Every year around Valentine’s Day I like to share a new incredible cake recipe for you to share with family, friends, and loved ones. Baking a cake is more time and labor-intensive than a batch of cookies or brownies, but there’s something so satisfying about topping off a homemade cake with frosting made from scratch and showing it off for any occasion.
This beautiful lemon pistachio cake has a tender crumb, the perfect amount of sweetness and brightness, and gets topped with the most incredible lemon buttercream frosting. It’s a great way to use up seasonal citrus while adding a little sunshine to the winter months. OH, and did I mention it’s gluten free and easily made dairy free? If I would have tested this a year ago, I would have definitely put it in my cookbook! It is THAT good!
Whether you’re looking for a special treat for v-day or a birthday, or just want to show your partner, kiddos, or bestie a little love, this cake is just the thing. Top with your favorite fresh berries and share a slice with the people you care about the most!
Ingredients in the best lemon pistachio cake
This perfect pistachio cake is gluten free, perfectly sweet, and has ground pistachios for the most amazing texture and flavor. Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
- Pistachios: you’ll be grinding up pistachios and adding them straight to the batter for lovely pistachio flavor. I used roasted salted pistachios for extra flavor, but you can also use unsalted.
- Flour: we’re using a mix of almond flour and oat flour to keep the cake gluten free and give it the most incredible crumb and flavor.
- Baking staples: you’ll need both baking powder and baking soda, plus a little salt.
- Lemons: for a wonderful brightness we’re adding both lemon juice and lemon zest to the batter.
- Sugar: this cake is sweetened with organic cane sugar. You can also use regular granulated sugar.
- Eggs: you’ll need 4 eggs to help the cake bake properly.
- Yogurt: a little whole milk Greek yogurt gives the cake extra moisture. I like to use vanilla yogurt for more sweetness, but plain is great too!
- Almond extract: I also like adding almond extract instead of vanilla extract to bring out the pistachio flavor.
- Frosting & topping: we’re using my Lovely Lemon Buttercream Frosting, to frost the cake, plus low sugar strawberry jam or blueberry jam between the layers, and fresh berries on top.
Can I make this cake dairy free or vegan?
Feel free to use dairy free yogurt in the cake batter, and vegan butter in the frosting to keep the cake fully dairy free. I haven’t tested this cake using flax eggs to keep it vegan and wouldn’t recommend as I think it would change the texture too much.
Can I use other flours?
Unfortunately, I cannot recommend a substitute for the almond or oat flour (like all purpose flour) in this pistachio cake as the ratios are what give this cake the perfect texture. See below for how to make your own oat flour for ease!
Make your own oat flour at home
You can easily make homemade oat flour to use in this lemon pistachio cake recipe. Check out my tutorial on how to make homemade oat flour right at home. So easy!
Choose your pan size
- For 2 8-inch round cakes: bake for 18-25 minutes
- For 3 6-inch round cakes: bake for 22-28 minutes
Tips for a perfectly frosted cake
I recommend doing a crumb coat so that the lemon frosting is smooth and beautiful on your cake!
- Start with a completely cooled cake so that the frosting doesn’t melt into the cake layers.
- Frost between the layers as you normally would, then coat the outside of the cake with a very thin layer of frosting. Place the cake in the fridge (or freezer works too!) for 10-15 minutes. This is so that the crumbs stick to this layer of frosting and not your main layer.
- Finally, frost the cake again by adding the rest of the frosting on top of your crumb coat. Boom!
How to store & freeze this lemon pistachio cake
You can easily make this gluten free pistachio cake 1-2 days ahead of time! Feel free to make the cake layers ahead and store them in the fridge, or make the whole frosted cake and store it.
- To store: I recommend storing the cake well covered in the refrigerator for up to 5-7 days.
- To freeze: freeze this lemon pistachio cake either frosted or unfrosted for up to 2 months. I recommend freezing it unfrosted in individual layers for the best results. First, wrap each individual layer in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil and then place the cakes in a zip-top freezer bag. When you’re ready to serve it, simply thaw it in the refrigerator overnight and then let the cake come to room temperature before frosting and serving.
Our fav cake baking tools
- 6 inch cake pans
- Parchment paper
- Lemon zester
- Lemon juicer
- Offset spatula for frosting
- Bench scraper for frosting
- Mixing bowls
- Stand mixer
- Hand mixer
- A nice cake stand
Get all of our go-to kitchen essentials here!
More cake recipes you’ll love
- Dad’s Extraordinary Yellow Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- Almond Lemon Raspberry Poppy Seed Cake
- Damn Good Peanut Butter Banana Cake (gluten free, grain free)
- Inside Out Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake
- The Best Healthy Carrot Cake You’ll Ever Eat (gluten free & paleo-friendly!)
