Pistachio Sponge Cake | Pista Cake

Pistachio Sponge cake or pistachio butter cake is a decadent cake with fresh pistachios. Perfect for any occasion or celebration.

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 Almonds and Pistachios always add a lovely indulgence in bakes and I have tried to make a cake with Almond a lot of times but this is the first time I prepared a full-fledged pistachios cake and it turned out to be lovely. This is one of the perfect pistachio birthday cake or pistachio layer cake.

Jump to:

• Pistachio Cake for St. Patrick's Day
• Ingredients
• How to make a pistachio cake
• Tips & Variations
• Serving Suggestions
• Storage Suggestions
• More Pistachio Recipes
• 📖 Recipe

Pistachio Cake for St. Patrick's Day

St, Patrick's day falls on 17th March every year. St Patrick is a 5th Century saint from Ireland. His death anniversary on 17th March is celebrated every year as Patrick's day. He used a three leaves Shamrock sprig to explain the Holy Trinity. From then on Green is the color for Patrick's day.

Green-colored dresses and food are popular on those days. So here comes a super delicious Pistachio Sponge cake. It is Soft, Spongy, Moist, and perfect for the feast day. This super easy pistachio cake from scratch takes very little effort to bake.

Ingredients

Flour -   I am using all-purpose flour for the cake but half and half wheat and APF will also work

Butter - Use Cold unsalted butter. You can chop the butter into small cubes and use it. This helps in rubbing the flour and butter easily.

Sugar - I am using Refined sugar. You can also replace it with Brown sugar.

Eggs - Eggs helps to give an airy and spongy texture to the cake.

Milk - Use any dairy or nondairy milk.

Pistachios - Given a brilliant texture in the cake. Always use unsalted pistachios. 

Baking Powder and Baking Soda - Both helps in the texture of the bread. And hence don’t skip it.

How to make a pistachio cake

Prepare the base cake

 1.     In a mixing bowl add in the All-purpose flour,

2. Add in cold unsalted butter.

3. Crumble it with your hands and it resembles sand.  

4. Next add in the Sugar

5. Also add in Milk. Mix well such that everything is evenly mixed.

6. Next break open the egg and beat well such that everything is creamed up together.

 7.  Next add in the Baking powder, Salt, and food color(if adding)and mix well.

8. Toast the Pistachios in the microwave for a minute and then in a blender powder them coarsely. Reserve 2 tbsp of pistachios and mix the remaining with the cake batter.

9. Fold everything together. Divide the batter equally into two portions and then bake them in two separate pans. Line the baking pan with parchment paper and then pour the prepared cake batter over the pan. I used two 8 inch round cake pans.

10. Preheat the oven at 356 F(180 Deg C) for about 10 min and then bake for about 25-30 mins until the tooth pick when inserted comes out clean.

Cream Cheese Frosting

11. In a mixing bowl add in the cream cheese and soft butter. Cream them togther until light and fluffy with a hand blender or stand mixer. Scrape and remove them from the edges.

12. Add in ¼ tsp of Vanilla extract and then add in the sifted icing sugar in batches. Mix well after each batch. Cream cheese frosting is now ready.

Decorate the Cake

14. Meanwhile, let the cake cool down completely. You can slice the cake into two or bake two similar cakes as you like and then frost.

15. Take the first cake and spread in a generous layer of cream cheese icing and sprinkle in some coarsely ground pistachios.

16. Place the next cake on the top and then repeat the same. I used some sprinkles and pistachios powder for decoration.

Tips & Variations

• Eggless Pistachio Sponge Cake - The Sponge cake has eggs added. You can easily make the cake egg-free by replacing with apple sauce. 1 Egg = 2 tbsp of apple sauce, this is the measurement. So for this cake you may need 4 tbsp of apple sauce.
• To make your own apple sauce - Grate 2 peeled apples and cook them with 2 tbsp of water until soft and then puree with a blender. Easily ready or you can use store-bought ones as well.
• Pistachio Muffins - The same recipe can be easily made as pistachio Muffins. Scoop in the prepared batter in Muffin Liners and bake at 356 F (180 Deg C) for 25- 30 mins or until a toothpick when inserted comes out clean.
• Feel free to use half and half wheat and all-purpose flour for the cake.
• You can bake the pistachio cake with frosting or skip the cream cheese layer if you don't prefer it.

Serving Suggestions

The cake can be simply enjoyed as it is. You can also skip the cream cheese frosting and enjoy it as a simple cake. Adding cream cheese frosting makes it a perfect party cake.

Storage Suggestions

The cake stays good in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can reheat them in the microwave or you can broil for 1-2 mins and serve fresh.

If freezing the cake. I suggest freezing without any frosting you can skip the cream cheese layer and freeze. Cling wrap or wrap in foil and freeze in zip lock bags for up to 3 months.

More Pistachio Recipes

★ Did you enjoy this recipe? If you happen to try it out, I would love to hear from you! I’d appreciate it if you could rate and leave a review below in the comments. Your reviews help others know the recipe better too. Thanks for your time. You can also follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Youtube and Twitter for more updates

📖 Recipe

Disclaimer: I am not a nutritionist, the nutrition value provided here is an estimate. It will vary based on the quantity and brands of the products used.

Note: This post is originally from 2018. I have updated with new Recipe card, Pictures and video now.