This vegan pistachio cake has a fluffy crumb and a delicious fragrant pistachio flavor.
Perfectly frosted with silky dairy-free pistachio buttercream that isn't overly sweet and perfectly compliments this delicate cake.
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📖 Recipe Overview
- Incredibly Light Consistency - This cake is made without butter, and instead uses olive oil which keeps it fluffy without being dense.
- Naturally Colored - The light green hue comes 100% from pistachios, as this cake is made without food colorings or added powders.
- Fantastic for Special Occasions - A great birthday cake option for pistachio lovers. It also makes a perfect Mother's Day or Easter celebration cake, or a little something green if you're baking up a cake for St. Patrick's Day.
Nuts about pistachio desserts? Make sure you try my vegan pistachio ice cream, pistachio cookies, pistachio tart, pistachio tiramisu, pistachio muffins, and pistachio cheesecake.
🧾 Ingredients Needed
Here's everything you need to make this easy vegan pistachio cake:
Ingredient Notes
- Raw Shelled Pistachios - They have the best color and a slightly sweet flavor, making them perfect for baking. Raw pistachios without skins or with skins are fine, just make sure they are unsalted. You can use unsalted roasted pistachios if you prefer, just note that the cake will have a duller color.
- Vegan Buttermilk - This helps to create a fluffy tender crumb and helps leaven the cake along with the baking powder.
- Granulated Sugar - White sugar is a must here. I don't recommend using brown sugar or coconut sugar, as this will throw off the color and overpower the pistachio flavor of the cake.
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🥣 How To Make Pistachio Cake
Find the complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
This easy vegan pistachio cake comes together in just a few simple steps:
Step 1: Blend the nuts and sugar: Add the pistachios and sugar to a food processor or blender, and blitz until finely ground.
Step 2: Mix dry ingredients: Whisk together the pistachio sugar mixture, flour, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
Step 3: Mix wet ingredients: Whisk together the vegan buttermilk, olive oil, vanilla extract, and almond extract in a measuring jug or small bowl.
Step 4: Make the batter: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and use a spatula to carefully fold and mix the ingredients.
Step 5: Bake and Cool: Transfer the cake batter to the lined cake pans and bake in the preheated oven. Allow the cakes to cool in the tins for 15-20 minutes and then carefully turn them out onto a cooling rack to cool completely. Carefully peel away the parchment that will stick to the base of the cakes.
Step 6: Decorate. Add half of the pistachio frosting to a piping bag fitted with a round nozzle. Reserve some frosting if you want to pipe a design on top of the cake. Add a swirl of frosting as the filling on top of your first layer. Add another cake layer on top of the frosting.
Step 7: Add the next layer of cake and repeat with another layer of frosting. Follow with the last cake round so you have a 3 layer cake.
Step 8: Use the remaining frosting to coat around the sides on top of the cake and smooth everything out with a cake scraper. You can create a swirl on top of the cake using a spoon if desired.
🧁 Optional Variations
You can easily completely transform this vegan pistachio cake by switching up the buttercream, here are some options:
- Chocolate Pistachio Cake: Try my Vegan Chocolate Frosting, Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream, or Vegan Ganache.
- Pistachio Vanilla Cake: Swiss Meringue Buttercream, Italian Meringue Buttercream, or Vegan Whipped Cream.
- For celebrations (e.g. engagement parties, weddings, 50th birthdays, golden anniversaries, etc), try my beautifully bougie Champagne Buttercream.
- Pistachio Latte Cake: Try my Vegan Coffee Buttercream.
- Berry Pistachio Cake: Try my Raspberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream or Strawberry Italian Buttercream.
- Cream Cheese Icing: Try my tangy vegan Cream Cheese Frosting.
📝 Recipe Tips
Don't overmix the batter. Stop folding once there are no visible pockets of flour - don't be tempted to overmix!
How to check the cakes are baked. To check they are done, insert a skewer or toothpick into the center, it should come out almost clean with a few crumbs, but without any wet batter.
Add different Fillings. Pipe a circle of frosting around the outer border of your cake layer (for neater decorations). Then fill it with pastry cream, jam, lemon curd, passion fruit curd, or orange curd.
