Pistachio Cardamom Cake

4.84 from 6 votes

A delicious eggless pistachio cardamom celebration cake with a light cream cheese frosting.

Servings servings

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 35

Total Time 1 10

Ingredients

For the cake

150 g (1 ¼ cups) pistachios, shelled and skins mostly removed
350 g (2 ½ cups) plain (all purpose) flour
2.5 tsp baking powder
2-3 tsp cardamom powder (less if using fresh, see notes below)
0.25 tsp nutmeg, grated
135 g (½ cup + 2 tbsp) unsalted butter
190 g (¾ cup + 3 tbsp) caster sugar
1.5 tsp vanilla
285 g (1 ¼ cups) yogurt (I use Greek)
150 ml (½ cup + 2 tbsp) milk (I use whole milk)

For the cream cheese frosting and decoration

200 g (¾ cup + 3 tbsp) unsalted butter
200 g (1 ½ cups) icing (powdered) sugar
430 g (1 ¾ cups + 3 tbsp) full fat cream cheese
2 tsp vanilla
pistachios, for decoration
2 gulab jamun, for decoration
dried rose petals, for decoration

Instructions

For the cake

Brush two 7" circle cake tins with some melted butter. Line the bases with parchment paper and brush with a little butter again to make sure it sticks down well. Set the tins aside. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F whilst making the cake batter.
Finely chop the pistachio nuts. You can do this by hand, but I prefer to use a food processor for speed and convenience. Be careful not to over process the nuts or you will end up with a pistachio nut butter instead.
Sift together the plain (all purpose) flour, baking powder, cardamom and nutmeg into a bowl with the ground pistachios. Whisk it all together, then set the bowl aside.
In a separate large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add in the yogurt and vanilla and beat again to combine. The mixture may look slightly curdled. It will all come together in the end.
Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the milk to the butter mixture, folding the ingredients together in between additions. I do this in five stages, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Do not over mix the cake mixture, but only fold until combined.
Bake the cakes in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes until risen and golden. The cakes will be springy to touch and a toothpick/wooden skewer inserted into the middle will come out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes in the tin before turning out and allowing to cool completely.

For the cream cheese frosting and decoration

Beat the butter using an electric whisk for at least 5 minutes until it is fluffy, really pale and soft. This step is important, it gives a wonderfully light buttercream, so it is definitely worth being patient!
Add in the icing sugar, giving it a quick stir around to prevent a sugar cloud when you start whisking. Spoon in the vanilla, then beat it all together for a few minutes until the buttercream is smooth and light.
Slightly loosen the cream cheese with a spatula before tipping into the buttercream bowl. Beat the cream cheese into the buttercream until well mixed and totally smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and check everything is well combined. Transfer the cream cheese icing to a piping bag, if using.
Place one of the cakes on a plate or cake stand. Pipe a layer of buttercream over the top of the cake, then sprinkle with extra chopped pistachio nuts, if you wish. Place the second layer of cake on top, then cover the top and sides with cream cheese frosting.
Using an offset spatula or knife, smooth the icing out into an even smooth layer all over the cake. Holding the offset spatula vertically, gently drag it from the base up all around the edges of the cake to create a ridged effect around the side of the cake.
Sprinkle some chopped pistachio nuts around the base of the cake, gently pushing it into the cream cheese icing. Decorate the top of the pistachio cardamom cake with chopped pistachios arranged in a crescent shape. Fan out some gulab jamun slices over the nuts, then sprinkle with some dried rose petals to finish the decoration. Enjoy!

Notes

I like to have my pistachios finely chopped so they are almost like almond meal or breadcrumbs in size. This is much easier, not to mention quicker, to do in a food processor than by hand, but be careful not to over process and end up with pistachio paste instead!

This recipe will work too with finely chopped (by hand) pistachios, however it will affect the texture of the finished bake. I would recommend having the nuts as finely chopped as possible in this cake.

You can buy pre ground cardamom powder. It is often found in the spices section of the store. If you are unable to find it, you can grind up some whole cardamom at home too. Please keep in mind that freshly ground cardamom has a much stronger flavour than pre ground, and so you will require less than stated in the recipe.

Almond extract is often used instead of vanilla in pistachio bakes, as it enhances the pistachio flavour in the bake. You can use either here, both are delicious!

Make sure to use a full fat, thick yogurt such as a Greek yogurt when making the cakes. I always use full fat milk too for best flavour in my bakes.

Once you start adding the dry ingredients to the butter/yogurt mixture, it is really important to swap to a spatula and fold the mixture to combine it. If you beat it with an electric whisk, you will end up with a gummy texture to the cake rather than a lighter fluffy one which we want.

When making the cream cheese icing, you want to use a good quality, and again a full fat cream cheese. Low fat or own brand options often have a higher water content, leading to the buttercream splitting or being a runny mess and not setting well at all.

I like to add extra chopped pistachio nuts in between the cake layers. This gives additional crunch, texture and flavour, and I love it! This is totally optional though, you can easily skip it if you wish.

Author: Andrea

Calories: 507kcal

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Indian, International

Keyword: Cardamom Infused Cake, Eggless pistachio cardamom cake, Persian Love Cake style, Pistachio Cardamom Cake, Pistachio Sponge Recipe

Nutrition

Calories: 507kcal