Get all of my cake recipes here!
I hope you love this lemon pistachio cake recipe! If you make it be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Lemon Pistachio Cake with Lovely Lemon Frosting
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.
Recipe Notes
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
95 comments
How deep are your 6 inch baking pans?
These are the ones I use – they’re 6 inches deep!
Do you think these would work as cupcakes? If so how long would you bake for?
Yes! I would check them at about 15 minutes.
Could this be made dairy free?
Yes! Check the full post for all of my substitutions suggestions.
Thanks! Could this be made in 4 inch cake pans too?
I haven’t tested this in smaller cake pans but I’m afraid you’ll have too much batter!
THANK YOU FOR PUTTING GRAMS/weight MEASUREMENTS!!!! I can’t wait to try it!
Absolutely! We’re working to add them to our baking recipes 🙂 Enjoy!
Cant wait to make this soon for me i never had lemon pistachio cake with lovely lemon frosting before perfect for my after office snacks love your recipes as always brightens up my day everyday after work
This Lemon Pistachio Cake is so amazing!!! It is one of the most delicious cakes I have made in a very long time. Monique’s recipes are all so good and so easy to make. This cake is so easy to make and is seriously so delish. All of her recipes are so yummy…everything I have tried is a favorite. I have been baking for years and this one is definitley a keeper! I even made this cake with a cream cheese icing and it was soooooo good! Thank you so much for all your great recipes!
So happy you loved this one! Truly my new fav!
This cake is phenomenal!! And I love the high-quality ingredients. Makes me feel like I can even serve it for breakfast to my kids (or eat it all myself). I made my own frosting – lemon cream cheese and it paired amazing! Home run recipe!!
This cake is phenomenal!! And I love the high-quality ingredients. Makes me feel like I can even serve it for breakfast to my kids (or eat it all myself). I made my own frosting – lemon cream cheese and it paired amazing! Home run recipe!!
So happy to hear that!
Hi, i was wondering if i can make the cake without the lemon. Does the lemon juice play a role in the rise? Thank you! It looks and sounds delish
Hi! The lemon juice does interact with the baking soda to help the cake bake up properly. I wouldn’t suggest leaving it out.
This cake was delightful. It has such unique flavors and the most wonderful moist texture. Such a creative recipe. I really enjoyed it with a cup of lemon tea and it was one of the best gluten free cakes I have ever tried. It probably isn’t the type of recipe I’ll have on repeat since it wasn’t as popular with the men in my family, but it is definitely a fun one when you want to mix things up. It would also be perfect for a ladies brunch, tea party or shower.
I’m so glad you loved it! Great for a Galentine’s Day celebration, too 🙂
Absolutely delicious — made this for a family gathering and everyone loved it! Monique always has the most fabulous cake recipes
I made this recipe as cupcakes bc I only had one cake pan! Delicious. Very lemony! Loved the texture that the ground pistachios created. Next time I will do half almond and half vanilla extract as everyone said the almond taste stood out. I decided to “stuff” with a teaspoon of strawberry jam but it sunk to the bottom:(
Frosting was creamy and so tasty. A perfect compliment to the cake. Looking forward to making this in cake form!
Love the idea of cupcakes! Sorry to hear that the strawberry jam sank to the bottom – it’s likely because it’s a heavier liquid ingredient that was added right to the batter.
Absolutely delicious cake!! The icing is heavenly! My kids loved too which says a lot since I have very picky eaters!! I’ll definitely be making this again!!
So happy to hear that!
This cake is amazing! The flavors are perfect, and it’s even better the next day out of the fridge. I did not have 6 inch pans, so I used 2-8 inch pans and the recommended bake time was right on.
Perfect! Glad you loved it!
I’ve made quite a few Ambitious Kitchen recipes in the past, and I’m always happy with the result. Last year, for my Valentine’s birthday, I made the poppyseed cake from here. This year, I made the pistachio cake and the textures amazes me every time!!! I’m not gluten free, so I don’t have any experience baking gluten free, but I’ll do it if Monique says it’s good 🙂 The cake is very moist, yet soft, which is unexpected given that pistachios and almond flour don’t see as light and fluffy as all purpose or cake flour. I panicked because I used salted pistachios, but like the recipe says, it really does work!!! It makes the cake not so sweet, but also NOT salty. It’s kinda magic really. Don’t skip the strawberry jam because it does complement the pistachio. I used a cream cheese frosting, which also worked really well.