Different Pan Sizes. While the measurements are designed for a 3-layer 6-inch round celebration cake, you can easily make it work for different pan sizes using a little math.
💬 FAQs
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or at room temperature for up to 1-2 days. Remove from the fridge about an hour before serving to allow the cake and frosting to soften.
Note, I don't recommend storing the cake at room temperature for more than 2-3 hours in warmer climates.
If you can't find ready peeled and shelled nuts, you can prepare and peel your pistachios at home for the most vibrant color. As this method involves blanching the pistachios, make sure you allow them to dry completely before using them in this recipe. Note: I have since tested the recipe using pistachios with their skins and the recipe still works perfectly, so don't stress if you don't have time to peel them!
Vanilla extract along with a touch of almond extract help to intensify the natural flavor of pistachio.
🎂 More Vegan Cakes
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star ★★★★★ rating in the recipe card below and consider leaving a comment as well, thanks!
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Pistachio Cake
Ingredients
- 100 g (⅘ cup) raw shelled pistachios with or without skins, *see notes 1+2
- 220 g (1 cup + 5 tsp) granulated sugar use organic if based in US
- 250 g (2 cups + 1 tbsp) all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 280 ml (1 ⅕ cups) soy milk
- 4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 120 ml (½ cup) olive oil or other neutral oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- ½ batch pistachio buttercream
Instructions
- Prepare: Preheat your oven to 175°C (347°F). Lighty grease the base and sides of three 6" cake tins with oil. Line each base with a circle of parchment and the sides with a strip of parchment.To make the vegan buttermilk add the soy milk and apple cider vinegar to a mixing jug, stir and allow to sit for 10 minutes.
- Blend the nuts and sugar: Add the pistachios and sugar to a food processor or blender, and blitz until finely ground.
- Mix the dry ingredients: Add the pistachio sugar mixture, flour, baking powder, and salt to a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
- Mix the wet ingredients: Add the olive oil, vanilla extract, and almond extract to the jug with the vegan buttermilk and whisk to combine.
- Make the batter: Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and use a spatula to carefully fold and mix the ingredients. Stop folding once there are no visible pockets of flour - don't be tempted to overmix!
- Bake: Transfer the cake batter to the lined cake pans and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. To check they are done, insert a skewer or toothpick into the center, it should come out almost clean with a few crumbs, but without any wet batter.
- Cool the cakes: Allow the cakes to cool in the tins for 15-20 minutes and then carefully turn them out onto a cooling rack to cool further for at least an hour until cool to the touch. Carefully peel away the parchment that will stick to the base of the cakes.If preferred you can refrigerate the cakes in an airtight container until ready to use. Chilling the cakes for a few hours (or overnight) makes them easier to work with and decorate.
- Make a half batch of pistachio buttercream (or a full batch and freeze half for another time).Add the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a round nozzle, or simply snip off the end of a ziplock bag/piping bag when ready to decorate.
- Assembly: Place a tiny amount of frosting on a cake turntable and secure the first sponge layer on top of it.Pipe a layer of frosting on top of the first cake layer, and use an offset spatula/pallet knife to spread it in an even layer.Add the next layer of cake and repeat with another layer of frosting. Top with the final layer of cake. Use the remaining frosting to coat around the sides on top of the cake and smooth everything out with a cake scraper.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or at room temperature for up to 1-2 days. Remove from the fridge about an hour before serving to allow the cake and frosting to soften a little.
Notes
- Pistachios: Skinless pistachios will give the cake the most vibrant color, but raw pistachios with skins also work.
- You can prepare and peel your pistachios at home. As this method involves blanching the pistachios, make sure you allow them to dry completely before using them in this recipe.
- Alternative Frostings: Chocolate Frosting, Chocolate SMBC, Ganache, Champagne Buttercream, Raspberry SMBC, Strawberry IMBC, or Cream Cheese Frosting.
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It is excellent 👏👏
Hi i cant see your recipe for Pistachio butter cream?
Thx
Hi Imelda,
Of course, here it is: https://addictedtodates.com/pistachio-cream/
Bonjour pouvez-vous m’envoyer la recette en français svp !!
Hello,
Can we substitute the sugar for monk fruit ? Sugar triggers my migraines so trying to find an alternative to it!
