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Pistachio Cake

Oleh Alimku Tiffany
My heart expanded last September and with my beautiful miracle came a deep realization. I'm now a role model for my daughter.Whoa. That's big.Instead of constantly putting pressure on myself with unrealistic expectations, I'm closing the door on comparison and saying YES to more of what I love. It's fabulously empowering to start taking control of your life.One of my loves? Decorating cakes and cupcakes for fun. You know that I've never felt confident in my decorating skills. This is because I always compared my creations to the beautiful cakes and cupcakes in my Pinterest and Instagram feeds. Whenever I began decorating, I felt discouraged. And it wasn't fun."Comparison is the thief of joy" - Theodore Roosevelt.So I practiced. And I practiced some more. And you've seen my skills as a cake decorator (can I call myself that?!) improve. My point with all of this? No one begins as an expert. Don't let comparison prevent you from doing what you love. Be confident. Cut the crap and have fun--> lol.GET CAKE-SPIREDIf you're in the same boat as I was-- nervous and not so confident with cake decorating-- join the March Baking Challenge. We're focusing on naked and semi-naked cakes. While it doesn't require much frosting, it forces you to get a little creative. And today's recipe is more cake inspiration for you! (Cakespiration?)If you already made the March Baking Challenge, go ahead and make room for 1 more cake this month. Because you don't want to miss this pistachio number. It's soft, light, sweet, buttery, and filled with silky cream cheese frosting.Remember my pistachio cupcakes? (On the subject of cake and cupcake decorating, I used Ateco #849 closed star tip for those cupcakes. Easiest piping tip, cutest little design.) I'm often asked how to turn them into a layer cake, so let's do it.Pistachio is an underrated dessert flavor. Is it because of the green? Or because it's a nut? More people should give pistachio a chance. Pistachios pair wonderfully with almond and vanilla flavors, not to mention butter and sugar. (What doesn't?) In fact, did you know that pistachio flavored ice cream gets most of its flavor from almond extract? We're definitely using that in today's cake.Instead of relying on artificial pistachio flavor, let's take pistachios and grind them into a crumb. I know what you're thinking. Hard chunks of nuts in cake? Actually no-- the pistachio crumbs become really soft and buttery. Since we're not using any artificial flavor, the pistachio flavor isn’t strong. You'll taste light pistachio plus delicious almond, butter, and vanilla flavors. Beautiful springtime cake.Use your food processor to break down the nuts. Your goal is a super fine pistachio crumb. If you go too far, you'll end up with pistachio butter. Add a little honey; it's delicious on toast. But not what we want in our pistachio cake.WHAT ELSE IS IN THIS CAKE?The rest of the cake batter resembles my favorite white layer cake, though I divided the batter into 3 cake pans instead of 2. Cake flour. 30x finer than all-purpose flour. I use slightly less cake flour in this recipe compared to my white layer cake because of the pistachio crumbs. I love cake flour. Pick up a box. You'll use it often. See all my recipes with cake flour. Egg whites. All protein. Promises a super light texture. Ever wonder why meringue, marshmallows, and angel food cakes require egg whites? Light! Soft! Sour cream. Moist. (Don't cringe at this word. You know you prefer a moist cake over a dry one!)Don't be alarmed. The cake batter will resemble spicy brown mustard, but it smells ahhhhmazing. I add a tiny drop of green food coloring so the finished cake is on the greener side. That's completely optional.There are many options for decorating your pistachio cake. I use cream cheese frosting. My recipe for cream cheese frosting will be enough to decorate your cake like I did: minimal on the edges with more frosting inside and on top of the cake.OTHER FROSTING OPTIONS: Blackberry cream cheese frosting Vanilla buttercream Strawberry buttercream Lemon buttercream Chocolate buttercreamThink about the look you want. Do you want more frosting than this semi-naked cake style? If so, I would 1.5x any of the frosting options listed.Remember what I said above? It's all about having fun. Topping the cake with goodies is the best part. I used some berries, florals, and crushed pistachios. If you want smooth sides, use a bench scraper. You can watch me using it in this video. If you don't really care, just swipe the frosting on. To be honest, the best part of this pistachio cake is on the inside. :)Please continue to share your participation in the March Baking Challenge with me! Use #sallysbakingchallenge on Instagram or Twitter, or upload a photo of your recipe to my Facebook page or Facebook group. Or email it to me! (You can also message me your photo on Instagram if your account is

