This Pistachio Bundt Cake combines flavor and texture to create a truly delicious treat. It’s light and fluffy, yet rich and nutty, with just the right amount of sweetness. If you love pistachios, this cake is sure to become a favorite!
With its delicate pistachio flavor, soft, moist crumb, and a light crunch from the chopped pistachios, every bite of this pistachio cake will have you coming back for more. Whether you choose to serve it with a simple dusting of powdered sugar or drizzled with a sweet glaze, this dessert is sure to impress.
Pistachios are versatile, bringing color, flavor, and texture to all kinds of sweet and savory dishes. They're perfect in this Biscotti recipe, and I love the nutty flavor and crunch they add to both this Salmon dish and these Lamb Chops.
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How to Make it
This cake comes together beautifully with simple ingredients. Instead of green food coloring or instant pistachio pudding mix, this Pistachio Bundt Cake recipe uses a blend of finely ground and coarsely chopped pistachios for flavor, color and added texture.
For best results, bring all your ingredients to room temperature before mixing. Here's an overview of the ingredients and steps to make this cake. You'll find ingredient amounts and step-by-step instructions in the recipe card at the end of the post.
Ingredients Overview
- Shelled unsalted pistachios: I used raw pistachios to try and preserve their color as much as possible since toasting darkens them.
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder and baking soda: Both leaveners are used to help make this cake rise and achieve a light texture.
- Sea salt: Enhances the flavor of the ingredients.
- Unsalted butter and oil: This pistachio cake recipe uses both butter and oil to give it a flavorful, moist and tender crumb. Use butter that has been softened to room temperature and a neutral tasting oil such as avocado, canola or vegetable oil.
- Granulated sugar
- Eggs: At room temperature.
- Vanilla extract
- Pistachio or almond extract: Using a touch of pistachio or almond extract brings out the flavor of the pistachios.
- Yogurt: Adds moisture and helps to create a soft crumb.
Steps Overview
- Preheat the oven, grease and dust with flour a large Bundt cake pan and set it aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Finely grind half of the pistachios.
- Coarsely chop the other half.
- Add butter, oil, sugar, and ground pistachios to the bowl of your mixer.
- Beat on medium-high for 3 minutes.
- Add eggs one at a time, beating after every addition.
- Mix in vanilla and almond extracts.
- Add a third of the flour mixture to the batter, beat on low speed until incorporated.
- Then add half the yogurt, blend and repeat alternating flour and yogurt and ending with flour.
- Fold in the coarsely chopped pistachios into the batter.
- Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake for 45–50 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cover cake loosely with foil if it's browning too quickly.
- Let the Bundt cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- If glazing the cake, allow it to cool to room temperature first. For extra crunch and a decorative touch, sprinkle chopped pistachios over the glaze.
For the Glaze
This simple glaze adds the perfect sweet touch over the top of the cake.
- To make the simple glaze, combine the confectioners' sugar, milk, and both vanilla and almond extracts in a medium-sized bowl and whisk until smooth.
- Once the cake has cooled to room temperature, drizzle or spoon the glaze over it, then sprinkle with chopped pistachios, if desired.
Serving Suggestions
This delicious Pistachio Bundt cake is perfect for any occasion, whether it’s a celebration, a family dinner, or a simple afternoon treat. Enjoy it with a cup of coffee or tea or add a scoop of ice cream for a little extra indulgence.
Storage Instructions
This bundt stays fresh for up to 3 days when covered on the counter and up to 5 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
It also freezes well for up to 3 months, making it a great make-ahead option or a way to save some for later! To freeze, wrap the cake tightly in plastic wrap and store it in a large airtight container or freezer bag.
Enjoy!
More Bundt Cake Recipes
- Mini Almond and Matcha Bundt Cakes
- Mini Apple Bundt Cakes
- Chocolate Stout Bundt Cake
- Pumpkin Chocolate Swirl Bundt Cake
- Chocolate Cinnamon Bundt Cake
- Gingerbread Bundt Cake
Pistachio Bundt Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1 and ½ cups shelled unsalted pistachios
- 2 and ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt fine sea salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- ¼ cup neutral oil avocado, vegetable, grapeseed
- 1 and ¾ cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 and ½ cups plain yogurt whole milk or 2% fat, at room temperature
For the Glaze:
- 1 and ½ cups powdered sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
For the Topping:
- 2 tablespoons pistachios coarsely chopped
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Grease and dust with flour a 10 to 12-cup Bundt pan.
- Finely grind ¾ cup of the pistachios in a food processor. Coarsely chop the remaining ¾ cup pistachios and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, add butter, oil, granulated sugar and ground pistachios. Beat on medium-high speed for about 3 minutes, stopping to scrape the bowl as necessary.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla and almond extracts and beat to combine.
- On low speed, add one-third of the flour mixture and beat until just combined. Add half of the yogurt and beat until incorporated. Repeat these steps once more and then end with the last third of the flour mixture. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl after each addition for even mixing. Using a spatula, fold in the coarsely chopped pistachios.
- Scrape batter into prepared bundt pan, spreading it out evenly in the pan.
- Bake for 45–50 minutes, or until a toothpick (or cake tester) inserted in the center comes out clean. If the top browns too quickly, loosely cover with aluminum foil. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto wire rack to cool completely.
For the Glaze:
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, milk, and both vanilla and almond extracts. Whisk until smooth. Once the cake has cooled to room temperature, drizzle or spoon the glaze over the cake. If desired, sprinkle the top with chopped pistachios.
Notes
- Bring all your refrigerated ingredients to room temperature before mixing.
- If you decide to add green food coloring to the cake, I recommend using only drop.
- I don't recommend using salted pistachios in this recipe, but if you do, omit the salt in the recipe.
- This cake stays fresh stored covered on the counter for up to 3 days and up to 5 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container. To freeze the cake, wrap the cake tightly in plastic wrap and store it in a large airtight container or freezer bag for up to three months.
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