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Olive Oil Pistachio Cake
This easy, full-flavored Olive Oil Pistachio Cake is the perfect dessert to make when hosting a dinner party or brunch. It is incredibly rich in flavor with a soft and moist crumb, and it is simple yet sophisticated. Roasted pistachios pair so well with fruity olive oil to create a rich earthy flavor that is impossible not to love, and a sweet vanilla glaze ties it all together.
Ingredients
Olive Oil Pistachio Cake batter:
- ½ cup (60g) finely ground roasted salted pistachios
- 1 cup (142g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup (60ml) olive oil
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- ½ cup (120ml) full fat plain yogurt, at room temperature
- ¼ cup (60ml) whole milk, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) pure vanilla extract
Vanilla glaze:
- 1 cup (120g) powdered confectioner's sugar
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) plain yogurt
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) whole milk
- ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- chopped pistachios for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8-inch round cake pan, dust lightly with flour The flour helps the batter cling to the sides of the pan to help it climb up and rise higher. Line the base with a round of parchment paper. Sometimes I don’t even grease the sides and let the batter stick and climb up – I never have issues releasing it from the pan with an offset spatula and the cake rises a bit higher.
- Make the cake batter. Place pistachios with 1 tablespoon of flour into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until it forms fine crumbs. The flour will help prevent it from turning into a paste.
- Sift remaining flour into a large bowl. Sift in baking powder and baking soda. Add ground pistachios, sugar, and salt and whisk until evenly blended.
- Combine olive oil, egg, yogurt, milk, lemon juice and vanilla extract in a medium bowl and whisk until completely smooth.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with dry ingredients and gently fold it all together being sure to get down to the bottom and bring up any dry pockets. Stop right when the batter is fully combined and be careful not to over mix.
- Spread batter evenly into the prepared pan using a small offset spatula and bake for about 30-35 minutes until lightly golden and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool for 20 minutes in the pan and then run an offset spatula around the sides of the cake to release it and invert onto a cooling rack to finish cooling.
- Make the glaze. Combine powdered sugar, milk, yogurt and vanilla in a medium bowl and whisk until completely smooth. Place the cake on a wire rack and set the rack over parchment-lined tray. Pour the glaze over the cake letting it drip over the edges. Scrape up the glaze that drips off the cake onto the parchment and spoon it back over the cake. If you want, you can also add more powdered sugar to make a thicker icing, but I like this donut-glazed effect. Sprinkle some more chopped pistachios over top while the icing is wet and serve immediately or store covered to serve later.
