Lemon Pistachio Cake with Lovely Lemon Frosting
Beautiful lemon pistachio cake with a lovely lemon frosting and fresh berries. This gluten free pistachio cake is perfectly sweet with both fresh lemon juice and lemon zest baked right in. Great for Valentine's Day, birthdays, or any special occasions!
Servings 12 servings
Ingredients
- Dry ingredients:
- 1 cup (135g) roasted shelled pistachios*
- 1 ½ cups (169g) fine blanched almond flour
- 1 cup (95g) oat flour, gluten free if desired
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Wet ingredients:
- Zest from 2 large lemons
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar (I use organic cane sugar)
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- ½ cup (113g) plain or vanilla whole-milk Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup (50g) fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- For the cake:
- 1 batch Lovely Lemon Frosting
- 6 tablespoons low sugar strawberry jam (or sub blueberry!)
- Strawberries (or berries of choice), for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of three 6-inch round cake pans or two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper rounds. Spray parchment paper and sides of the pans with nonstick cooking spray. YOU SHOULD USE PARCHMENT PAPER – do not forget or the cakes will stick to the pan.
- Prepare pistachios: Add 1 cup pistachio to the bowl of a food processor and process on high until pistachios are finely ground, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Reserve 1 to 2 tablespoons of ground pistachios and set aside for decorating the cake later.
- Mix together the dry ingredients: In a large bowl, add the pistachios (minus the 1 to 2 tablespoons reserved), then whisk in the almond flour, oat flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Mix together the wet ingredients: In a separate large bowl, add the sugar and lemon zest and use clean fingers to rub the zest into the sugar for 1 minute. This will infuse the lemon flavor into the sugar. Next add the eggs, yogurt, lemon juice and almond extract; whisk until smooth and well combined. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well with a wooden spoon until smooth. Mix in 1 to 2 drops of dye free food coloring if you want it more green and fun!
- Bake the cakes: Divide batter evenly between pans and spread out with a spatula to smooth the tops. Bake for 18-25 minutes in the two 8-inch pans or 22-28 minutes for three 6-inch pans. My 6-inch pans were done at 25 minutes. Cakes are done when a tester comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. Allow the cake to cool completely before removing from the pans. The cake should be room temperature when you frost it. This is very important. Cakes can be made a day ahead if you’d like and kept individually well wrapped in the fridge.
- Make your frosting according to the recipe here.
- Frost the cake: Place about 1 to 2 tablespoons down onto the cake stand and spread out. Run a butter knife around the edges of the pan for easy removal then invert a cake onto the cake stand (so the flat side is up), add about 1/2 heaping cup frosting and spread toward the edges. Add 3 tablespoons (if using 6-inch cakes) or 6 tablespoons (if using 8-inch cakes) of strawberry jam on top of the frosting and use a knife to spread towards the edge leaving about ¼ inch border so the jam doesn’t squish out of the cake. Place the next layer of cake, flat-side up, on top of the first layer, and repeat, topping with an additional 1/2 cup of frosting and spreading it to the edge. Top with another 3 tablespoons of strawberry jam (if using a 6-inch cake). Place the third layer (if using) flat-side up on top, then frost the top and sides of the cake with ½ cup of frosting, using a bench scraper or offset spatula to create a uniform, very thin layer of frosting around the cake. It helps to do this while slowly spinning the cake stand and gently pressing the scraper against the side of the cake. (This step is called a crumb coat which will allow for a beautiful, seamless look once complete.)
- Transfer the cake to the fridge for 15 to 20 minutes, until the crumb coat layer of frosting has firmed up to the touch. Once the cake is chilled, repeat the process of frosting the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting, using an offset spatula. Since the cake has been chilled, the crumb coat should allow for a smoother finish. If the cake is slightly ‘naked’ on the outside, that’s okay, it’s going to be delicious! Garnish with a dusting of reserved ground pistachios. Top with fresh strawberries (or mixed berries) in the middle just before serving the cake to make sure they stay as fresh as possible!
- Store: Enjoy immediately or store the cake in the fridge for up to 5 days, well-covered to ensure freshness.
Notes
For freezing instructions, see the blog post.
*I used roasted and salted pistachios for a flavor punch but feel free to use roasted unsalted pistachios!