The recipe seems amazing and hopefully I can do this swap ☺️
Hi Sim,
I haven’t tested this recipe with monk fruit, so I can’t say how it would turn out. The texture and structure might change quite a bit. For that reason, I wouldn’t personally recommend the swap, just to be safe.
I wish I could give this recipe and its buttercream 10 out of 5 stars. I was nervous before making this cake because I had not ever made a vegan cake before. But I was asked to make one for my friend's wedding. I made this cake and its frosting exactly per the recipe, except that I also added a little bit of pistachio extract to the frosting, and had to do some tricky math to turn it into a two-layer rectangular sheet-pan cake. I also made a strawberry hibiscus vegan fruit curd and added that layer to the frosting layer between the cake layers. Everything was just incredible. I got more compliments on this cake than on any cake I have ever made. It was super moist, super flavorful, and it rose beautifully. It was everything you could possibly want in a cake. The bride told me that normally, she doesn't even love cake, but she and her husband have been eating leftovers all week long. Bravo to a really ingenious recipe. Thank you!
Hi Sandy,
Wow, what an incredible message to receive! I’m honestly so touched that you chose this recipe for such a special occasion, and it sounds like you absolutely nailed it. The pistachio extract and strawberry hibiscus curd sound heavenly, so creative! I’m thrilled everyone loved it (especially the bride!) and that it turned out so well. Thank you so much for sharing this, it truly made my day. 🙂
This was insanely delicious! I made for my partner’s birthday and it literally tasted like it had come from a patisserie, amazing, amazing recipe! For the frosting we used Christina’s regular vanilla buttercream recipe as she suggested but omitted the yogurt and vanilla and replaced it with pistachio cream to taste. Was phenomenal - Thank you as always Christina, Queen! <3
Hi S!
Thank you so much, this absolutely made my day! I’m so glad it was a birthday hit 🙂
My niece loved this cake when I made it recently for a gathering (as did everyone else!) and is asking me to make it again for her birthday but in the form of cupcakes. There will be 15 guests, so I assume I should make the full cake recipe and it will make 15 cupcakes? And can you advise on bake time? Thank you!
Hi Eve-Marie,
So lovely your niece wants you to make it for her birthady! I reckon you could get up to 24 cupcakes using this recipe so since you need about 15, you'll likely have a few cupcakes left over - always a bonus! Re: baking time, plan on baking for around 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. I’d love to hear how they turn out 🙂
OMG Christina gave this a go and although I had a few technical issues. This tasted amazing. It was my first Vegan cake and definitely won't be my last. And for someone who considers themselves a novice it was fairly easy to prepare once I had read the instructions properly. My buttercream was a bit on the runny side even after refrigeration. So not sure what I did wrong. Will be sure to tag/share on insta.
Hi Rue,
Ahh I love this, thank you so much for giving it a go! I'm so glad it was a win for your first vegan cake, even with a few bumps along the way.
For the buttercream, if it was still runny even after chilling, it might’ve been due to the type of vegan butter used (some are much softer than others). Next time, try using a block-style butter if you didn’t already, and you can always add some powdered sugar to help firm it up.
Can’t wait to see your bake on Instagram, so glad you’re diving into more vegan baking!
The best vegan cake I’ve ever made! I have yet to try Christina’s other recipes but after making this one, I cannot wait to try the other ones. I made it for church in one 10 inch pan and half it. Everyone loved it and asked if I could make it for the following week. It even turned a pistachio/nuts hater into a lover. Needless to say it is absolutely delicious! Who said vegan cakes need to be tasteless and boring?
So excited I forgot to rate it lol
Hi Sophia,
What an amazing review, thank you so much! 💛 I’m beyond happy to hear the cake was such a hit, especially with a tough crowd — turning a pistachio hater into a fan is no small feat! I'm so glad you enjoyed it, and I really hope you love the other recipes just as much.
This was so delicious! Made with the pistachio buttercream. I made it in two 8" pans. I didn't have raw pistachios so used roasted pistachios and I thought it tasted good. I brought this to a dinner party and everyone liked it. Will make again and thanks for the recipe!
Hi Natalie,
Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback, the roasted pistachios sound delicious!