Salt in baking just adds flavor! So glad you loved this one!
Love this cake! I did sub for blueberry compote; also, made the lemon frosting and it was absolutely delightful.
Amazing! Glad you loved it!
Monique has outdone herself with this recipe! The directions are straightforward. The only substitution I made was using raspberry jam because I forgot to buy strawberry. The perfect amount of pistachio and lemon. Great texture. I will definitely make it again!
Raspberry sounds delicious in here!!
This cake was ridiculously good!! Such good flavor in the cake itself, the lemon buttercream is delightful, and the strawberry jam adds the perfect fruity layer. I made it for a group of friends this weekend and it was a hit across the board. Also very impressive looking! I was a little intimidated since I’ve never made a cake like this before, but Monique’s step by step instructions make it fool-proof and I can’t wait to make it again!
Amazing! So happy it was a hit!
This recipe is AMAZING!! So perfect
New fav!!
This was incredible! Would definitely make it again. And again. And again. Thanks for a great recipe
So glad you loved it!
Ok I need to preface this by saying I am NO baker, so I halved this based on what I had in the kitchen and then just made one larger single layer cake. That said, it was FIRE. So insanely good. Just the right amount of tartness and salt to balance out the sweet, and the flavors go together just perfectly. The pistachios are genius in a cake. I will be making this again whenever cake is required.
Amazing! So glad you loved it!
This cake is so moist and flavorful! We loved the lemon flavor in it. I paired mine with strawberry frosting made with freeze dried strawberries. Thank you for always providing desserts I don’t feel guilty about making for my family. I love the ingredients you use;
Love that! Happy to hear that it was a hit 🙂
Another cake that did not disappoint!! I will be making this cake for everyone and their mom! Modifications I made which still resulted in the most delicious cake: Made mini cakes-baked it on an extra large baking sheet so I could have thinner cake pieces. Mini cakes made it easy for transport without compromising flavor. I would do 1.5 recipes for the frosting if doing it this way. Also subbed coconut yogurt for the regular/greek yogurt.
I’m glad the mini cake size worked out well! Perfect dessert 🙂
Amazing! Easy to make and so delicious! Will definitely make it again and again!!
So happy to hear that!
I just made this cake today. I used 2 9″ pans. The cake came.out perfect but I think the lemons overpowered the pistachio. I added milk to the icing but still a bit stiff and did not spread good so did not have enough.. Did not have strawberries so used raspberries which was fine. All in all it was good.
Feel free to continue adding a little milk at a time until you reach your desired consistency for the frosting 🙂 Glad you enjoyed regardless!
This was a beautiful and DELICIOUS cake! The flavor combos of lemon, pistachio, and strawberry all worked so beautifully together for a flavor explosion in your mouth! My husband and kids both loved it, too! The jam layer and the lemon zest were my favorite additions. Monique saves Valentine’s Day again!
The perfect Valentine’s Day cake! So glad everyone loved it!
I just made this for my husband’s birthday and we haven’t tried it yet, but it smells phenomenal! I made it in 6 inch cake pans and they didn’t really rise in the middle, any suggestions on what caused this? I didn’t substitute anything but I’m wondering if I didn’t blend my pistachios for long enough. Can’t wait to taste it!
Because this is a gluten free cake it won’t rise as much as cakes made with all purpose flour, but did the cake layers rise at all? Did the texture seem dense? I’d love to help troubleshoot further, and hope it was still delicious!
I can’t wait to try this recipe! What would the baking time be if I made it into cupcakes?
I would check them at 15 minutes!
Thank you for making this gluten free household able to enjoy ☺️ yummy recipes on holidays like Valentine’s Day! We loved the recipe. My only edit was I subbed in coconut sugar instead of the cane sugar. Thank you so much for this delicious recipe!
So happy to hear that!
I love this cake! I made it into cupcakes in little silicone cupcake liners. It made approximately 18 (12 standard size cupcakes and 6 that were a little bigger). They baked for about 17-20 minutes. After cooling, I cored the cupcakes, leaving a little cake at the bottom, and filled it with the strawberry jam. Then topped with frosting and pistachio crumbs! DELICIOUS! My husband and grandma loved them!
Amazing!! Glad you loved this one!
I made this cake for a birthday celebration and it was FANTASTIC! It was my first time making a layered cake and the instructions were extremely easy to follow, which I genuinely appreciate.
The cake was absolutely delicious. Light and full of flavor. I also made the lemon buttermilk frosting, and it added the perfect amount of sweetness. I will absolutely make this recipe again!!
Amazing! So happy to hear that!
