French pistachio cake is a European style dessert with an incredibly moist light texture and a fragrant vanilla pistachio flavor.
This French pistachio cake is a revelation! I’m super excited to share it with you. It’s a simple but distinctive dessert, which is exactly the kind of recipe I love to feature here. The texture is so light and fluffy ~ you’ll feel it the minute your fork hits the cake. This is so good I’m already planning variations. It’s definitely a new star in my cake collection.
The recipe is lightly adapted from Gateau: The Surprising Simplicity of French Cakes. And because it’s a French recipe it’s a little different from most US cakes, but maybe not in the way you thought. Not all French baking is fancy and elaborate ~ the flip side of elaborate French baking is straightforward preparation methods, natural flavors, and a rustic presentation. This one layer pistachio cake is a perfect example of that minimal baking style.
But don’t let the simplicity fool you, this is one of the best cakes I’ve ever made.
French pistachio cake ingredients
Notice there is no butter or oil in this cake, the richness comes from heavy cream. You’re going to love the effect that has on this cake!
- pistachios
- raw pistachios are called for, but they can be hard to find. I’ve used roasted pistachios with success.
- sugar
- eggs
- flour
- cream
- baking powder and salt
- vanilla bean paste
- you’ve heard me sing the praises of this before, it’s the perfect compromise between (overpriced) vanilla beans and extract. Nielsen-Massey is the brand I use and prefer.
the pan
For this cake I use a 9″ springform pan. This is important for two reasons:
- The pan has extra high sides to hold the batter for this tall cake. Do not try to use a regular 9″ cake pan, it will not have enough volume to hold this cake.
- The springform pan allows you to release the cake without having to flip it out for slicing and serving.
an unusual prep method for pistachio cake
- Chop your pistachios. I do this in my food processor, pulsing until they are evenly ground but not reduced to a meal.
- Whip the cream to firm peaks.
- Whisk eggs, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy (I do this in my stand mixer.)
- Fold in the dry ingredients, then the nuts.
- Gently fold the cream into the batter until there are no streaks left. Do this gently but thoroughly so you don’t deflate the air you’ve whipped into the cream.
- Turn into a prepared springform pan and bake.
The result is a tall cake with an even rise and a unique fluffy texture!
Serving your pistachio cake
This cake slices beautifully, and makes an elegant presentation whether you’re serving it in the morning for breakfast or brunch, at tea time, or after dinner. All it needs is a dusting of powdered sugar to brighten the top. I scatter a few more chopped pistachios over the surface. The author says:
Don’t even think of serving this with more cream ~ it would be too much. A fork is all that’s needed.
This type of single layer coffeecake/tea cake is a specialty of mine here in the Great Island kitchen. Here are just a few more examples to try:
- Authentic Irish Apple Cake
- Butter Pecan Peach Cake
- Swedish Visiting Cake
- Mixed Berry Cake
- Easy Rhubarb Cake
- Raspberry Coffee Cake
- Blueberry Lemon Breakfast Cake
- Almond Fig Cake
- Cardamom Crumb Cake
- Blackberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake
See all my cake recipes here
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French Pistachio Cake
Equipment
- 9" springform pan
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup shelled pistachios, plus extra for topping, raw is preferred but you can use roasted.
- 2 cups heavy cream, cold
- 1 1/2 cups (minus one tablespoon) all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 1 Tbsp vanilla paste
- powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and flour your 9" springform pan.
- Finely chop your pistachios. I do this in my food processor, pulsing until they are finely ground but not reduced to a meal. Set aside.
- Whip the cold cream until it forms firm peaks. Refrigerate.
- Whisk together your flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
- Whisk eggs, sugar, and vanilla until really light and fluffy (I do this in my stand mixer.) Fold in the flour mixture, and the pistachios.
- Gently fold the cream into the batter until there are no streaks left. Do this gently but thoroughly so you don't deflate the air you've whipped into the cream. Turn into your prepared pan and spread out evenly.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes or until puffed and golden on top. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out without wet batter on it ~ but moist crumbs are fine. FYI my cake took closer to 60 minutes but your oven may bake differently.
- Let the cake cool for ten minutes, then release from the pan. Transfer to a cake stand or serving plate and dust with powdered sugar. Top with more crushed pistachios.
- The cake is wonderful warm or at room temperature. Store on the counter under a cake dome or loosely tented with foil. It will keep for several days.
I’ve made this recipe two times, closely following instructions, but both times my cake fell. I baked it past the recommended amount of time, both times, and the knife came out clean as well. The cakes still fell. I do use an oven thermometer and the cakes were both baked in an anodized aluminum springform pan. Any idea what went wrong? Did the cakes need even more time?
It’s hard to know for sure, but the number one reason cakes fall is under baking. If it fell just in the center that might be the answer. I also don’t recommend opening your oven door prematurely, as this can cause cakes to fall. But I’ve made this cake and variations of it many many times and never had it fall. Make sure when you fold in your whipped cream you don’t over mix it, so you keep that lightness. And make sure your baking powder is fresh. I hope one of these solutions helps Tori, it’s such a delicious cake and I want you to enjoy it!
I’d like to try this!
In step 5, how long should the eggs and sugar be beaten for? Is it until the ribbon stage?
You can beat them for about 3 minutes Jane.
Have you ever tried this with cashews?
No but it will work. I think any nut would. I enjoy thinking up new combinations of flavors.
When we usually bake a cake we bring all ingredients to room temperature. But is my understanding correct that we need to add the now whipped cream “cold” to the mix?
Yes, and I’m sure you’ll love the result, this cake is amazing.
Hi Sue. I have a 9 in. pan with a 3 in. side. Will it still give enough volume? I have a Spring form pan but the sides is not quite 3 inches. Need to bake the cake tomorrow for a friend whose retiring soon and we’re giving a party for her on Wednesday.
Jessica
I think you should be fine in the pan with 3” sides, or you could use a little less batter in your springform pan (try making a cupcake or two.) Since it’s for a party I don’t want to steer you wrong, because it is a very tall cake.
Thank you Sue. Appreciate your quick response. I will let you know tomorrow of the outcome.
Jessica
This is a superb cake. So light and tender and ‘fluffy’. I have never had a cake with that texture before. It’s marvelous. But I do have a question: my cake fell a little, I think. The bottom fifth of the cake was compressed and looked under baked. What would make it rise beautifully and in the last 10 minutes sink?
Thanks so much for sharing!
Can you use a lighter form of cream such as half-and-half in this recipe?
Not really, because in this recipe you whip the cream, and that’s what gives it the amazing texture.
Can I cake flour?
Yes, cake flour will give this cake an even more velvety texture.
Diagnosis delicious! Cooked exactly as written, fabulous cake, served with vanilla ice cream, huge hit!!! Definitely a keeper!!
This is actually a question: can you make this cake gluten free? Could you only use nut flours?
You can use a gluten free baking blend to make it gluten free. I haven’t tried using all nut flour so I can’t say how that would work, Yira. I’d encourage you to experiment!