I made this cake for a birthday and it was a big success. Vegan cake can be tricky, especially when layered and stacked. This cake was delicate and I was worried it wouldn’t hold up but it was fantastic. I made two batches in 9inch cake tins and baked for 20-23 minutes. They come out quite short but I got four layers out of a double batch which was perfect for a tall celebration cake. I’ve had great results from all of your recipes, thank you so much for sharing recipes that are a step up from the basics but still totally achievable!
Hi Claire,
Thanks so much for your wonderful feedback. And it sounds absolutely gorgeous I wish I could see it 🙂
hello I want to try to make this recipe for someone's birthday. I want to try this recipe but pistachios are very expensive where I live. It's cheaper to buy pistachios that have been toasted in the shell. If I use those instead of raw would it still taste good? Or the flavour will be completely different? I could try mixing some raw with toasted..
Hi Theresa,
Absolutely, the cake will have more of a toasted flavor. If they still have the skins on inside the shell, the color won't be as vibrant. You have the option of blanching them and peeling off the skins - just make sure you dry them completely before use. I hope this helps!
10/10! I made this for Easter, everyone loved it! I topped it with your vegan cream cheese frosting instead of the pistachio buttercream because I ran out of pistachios. YUM!
Hi Aimee,
That sounds so delicious, thank you so much for your lovely feedback 🙂
If using 3 9" pans do i need to modify the recipe ?
thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes!
Maria
Hi Maria,
I'm delighted that you're enjoying the recipes. I would multiply the recipe by 1.5 to fit 3x 9-inch pans. I hope this helps!
It a great recipe. I like that cake is not sweet. Going to frost with cream cheese frosting. But I bet would be great with a creamy chocolate frosting.
Best eggless cake I have ever made. When I first saw the recipe I was trying to figure out which ingredient was replacing the eggs because the recipe does not specifically refer to that (my daughter cannot eat eggs so I always look for vegan recipes but do not replace dairy - butter and milk). The photos of the cake showed a moist crumb and although sometimes photos can be deceptive, I decided to give it a go. I made it for my daughter's 21st birthday and what a hit it was! It turned out so wonderfully delicous and soft and yummy. I made a strawberry frosting and topped it with fresh strawberries. This cake is now my favourite eggless cake! The only other thing that would be good to know is the ingredient weight measurements for a 9" cake pan.
Hi Tina,
Aw thank you so much for taking the time to leave your wonderful feedback, I'm so happy you love the recipe! For a single layer 9-inch pan, you can keep the measurements the same and increase the baking time to around 35-40 minutes. Hope this helps!
Best eggless cake I have ever made. When I first saw the recipe I was trying to figure out which ingredient was replacing the eggs because the recipe does not specifically refer to that (my daughter cannot eat eggs so I always look for vegan recipes but do not replace dairy - butter and milk). The photos of the cake showed a moist crumb and although sometimes photos can be deceptive, I decided to give it a go. I made it for my daughter's 21st birthday and what a hit it was! It turned out so wonderfully delicous and soft and yummy. I made a strawberry frosting and topped it with fresh strawberries. This cake is now my favourite eggless cake!
Hi I was wondering does if change the cake a lot of I were to use oatmilk instead of soy
Hi Aaliyah,
No oat milk is absolutely fine to use, just make sure you go for unsweetened 🙂
okayy tysm also would it be better to chill the frosting in fridge before piping?
You're so welcome, Aaliyah! I wouldn't recommend chilling the frosting as it will harden in the fridge. But what works really well is if you freeze the frosted cake layers for 5 minutes before adding the next one. This helps create a strong structure while keeping the frosting nice and pipeable 🙂
Hi Christina, would increasing the amount of pistachios (in order to amplify their flavour) hurt the recipe? Thank you so much in advance 🙂
Hi Lili,
I would be cautious with changing the ratio of nuts because the added fats will change the texture and could make the cake heavy. You can always add a touch of pistachio extract if yout want to bump up the flavor. I hope this helos 🙂
I made this last May for my friends birthday and it was such a huge hit my friends asked me to make it for their wedding in June. I said yes, and now am panicking because I've never made a wedding cake before. Do you have any tips on how to make this cake a bit more dense so that I'll be able to stack better without fear of it falling over? I plan to make a couple test cakes but I am so worried. I bake for fun not professionally, but she said they loved it so much they don't care whether it's perfect or not. Any advice?
