to be incorporated before adding more
Add the honey and vanilla
Place in the fridge to cool and set up overnight
The frosting is a disaster! I followed the instructions exactly. It’s clumpy and very thin. I’ll be using the America’s Test Kitchen cream cheese frosting recipe if I make this again.
The frosting doesn’t hold its shape and so how can one decorate with any flowers. It also drips down sides obviously. Followed instructions correctly!
Hi! I baked the cake and it’s really delicious! But the cake seem break easilly.. Anyone facing this problem?
What an IDIOTIC icing recipe. Totally logical to throw a freezing cold frosting mixture into room temperature butter. Very smart. Now I have a lumpy frosting and a dinner party of 15 people that are going to have no dessert.
Your recipe states that the frosting requires sugar. Is this confectioner’s sugar or granulated sugar?
Hi Melanie, I want to make this cake over the weekend, it looks gorgeous! Can you please tell me by how much I need to increase ingredients for a 9 inch pan.?
Aww thanks Tessa that’s great, much appreciated. Xx
Hi Melanie, am going to make this cake, it sounds wonderful. But is there any possibility of having the recipe in grams? I’m struggling to convert the cups…..
Thanks xx
Linda, this may help you! My Ultimate Measuring Guide: https://handletheheat.com/ultimate-guide-measuring/
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe. I’ve made this cake 3 times and each time it comes out perfect and is a huge hit with my friends and family.
I make it today for my husband birthday. very delicious !
My husband really liked it.
Thank u very much!
I also got the same problem with lumpy frosting. Is it ok to mix the butter and cheese before putting it in the fridge ?!
Can I make this cake and assemble it and put it in the fridge for the next day? or is it better to make it the same day?
Thanks
Hi! So excited to try this recipe, but I just moved to Denver and am unsure about making this in a high altitude environment. Do you know if there are any changes I should make before attempting? Thanks and beautiful cake!!!
Hey Melanie,
Going to make this yummy looking cake for a friends birthday picnic in London tomorrow and just wondered what kind of sugar you used for the frosting? It just makes quite a big difference when I’m converting from cups to grams!
Thanks!
Great tip ibambi, my frosting also turned out lumpy but a stick blender did the trick! Great recipe!
Also got lumpy frosting but used the stick blender and made it completely smooth. I would just put all the frosting ingredients into a food processor next time.
Just finished making the cake, and eating a giant slice! Very tasty but not diet friendly. I had to make some substitutions: I ran out of white sugar for the cake so did 1/2 light brown sugar and 1/2 sugar. We are a nut free house, so I used peanuts instead of pistachios (Kirkland extra large). I think the peanuts and the brown sugar made the cake too dense, I had to bake it an extra 10 minutes for it to be cooked through. Next time I’d swap out some of the butter for peanut butter or use ground pumpkin seeds to make it lighter.
In spite of the problems, it was still amazing.
Hi! I made this cake yesterday and it came out just like the pic. Its really good! When I was adding the butter and cream cheese I could see little clumps and was worry but when I increased the speed it became nice and smooth and very tasty. I dont like frostings that are too sweet and this one is perfect. Thanks!
My frosting did not turn out very well. There were lumps in it, which I assume were from the cold flour/sugar mixture and the room temperature butter. Did you mix the frosting immediately after you took the mixture out of the refrigerator?
Nancy, I’m sorry the frosting didn’t work out. I mixed it immediately after removing it from the fridge and used room temp butter and cream cheese. Did you place plastic wrap on the surface of the mixture right after making it? If it cools exposed to the air it could form a crust and cause lumps. Also, using the paddle attachment helps to get lumps out when beating.
Hi, when I started adding the butter and cream cheese I started seeing lumps too but when I increased the speed like the recipe says it became nice and smooth. Did you increase the speed to med?
what size of plans did you use?
Fances- I used 3 8-inch round cake pans.
Looks amazing. I’m going to try it without the nuts, maybe sub pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds as we are a tree-nut-free house.
I guess it would be great with ground peanuts in the cake and added peanut butter to the frosting too.
Peanuts in it sounds delicious! Let me know how it turns out.
This is so lovely and unique! Beautiful things are so inspiring so thank you for sharing this!
-Darla from DearDarla.com
This is a gorgeous cake and I love that it combines blackberries and pistachios. YUM!
Kari
http://www.sweetteasweetie.com
Thanks Kari! The berries are delicious with the cake. Raspberries would taste great too!
Wow that is such a pretty cake! I love the way you decorated it, the colors of the blackberries and pistachio go together so well 🙂 Pistachio desserts are always good, so I imagine this is very tasty too!
I love the purple and green together too. It might have something to do with my daughter watching so much Barney? haha! Thanks June!
this is the most beautiful cake i have ever seen
oh my goodness
Thanks so much Lydia! 🙂
It’s simply stunning!
Oh my gosh this cake is gorgeous!
Wow Melanie! That is one gorgeous cake! I can’t get over how pretty the pistachios look alongside the blackberries.
Perfect pictures!
Pinned.
Have a great weekend!
Thank you Melanie! I’m so obsessed with those pretty green nuts.
your cake is beautifully decorated and undoubtedly delicious–pistachios are my favorite nut!
Thanks Grace! You’ll love this cake!