My heart expanded last September and with my beautiful miracle came a deep realization. I'm now a role model for my daughter.Whoa. That's big.Instead of constantly putting pressure on myself with unrealistic expectations, I'm closing the door on comparison and saying YES to more of what I love. It's fabulously empowering to start taking control of your life.One of my loves? Decorating cakes and cupcakes for fun. You know that I've never felt confident in my decorating skills. This is because I always compared my creations to the beautiful cakes and cupcakes in my Pinterest and Instagram feeds. Whenever I began decorating, I felt discouraged. And it wasn't fun."Comparison is the thief of joy" - Theodore Roosevelt.So I practiced. And I practiced some more. And you've seen my skills as a cake decorator (can I call myself that?!) improve. My point with all of this? No one begins as an expert. Don't let comparison prevent you from doing what you love. Be confident. Cut the crap and have fun--> lol.GET CAKE-SPIREDIf you're in the same boat as I was-- nervous and not so confident with cake decorating-- join the March Baking Challenge. We're focusing on naked and semi-naked cakes. While it doesn't require much frosting, it forces you to get a little creative. And today's recipe is more cake inspiration for you! (Cakespiration?)If you already made the March Baking Challenge, go ahead and make room for 1 more cake this month. Because you don't want to miss this pistachio number. It's soft, light, sweet, buttery, and filled with silky cream cheese frosting.Remember my pistachio cupcakes? (On the subject of cake and cupcake decorating, I used Ateco #849 closed star tip for those cupcakes. Easiest piping tip, cutest little design.) I'm often asked how to turn them into a layer cake, so let's do it.Pistachio is an underrated dessert flavor. Is it because of the green? Or because it's a nut? More people should give pistachio a chance. Pistachios pair wonderfully with almond and vanilla flavors, not to mention butter and sugar. (What doesn't?) In fact, did you know that pistachio flavored ice cream gets most of its flavor from almond extract? We're definitely using that in today's cake.Instead of relying on artificial pistachio flavor, let's take pistachios and grind them into a crumb. I know what you're thinking. Hard chunks of nuts in cake? Actually no-- the pistachio crumbs become really soft and buttery. Since we're not using any artificial flavor, the pistachio flavor isn’t strong. You'll taste light pistachio plus delicious almond, butter, and vanilla flavors. Beautiful springtime cake.Use your food processor to break down the nuts. Your goal is a super fine pistachio crumb. If you go too far, you'll end up with pistachio butter. Add a little honey; it's delicious on toast. But not what we want in our pistachio cake.WHAT ELSE IS IN THIS CAKE?The rest of the cake batter resembles my favorite white layer cake, though I divided the batter into 3 cake pans instead of 2. Cake flour. 30x finer than all-purpose flour. I use slightly less cake flour in this recipe compared to my white layer cake because of the pistachio crumbs. I love cake flour. Pick up a box. You'll use it often. See all my recipes with cake flour. Egg whites. All protein. Promises a super light texture. Ever wonder why meringue, marshmallows, and angel food cakes require egg whites? Light! Soft! Sour cream. Moist. (Don't cringe at this word. You know you prefer a moist cake over a dry one!)Don't be alarmed. The cake batter will resemble spicy brown mustard, but it smells ahhhhmazing. I add a tiny drop of green food coloring so the finished cake is on the greener side. That's completely optional.There are many options for decorating your pistachio cake. I use cream cheese frosting. My recipe for cream cheese frosting will be enough to decorate your cake like I did: minimal on the edges with more frosting inside and on top of the cake.OTHER FROSTING OPTIONS: Blackberry cream cheese frosting Vanilla buttercream Strawberry buttercream Lemon buttercream Chocolate buttercreamThink about the look you want. Do you want more frosting than this semi-naked cake style? If so, I would 1.5x any of the frosting options listed.Remember what I said above? It's all about having fun. Topping the cake with goodies is the best part. I used some berries, florals, and crushed pistachios. If you want smooth sides, use a bench scraper. You can watch me using it in this video. If you don't really care, just swipe the frosting on. To be honest, the best part of this pistachio cake is on the inside. :)Please continue to share your participation in the March Baking Challenge with me! Use #sallysbakingchallenge on Instagram or Twitter, or upload a photo of your recipe to my Facebook page or Facebook group. Or email it to me! (You can also message me your photo on Instagram if your account is