Hi Brookelyn,
Awh that is so wonderful! And well done to you for taking that on, I can totally understand that it may feel a little daunting. Without changing the recipe itself, you can take a couple of measures to help make the decorating and assembling process a little easier. I would freeze the cake layers and then frost them with the fresh buttercream while frozen. This will help the cake stay in place. Also, make sure you use plenty of cake dowels to hold the cakes in place, this will stop the layers from moving around when stacking them. If there's anything else I can help with just let me know 🙂 I'd love to hear how it goes!
That sounds absolutely delicious. I've made this cake a few times and I loved it, but just like you've found it very soft & delicate.
I was wondering how did the wedding cake go and did you do anything different?
I'm making it as a birthday cake but I need to drive for about 30 min, so I am a bit conscious about the drive as I would love to make this cake more often.
I've made this cake and it was wonderful. Can it be used to make cupcakes?
Hi Margaret,
Thanks so much for your feedback! Yes I think so, I would check on them at the 18-20 minute mark for doneness 🙂
This must be the best cake ever. It´s fantastic!
Thank you for this incredible recipe 🙂
Hi Henriette,
Thank you so much for your kind words!
Can you switch out the pistachios for almonds ?
Hi Annie,
I'm sorry I haven't tried that before, it sounds like a nice idea!
Honestly an incredible recipe. Only change would be, i used a full batch of the pistachio buttercream on the cake size listed in the cake recipe. Not a half batch as stated. Not sure how that happened! But i honestly cant imagine there being enough surface coverage with a half batch alone. Everything came out as hoped/ expected. Would recommend
Hi Sydney,
Aw I'm delighted to hear you loved it, and thank you so much for your feedback! I will double check that the next time I make it 🙂
This is genuinely may be the best cake I have ever made!! I was so impressed with the buttercream and the rich luscious texture of the cake. I took some liberties by topping it with fresh raspberries and adding raspberry preserves between each layer. My fiancé and I are making our own wedding cake and this was the clear winner for cake flavors!
Hi Emily!
Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback, and congratulations on baking your own cake, that's fantastic! I'm so honored you would choose this one for your special day 🙂
Absolutely stunning cake! Very complex and deep flavours, but deliciously light. Replaced the Italian buttercream with vegan whipped cream with vanilla sugar and pistachio butter to reduce workload, done within the hour!
Hi Robbie,
Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback! That vanilla whipped cream sounds incredible 🙂
I just baked this cake for my wife's birthday yesterday and it turned out great! It got lots of positive reviews from my wife and our friends. It's actually the first cake I've ever baked, so I'm very pleasantly surprised.
I only had a 10 inch cake pan, so I baked the batter in two layers for 23 minutes each. Next time, I'll probably take it out at 22 minutes as it was a teenie tiny bit crumbly.
Also, I made a simple vegan buttecream with a bit of the blended pistachios instead of the recommended icing recipe.
Thanks so much for this recipe! I honestly cannot wait to bake it again. Straight up, making this cake turned me into a baker! Perhaps I'll try out another one of your recipes 🙂
Hi Cassidy,
Thank you so much for choosing this recipe for your wife's special day, and for taking the time to leave your lovely review! The frosting you made sounds perfect and I'm so happy this recipe has turned you into a baker 🙂
Made this cake it was absolute delicious. My family loved it. Thanks
Hi Prya,
Thank you so much for your lovely feedback!
WOW! This is one of the best vegan cakes I have ever made. At first glance the recipe seemed too complicated and I put off making it for a big occasion. It was definitely worth the effort you put in. The pistachio flavor is perfect, light, and fresh. The cake is moist and flavorful. The frosting! It was the best vegan frosting I have made and it was fun to put together. It was my first time making an Italian meringue buttercream and it certainly won't be my last. Thank you for sharing this beautiful recipe and technique, you are a vegan baking wizard. I can't wait to try more of your recipes.
Hi Shruti,
I'm so sorry I'm just seeing your comment now, thank you so much for your wonderful review! So happy reading this!
This makes for a really delicious, moreish and moist cake with plenty of pistachio flavour. I used a simple buttercream for the icing. I made a couple of changes: a couple of drops of green food colouring to really amp up the colour and light brown caster sugar. And DO NOT FORGET TO LINE YOUR TINS. My cake got stuck.