First time making a layered cake. I have been wanting to try and test before being to a women’s retreat in April. This is such a good cake!! I had a small slice but couldn’t stop, had to go back for more!!! Beautiful and fancy looking, but all good ingredients!! Well the frosting adds some goodness with some sugar and fat, but all in moderation. Thank you so much for the amazing recipes!!
Amazing! So happy you loved it!
I don’t typically post reviews but wow, this might have been the best cake I’ve ever made. I didn’t do any modifications, followed the recipe exactly, and it came out perfectly. Everyone loved it. I highly recommend making this. Everything from the icing to the moistness of the cake was PERFECT!!!
Love that!! Thanks so much for your review!
Can this be made into a sheet cake in a 9”x11” pan?
I think so! Please note that the cake will be a bit thinner, so be sure to reduce the baking time.
Hey there! I have a question, after i put my pistachios in the food processor. They were clumpy and moist, Can i still use them in the cake?
Sorry i didn’t realize i sent this twice!
Hi! No problem. They should be very finely ground – check out the photo in the blog post, as well as the video to see what the texture should look like!
I want to make this cake a 3 layer, ‘8’ inch for a big party – do you have ingredient measurements for that?
Hi! I’ve only tested this cake with the given measurements, which makes a 3 layer 6-inch cake or 2 layer 8-inch cake, so I’m not sure how much extra batter you’ll need to make for another 8 inch layer.
i loved this cake- i did substitute corn flour for the oat flour since it was being served to someone with an oat allergy and i thought it worked well with the almond and pistachio. i’m making it for the second time now actually.
I’m glad that worked out well! Perfect treat.
Oh I love that. I’ve got a celiac with a corn and oat (and quinoa) issue so I’ve been wanting to make this cake for her but stuck for what to use with the almond flour. It will likely end up a trial and error thing. Glad you found something that worked for you
I make an AK cake for nearly every celebration at my house. I made this one for Easter and it is my favorite AK cake so far! Great texture, delicious flavors. The lovely lemon frosting and strawberry jam really make it over the top. Thank you for another delicious cake recipe, Monique!
Love that so much!!
I’m hoping to make this for an upcoming birthday party, but I need to make it a couple of days in advance. Would it freeze well if I left it unfrosted and just wrapped the cake layers in cling wrap?
Yes! Check out the full blog post for freezing instructions.
This recipe was amazing! Made for my mom’s birthday. Made it vegan with vanilla coconut yogurt in the wet ingredients and Earth Balance original in the frosting to accommodate some DF family members. Fabulous subs, and the texture of both cake and frost was sooooo good.
I must say, I am by far from an avid baker – a unique cake from scratch was a huge stretch of the comfort zone. This recipe was written in such great detail with many helpful tips, it honestly turned out in spectacular fashion.
My only comment is that I personally found the almond extract a bit strong tasting and verging on overpowering. Everyone else in the group did not agree, they LOVED it, so I’d say this is not a recipe flaw but a personal preference. Might go for vanilla or even lemon extract next time.
Thanks AK for yet another banger!!!
So happy to hear that! This is one of those desserts that feels really special but is easier to bake than you think 🙂 Noted on the almond extract, too – it really is a personal taste preference, so feel free to reduce or swap it for yourself!
instead of grinding i have pistachio flour in a bag, would would the amount be to use in this rece
thank you
Great question! I haven’t measured this out so I can’t be 100% sure, but I think it will be around 3/4 cup.
This cake is delicious! The flavors work so well together. Perfect springtime cake.
Absolutely! Glad you enjoyed!
This was so delicious, so full of pistachio flavour, and such a crowd pleaser. Thank you!
So glad it was a hit!
Can you make this cake with all purpose flour instead of almond flour?
Unfortunately, no, the texture will be much different. Sorry!
So obsessed with this recipe!!! Every time I make it, it’s a crowd favorite. I want to make these into cupcakes! How would you adjust the cooking time and oven temp?
So happy to hear that! Keep the oven time the same and check the cupcakes around 15 minutes 🙂
I’d like to try this but I’m not a fan of dense cakes generally. Is this a dense cake? Also, I have 2 x 7″ cake pans. Would this work if I bake it a bit longer or will it sink in the middle? I’ve had this happen occasionally with GF bakes. Thx
Hi! Because this cake uses GF flours it will be denser than non-GF cakes, but not overly so. It just depends how dense is too dense for you! The 2 x 7″ cake pans should work, but you might have a bit of batter left over as this recipe will fill 2 8″ cake pans.
Can these be made as cupcakes? If so, what temp and how long to bake? Thank you!
Yes, same temp and check them around 15 minutes!