Pistachio Cake Recipe
This pistachio cake is soft, moist, and packed with nutty flavor. It's an easy eggless cake that's perfect for festive tables, cozy afternoons, or just a sweet treat at home!
It's a super-easy cake to prep with ingredients you most likely already have in your pantry. Semolina gives it a tender, moist crumb, and the ground pistachios and lemon syrup add richness and flavor. In just a few simple steps, you'll have a beautiful, festive-looking cake that will make any celebration special!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
Soft, moist, and tender: Semolina gives the cake a lovely flavor and a crumbly, almost buttery texture as well. I love it in my nankhatai recipe!
Nutty pistachios: Ground pistachios give this beautiful pale green color, a nutty, creamy, rich flavor.
Bright citrusy finish: The lemon syrup adds brightness and zing to this pistachio cake.
Easy to make: Simple ingredients, easy steps make this pistachio cake recipe perfect for beginners and expert bakers alike!
Gorgeous presentation: This eggless cake with pistachios is so effortlessly elegant and makes for a stunning center-piece!
Recipe Ingredients
Semolina: I love using semolina in my bakes, like in my orange semolina cake and cardamom pistachio madeleines. It gives the cake a tender and slightly dense crumb. It also adds a nutty flavor and a subtle texture. I recommend using fine semolina in this recipe.
Flour: In addition to semolina, I have used all-purpose flour. You can also use whole wheat flour.
Pistachios: They add a rich, nutty flavor and a beautiful green color. I ground some raw, unsalted pistachios in my coffee grinder. You can also use store-bought ground pistachios.
Oil: I love using coconut oil for its subtle sweet flavor, but feel free to use any vegetable oil you like.
Sugar: I used caster sugar, also known as superfine sugar. It blends easily into the batter.
Yogurt: Plain Greek yogurt or plain yogurt drained of excess liquid works well here. Yogurt keeps the eggless pistachio cake super moist and also adds richness.
Lemon: Lemon juice and zest make the cake bright and fresh! After baking, the cake is soaked in lemon syrup, which adds to the citrussy flavor and also makes the cake so so moist.
Matcha powder: I used a small amount for color! Feel free to leave it out or use 2 or 3 drops of green food coloring.
Please see the recipe card below for full information about the ingredients and quantities.
How To Make Pistachio Cake
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 180 °C / 350°F. Grease a 6" cake tin well.
Step 2: In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients - semolina, ground pistachio, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, and matcha powder.
Step 3: In a separate bowl, whisk the yogurt, coconut oil, and lemon juice.
Step 4: Stir into the dry ingredients. Add the lemon zest. Whisk until a thick, smooth batter is formed.
Step 5: Pour into the prepared tin, and top with chopped pistachios. Bake for 30-40 minutes until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean with just a few moist crumbs attached.
Step 6: While the cake bakes and cools, make the lemon syrup.
Step 7: Once the cake is baked, let it cool for 20 minutes. Then poke holes with a skewer. Spoon or brush the syrup all over the warm cake.
Step 8: Turn it out on a serving platter and sprinkle more chopped pistachios and dried rose petals, if you wish. Slice and serve!
How To Make Lemon Syrup
This is a simple lemon-flavored syrup, super easy to make. You will use about 3-4 tablespoons of the syrup and refrigerate the leftovers for another use.
- Cook water and sugar for about 5-10 minutes, just letting it simmer.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the lemon juice.
- Let the syrup cool before you use it.
Top Tips
- I ground the pistachios in the food processor until they were super fine. You can, of course, leave it a bit chunky if you prefer the texture. But keep in mind not to grind them so fine (or too long) that it turns into pistachio butter.
- I wanted a really green pistachio cake without any food color. So, in went some matcha powder. This is totally optional.
- Avoid overmixing the cake batter. Mix only until the ingredients are combined.
- Leftover lemon syrup? Store it in the refrigerator for 7-10 days. It’s excellent for lemonades and iced teas like my watermelon iced tea and peach iced tea.
- Pistachio cake keeps very well in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Serve at room temperature.
Recipe FAQs
Can I make this pistachio cake vegan?
Yes! Use any plant-based yogurt instead of Greek yogurt.
Can I skip the lemon syrup?
You can, but the syrup makes the cake really moist and adds a wonderful, bright flavor too.
How long does this pistachio cake keep?
Pistachio cake keeps very well in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Bring it to room temperature before serving or reheat it for 15-20 seconds in the microwave.
More Easy Festive Cake Recipes
Recipe
Pistachio Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup Semolina / Sooji
- 1/2 cup Pistachio powder Simply grind pistachios in your grinder or food processor
- 1/4 cup All-purpose flour
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp Baking soda
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Matcha powder Optional. You can also use 2-3 drops of green food color if you wish.