Hello!
That sounds lovely, wish I could see a photo!
Made this pistachio cake for my husband’s birthday and everyone LOVED it 🥰 I messed up the pistachio buttercream when I accidentally caramelized the sugar and tried to us it anyway 🤦♀️
Was out of aquafaba at that point, so I ended up making Christina’s regular buttercream frosting recipe and just added some lemon zest and a couple tablespoons of the pistachio butter and it worked well enough! Learned my lesson for next time 😅
Yay! That's amazing that everyone loved it, and well done for adapting the buttercream, it sounds delicious!
I'm hoping to make this for my birthday cake, but I just wanted to ask a few things (apologies in advance if they're stupid questions).
1. Could I replace the sugar with erythritol (specifically brown erythritol - I've just ordered a big bag for a different recipe I was initially going to make lol) or would it mess up the consistency?
2. Do you think a mixture of buckwheat flour and brown rice flour would work, or would that mess the consistency up as well?
3. If I was to turn this into a pistachio lime cake, how much lime zest and/or juice do you think would be sufficient? One lime?
4. Last question I promise - does it have to be soy milk, or would almond milk work? I don't really like soy milk on it's own so I wouldn't particularly want to buy a carton of it and then waste what I don't use in the cake if I can avoid it.
Thanks
Hi Lydia,
Oh no not at all, happy to help 🙂
The sugar and flour cannot be replaced. Sugar subs and single flours don't behave in the same way as the regular versions and will give you a completely different result. I know some people have tried my cakes with all-purpose GF flour and have reported great results, but I have not tried this myself.
I would not add lime juice to the recipe as the acid will throw it off however, I reckon the zest of 2 limes rubbed into the sugar would add a lovely touch - great idea by the way!
Absolutely, you can use almond milk.
Happy birthday in advance, and I hope you enojy the recipe!
Thanks for your quick response! That's a shame regarding the flour and sugar; does "a completely different result" translate to "an absolute flop of a cake"? I'm no baking perfectionist, so I wouldn't mind if the cake were to come out too dense/dry/heavy, or something similar. As long as it resembles a cake in appearance and flavour, then I'd be happy 🙂 . However, if it would result in an absolute catastrophe of a cake, then I'd reconsider.
That's good to know regarding the lime, thank you. I might add a bit of ground cardamom too if I decide to make it.
Hi Lydia,
The flour definitely won´t work. All flours absorb moisture and perform differently and from testing other recipes I´d personally say that it wouldn´t be worth risking it! About the sweetener, perhaps you could test a fraction of the recipe first yourself in a muffin pan and see if you´re happy with it. Just note, that sugar provides sturcture, moisture etc, not just sweetness.
Great recipe. Can I make this as a sheet cake? If yes, what is the baking time?
Looks too yummy not to make.
I've made this for two different events and people LOVE this cake. I've made a lot of vegan cakes over the years but this one is really something special. The pistachio buttercream is also incredible - truly the most stable vegan buttercream I've ever worked with. I am in love! Thank you Christina!
Fantastic Amanda! This has made my day!
Can I make this in two 9” pans instead? How long would I need to bake?
Hi Manna,
I think so, I would check also them at the 20 minute mark, then bake them for another 5 minutes if and as needed.
Best cake recipe ever!! I made the recipe into gluten free cupcakes 🧁 BIG crowd pleaser!! Everyone LOVES them.
Love to hear this, thank you so much for your feedback Jill!
Jill - could you share how you changed the recipe to gluten free? Same quantity of flour or did you have to adjust it?
Can you make this recipe into cupcakes?
Hi Jill,
I think so! Just cut down the bake time down a little, I would check them at 18 mins.
Would like to bake this on Easter for my niece. Can the cake be made ahead and frozen? Just trying to space out my bakes.
Hi Jackie!
How lovely! I reckon you could, but I would personally avoid freezing if possible as the quality would be much better when freshly baked. You could even bake the cakes ahead of time, wrap them, and refrigerate them for a few days and then assemble with the frosting the day of.
Can you make this gluten free?
If so, could you just use a gluten free flour replacement?
