My family loves pistachios. There is never a bad time for pistachios in our house. At some point, it occurred to me that pistachios would be amazing in cake. Pistachio Cake was born and I am so happy that I was right about it being a great idea.
While researching the idea of Pistachio Cake I realized most of the recipes called for boxed cake mix and pudding, we try to create recipes that are unprocessed and more organic. This cake definitely is both of those concepts, not only that but it is dairy free as well.
Perfectly delicious as a cake, this pistachio cake is also great as cupcakes or mini cupcakes with just a dollop of frosting.
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Prep Time | 20 minutes |
Cook Time | 25-30 minutes |
Servings |
servings
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- 2 cup pistachios shelled, divided
- 2 lemons zested and juiced
- 2 cup granulated sugar
- 4 eggs large, room temperature
- 1 1/4 cup olive oil or any neutral flavored oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cup all purpose gluten free flour mix with xanthan gum see note
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 2-3 cup whipped cream prepared or dairy free substitute
- lemon zest additional, optional for garnish
- pistachios additional, chopped optional for garnish
Ingredients
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- Preheat oven to 350°. Spray three 9" round cake pans with cooking spray, line with parchment paper, then spray paper with cooking spray.
- Measure out 1 cup of shelled pistachios into a food processor. Pulse until pistachios are finely ground. Set aside.
- Roughly chop the second cup of shelled pistachios. Set aside.
- Zest and juice the two lemons. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer or a large bowl, on medium, mix eggs, granulated sugar, and olive oil until creamy and light in color.
- Add vanilla extract and blend until incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, measure out all-purpose, gluten free flour mix, ground pistachios, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg and lemon zest. Whisk until well incorporated.
- With mixer on low, add the mixed dry ingredients, 1/2 cup at at time to the bowl, alternating with the lemon juice and mixing until each addition is incorporated.
- When all the dry ingredients have been incorporated, take bowl off mixer and add the roughly chopped pistachios to the bowl. Fold in to the batter until completely incorporated.
- Divide batter equally into prepared pans and bake in a 350° oven until the cake is golden brown, the edges have pulled away from the pan and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Place pans on a cooling rack and allow to cool for ten minutes. After ten minutes, invert pans on cooling rack to remove cake. Remove parchment from the cakes and allow to cool completely.
- Once completely cooled, if necessary, level out the top of the cake layers. Place one layer on serving plate and lightly frost with whip cream. Place second layer on top of frosted layer and frost the top of the second layer. Sprinkle with more chopped pistachios if desired.
- Wrap lightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.
If your flour mix does not contain xanthan gum, add 2 teaspoons of xanthan gum to your flour mix.
To make mini cupcakes, scoop 1 tablespoon of batter into a paper lined cupcake/muffin pan. Bake 8-12 minutes or until tester inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
For regular size cupcakes, fill paper line cupcake pan 3/4 of the way full. Bake 12-18 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
This Pistachio Cake recipe is gluten free, dairy free and vegetarian.