Triple Pistachio Cake Vegan
Triple pistachio cake has an incredible, nutty flavor from ground pistachios in the cake, the pistachio cream frosting, and chopped pistachios on top. It comes together quickly and is so easy to make! (gluten-free and soy-free options)
Servings: 10
Ingredients
To Grind Up
- 1 slightly heaping cup raw pistachios
- 2 tablespoons sugar
Dry Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour , see notes for gluten-free
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch or tapioca starch
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- 3/4 cup non-dairy milk such as oat milk, soy milk, almond milk
- 2 teaspoons white or rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons non-dairy yogurt
- 1/4 cup oil
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla powder
Pistachio Cream Topping
- 1/4 cup ground pistachios from the powdered pistachios above
- 3/4 cup coconut cream or use 1/2 cup coconut cream + 1/4 cup cashews
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla powder, or more to taste
- pinch of salt
For Topping
- 3 tablespoons chopped pistachios
Instructions
Make the pistachio cake.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Add all of the raw pistachios with the 2 tablespoons of sugar to a small food processor or blender. Process for 15 to 20 seconds, stir to prevent them from turning butter, then continue processing until they are a fine meal. The sugar helps keep the pistachios from becoming buttery. Remove 1/4 cup of the ground pistachio mixture for the pistachio cream.
- In a large bowl, combine the remaining ground pistachios with the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix well. In a small bowl, combine non-dairy milk and vinegar. Let it sit for 1 minute to curdle, which makes vegan buttermilk. Add the yogurt, oil, 1/3 cup sugar, and the vanilla extract to the buttermilk bowl. Mix well until the sugar dissolves. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and mix in. If the batter is too thick, add more non-dairy milk 1 teaspoon at a time, until the batter is flowy but not runny. It should be somewhere between cake and muffin batter. (The thicker batter helps the cake maintain structure despite the weight of the nuts.)
- Pour the batter into a greased or lined 8” or 9” cake pan. Bake for 28 to 35 minutes. Check the center with a toothpick at the 28-minute mark. The edges of the cake cook faster due to the nuts, so bake until the center is fully set with no liquid portion. Remove from the oven, and let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan, cover with a kitchen towel, and let it cool completely on the counter or in the fridge before frosting.
Meanwhile, make the pistachio cream topping.
- Blend the reserved 1/4 cup ground pistachios with coconut cream, lemon zest, 1/4 cup sugar, vanilla, and salt until smooth. If using cashews, you may need to add a little coconut milk to help the blender. Taste and adjust the flavor. Add more sugar or vanilla , and blend again until smooth. Once smooth, transfer the cream to a bowl and freeze for at least 1 hour to thicken.
Assemble the pistachio cake.
- Pour and spread the pistachio cream over the cooled cake. Top generously with chopped pistachios. Slice and serve warm or at room temperature.
Video
Notes
Storage:
You can bake the pistachio cake and store it ahead in the fridge, with or without the cream, for up to 4 days. Reheat to room temperature or microwave until defrosted before serving. You can store the cream separately and drizzle it on the slices just before serving, if you prefer.
This pistachio cake is freezer-friendly in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months! Defrost frozen cake, then top with the pistachio cream.
To make this soy-free, use soy-free non-dairy yogurt and non-dairy milk, like oat or almond.
For gluten-free, mix together 3/4 cup almond flour, 1/2 cup oat flour, and 1/4 cup tapioca starch. Use 1 1/4 cups of this mixture for the batter. Also replace 1/4 cup of the non-dairy milk in the wet ingredients with 1/4 cup club soda or other neutral, fizzy beverage. If the batter is too thin, you can add in more of the leftover flour mixture until it reaches that cake batter but-not-too-flowy consistency.
To make it oilfree- use 3 tablespoons applesauce instead of the 1/4 cup oil
To bake into cupcakes- bake for 23-26 minutes for regular size cupcake
Nutrition
Calories: 353kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Sodium: 123mg | Potassium: 234mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 30g | Vitamin A: 45IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 72mg | Iron: 1mg