Hi Jill,
I have not tested this recipe with GF flour. But I would suggest going with an all-purpose GF blend if you try it out, and remember to let the batter rest a full 30 minutes before baking to let the flour rehydrate. I hope this helps!
Thank you. I will give it a try
Hi,
I am allergic to soy, can I use almond milk and apple cider vinegar ?
Hi Kavya,
Yes, you can!
Hi it looks yummy 😋 can I use normal buttermilk instead of vegan and could you plz tell where I can get pistachio butter cream in London
Hi Ashwini,
Thank you! I don't use animal products so that's not something I can advise, but the vegan version is really is easy to make with non-dairy milk and little vinegar. For pistachio butter, I would recommend making your own, here is the recipe https://addictedtodates.com/pistachio-butter/
Is there a sugar replacement? Like natural sweetener like dates or the like? Thank you!!
Hi Julie,
Unfortunately no, not for this recipe. I'd suggest going for one of my other recipes like pistachio tart or cheesecake, which use maple syrup.
I would be careful with adding almond extract, not sure if it depends on the brand but my almond extract (by Nielsen) completely overtook the flavour, so ended up with an almond cake rather than pistachio cake, couldn't taste any pistachios 🥲. It was shocking that only one teaspoon can have such powerful effect! I need to remake it again without almond extract or use only one drop of it.
Had to make the sugar syrup two times, but I'm glad I did. Lots of steps to make this cake, but it just means extra love going into the cake! The cake sliced beautifully and "Superb" was the first comment I heard! YAY!
It seems to be fantastic cake! I will do it for Easter! 😁
Hi, I want to make this wonderful cake for a birthday, but a few of the guests don't eat sugar. I never did a sugar free cake, do you have a idea for substitutes?
(Sorry, if there are errors.)
Hi Jessie,
I'm so sorry but it's not possible to substitute the sugar in this recipe. I would suggest having a look in the refined-sugar-free category of recipes to see if there's anything there you fancy: https://addictedtodates.com/category/recipes/refined-sugar-free-vegan/ You could also opt for one my of maple sweetened cheesecakes and swap out the cookies in the crust for a wholefood version. I hope this helps!
This looks delicious. I cannot ingest any oils (no EVO, coconut, etc… Question: Any ideas on how to substitute the oil in the recipe? Thanks in advance for your reply. 😊
Hi Jossie,
Oh no, I'm so sorry but I don't recommend replacing the oil in the recipe. You could experiment with unsweetened apple sauce but please note that the results will not be the same as the oil plays a key role in the recipe. Apologies
Hey Josie ... I've made this recipe b4 using butter instead of oil n it turned out amazing ... I know this doesn't make it vegan .. but in not much of an oil person ..
Can I use cow milk and white vinegar in this recipe to make buttermilk?????
Hey Josie ... I've made this recipe b4 using butter instead of oil n it turned out amazing ... I know this doesn't make it vegan .. but in not much of an oil person ..
Can I use roasted lightly salted pistachios? That’s all I can find. I was thinking about decreasing the salt to a 1/4 tsp?
Hi Elise,
You could, but the taste and texture will be affected, and if they still have the skins the color won't be as vibrant. In this case, I recommend you remove the peels by blanching them, make sure you dry them before use. This should also help remove some of the salt. I hope this helps!
I am excited to try this recipe! Is it possible to just use two 6” pans instead of three? If okay, how long would the baking time be? Thank you!
Hi Joyce,
If your pans are quite deep, this should be fine. For baking times, I would start by adding an extra 7-10 minutes and increase if needed.
I just got my pistachio delivery and unfortunately they are not skinless. Need to prepare the cake for today. Would it be okay to skip the step of removing skin or that wouldn’t work in this recipe ?
Hi Alisa,
I reckon you could use them with the skins on but please be prepared that the color won't be quite as vibrant. Otherwise, if you have time to peel them you can remove the peels by blanching them, just make sure you factor in time to dry them before use. This article may be helpful (https://bakeschool.com/how-to-peel-pistachios/)
Hello, how many cupcakes do you think this recipe would yield? I would like to try this soon!!
Hi Viviane,
I would say anywhere from 12-16
The whole family loved this. I didn't have 6 inch tins so I used 2 x 8 inch tins and it turned out fine - nice and light. I am planning to make this again and maybe swap the almond essence for some other flavouring just for a bit of variety.