- 1/2 cup Caster sugar
- 1 cup Greek yogurt, plain
- 1/3 cup Coconut oil
- 2 tsp Lemon juice
- Zest of one lemon
Lemon Syrup
- 1/2 cup Water
- 1/4 cup Sugar
- 2 tsp Lemon juice
Topping
- Finely chopped pistachios and dried rose petals
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 C / 350 F. Grease a 6" cake tin well.
- In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients - semolina, pistachio powder, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, and matcha powder. Give it all a good whisk to ensure there are no lumps.1 cup Semolina / Sooji, 1/2 cup Pistachio powder, 1/4 cup All-purpose flour, 1 tsp Baking powder, 1/2 tsp Baking soda, 1/4 tsp Salt, 1 tsp Matcha powder, 1/2 cup Caster sugar
- In a separate bowl, whisk the yogurt, coconut oil, and lemon juice. 1 cup Greek yogurt, plain, 1/3 cup Coconut oil, 2 tsp Lemon juice
- Stir into the dry ingredients. Add the lemon zest. Whisk until a thick, smooth batter is formed.Zest of one lemon
- Pour into the prepared tin, and top with chopped pistachios.
- Bake at 180 C / 350 F for 30-40 minutes until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean with just a few moist crumbs attached.
Lemon syrup
- While the cake is baking, add water and sugar to a small saucepan and let it simmer for about 5-10 minutes. Take it off the heat and stir in lemon juice. Taste and adjust for taste. Let this syrup cool completely.1/2 cup Water, 1/4 cup Sugar, 2 tsp Lemon juice
- Once the cake is baked, let it cool for 20 minutes. Then poke holes with a skewer. Spoon or brush the syrup all over the warm cake. You will need about 3 tbsps of the syrup. Save the rest for another use.Let the cake cool completely.
- Turn it out on a serving platter and sprinkle more chopped pistachios and dried rose petals, if you wish. Serve at room temperature and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- I ground the pistachios in the food processor until they were super fine. You can, of course, leave it a bit chunky if you prefer the texture. But keep in mind not to grind them so fine (or too long) that it turns into pistachio butter.
- I wanted a really green pistachio cake without any food color. So, in went some matcha powder. This is totally optional.
- Avoid overmixing the cake batter. Mix only until the ingredients are combined.
- Leftover lemon syrup? Store it in the refrigerator for 7-10 days. It’s excellent for lemonades and iced teas like my watermelon iced tea and peach iced tea.
- Pistachio cake keeps very well in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Serve at room temperature.
I absolutely LOVED this cake! A friend recommended this cake recipe to me after I mentioned how awful I usually am with baking. This recipe's easy to follow and tastes amazing! I also really appreciate how mindful of sugar/butter this recipe is. I personally am not big on lemon flavors, so I skipped these and added a thin layer of Cool whip on top with a few drops of rose essence 🙂
Natasha Author
I'm thrilled to hear this, Mel! Your lovely feedback really made my day! So grateful for your support. Hope you continue to enjoy the recipes here.xx
Hi Natasha! I'm super excited to make this cake for my best friend's birthday! Do you recommend using extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil?
I have coconut oil but was concerned because of the comment above that says it may mask the pistachio flavor. But I wanted to know your thoughts and experience with the cake 🙂
also, would you recommend adding cardamom powder to this cake.... I love elaichi? sorry for the questions, just wanted your advice because I don't have much time to experiment with it!
Thanks for your time!
Natasha Author
Hello Anju, what a sweet friend you are!!
So you can use extra virgin olive oil, I have never used avocado oil, so I'm not quite sure about it. You can definitely use any neutral tasting oil such as sunflower or safflower.
Cardamom powder will be great here. Feel free to leave out lemon juice and zest then. Cardamom goes very well with pistachios.
Hope this helps.
Happy baking! xoxo
hi.. can this recipe be used for filling n frosting? I mean, sooji is used here, will not it be a dense one??
Natasha Author
Hi, you can most definitely frost this cake even though its dense. I prefer to eat it as is.:)
Thanks for the interesting recipe. It was super easy and quick to make and tasted delicious. The only criticism I would have is that between the coconut oil and lemon the pistachio flavor was lost!
Natasha Author
Thank you so much for your feedback. I'm very glad you enjoyed the cake despite the lack of pistachio flavor. Maybe next time you could you a neutral-tasting oil and skip the lemon. Appreciate your support.
Hi
Cake looks wonderful
It’s fine sooji or coarse sooji?
Thanks
Natasha Author
Thank you very much, Anu! Fine sooji is recommended here. 🙂