Hi Denise,
That's fantastic, thank you so much for your lovely feedback. Would love to hear if you try a different flavor next time 🙂
Can I make this cake with cashew milk instead of buttermilk?? Thanks.🙂
Hi Zahra!
I haven't baked with cashew milk, but I would not skip the vinegar (buttermilk) and this adds so much fluffiness to the cake. Cashew milk has quite a low protein content which is needed for a good vegan buttermilk - but I'm sure the recipe should still work, but it just won't be quite as fluffy! I hope this helps
This cake is absolutely DELICIOUS! I baked the cake in two 9-inch pans and adjusted the bake time. I added a tsp of pistachio extract because I had it on hand. The pistachio buttercream recipe seemed a bit complicated but it turned out so good. The texture of the cake and frosting were perfect and were not overly sweet. I made a blueberry lavender curd and added some of that between the layers and topped the cake with some fresh blueberries. I'm looking forward to trying more of your cake recipes.
Hello Sarahd,
Thank you so much for trying the recipe and leaving your lovely feedback - I'm so happy to read your comment! The blueberry lavender curd and pistachio extract sound like wonderful additions 🙂
eYou absolutely have to try this it's AMAZING! I'm not kidding it was impressive everyone in my non vegan family loved it and I would definitely be making it again. Thank you for this great recipe!
Hi Lila, I'm delighted that you all enjoyed the recipe, thank you for the lovey feedback x
Amazing cake!! Can’t recommend enough!! I was searching for so long for a good vegan pistachio cake and this is it! Perfection! 🫶🏻
So happy you love it Sarah! Thank you so much for your lovely review x
Made this cake recently for a friend's birthday and it was amazing. Looks spectacular and taste was amazing. Super cake x
So happy that you loved the recipe Peta - thanks for sharing your experience 🙂
Is the baking time 20 minutes? I did so and find my cake slightly under and some parts not fully baked, a bit dense. Though done testing. The buttercream, when done need sometime in fridge to firm up before frosting. Am in Asia. The frosting is amazing though.
Hi Sue,
It's 20-25 minutes depending on your oven. Did you mean you tested it with a toothpick and it seemed to be done?
Is it possible to freeze the cake rounds, without frosting, and frost the cake at a later date? How long can the cakes be frozen? That way, if I have frozen frosting and frozen cakes, making an amazing dessert at the last minute would be great.
Thank you for great vegan desserts.
Hi Anita,
You are very welcome 🙂 Yes you can freeze the cake rouns, just let them cool and then wrap them well in several layers of plastic wrap before storing in a freezer-safe bag or container. They’ll keep for up to a month! Make sure you leave the cake out for at least a few hours before serving for the perfect texture.
So good!!!
So happy you loved it, Judit!
I don't like cake much but was watching a baking show last evening and they were making a Pistachio Pettifor...long story short it made me crave Pistachio. Google search for Dairy Free Pistachio Cake led me straight into your arms lol AND so my 10 and 4 year old daughters and I got to work today on it. It was so easy to make. And it tastes 👏 AMAZING! I did use a high quality Avocado Oil in place of the Olive Oil because that is what I had on hand. We used the metric system and weighed everything out. Two thumbs up!! This is in my top 3 list of cakes that I actually like. (I've only had 5 cakes in my entire nearly 40 years that I would eat again!!)
Hi KJ,
What an honor! I'm so happy that you loved the recipe and that it'll be on your baking rotation. The avocado oil sounds like a lovely swap too. Appreciate your kind words and feedback 🙂
hi Christina! I wonder of that would be possible to bake the cake in one pan and then just cut it in 3 layers? Otherwise As I have only one pan this size, I would need to bake it 3 times. What would you recommend? Thanks a lot!
Hi Ania,
I don't recommend making the cake in one 6" pan as there will be too much batter, unfortunately in this case the best way is to bake it separately, or reduce the recipe and make a single layer.
Can I substitute for gluten free flour in this recipe?
Hi Alicia,
I, unfortunately, have not tested this recipe with GF flour. I would suggest an all-purpose GF if you try it out, and remember to let the batter rest a full 30 minutes before baking to let the flour rehydrate.