Pistachio Vanilla Sponge Cake

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This pistachio vanilla sponge cake is perfect for your tea parties. Made without any artificial flavors or food coloring, moist pistachio cake is made with ground pistachios and vanilla extract. Serve with a dollop of fresh cream or a dust of sugar and you got yourself a nice and delicious treat that’s so easy to bake.

I love anything with Pistachios. Be it pistachio gelato, pistachio kulfi or pistachio cake – I’m sold. I always look for ways to add pistachios into my cooking and baking. Pistachios pair wonderfully with hints of rose water and almond flavors. My all time favorite is this Persian Love Cake that bursts with flavors from pistachios and rose water.

There is nothing like a Pistachio Vanilla Sponge Cake. This cake is spongy, moist and with every bite you get some nutty pistachios.

For the undiluted pistachio cake flavor, I have ground shelled pistachios into tiny little chunks and added them directly into my vanilla cake batter. Since I haven’t used any pistachio essence, you mayn’t get a strong pistachio flavor but you will taste light pistachio on every bite.

A beautiful spring or summer time cake – even this pistachio vanilla sponge cake will make such a pretty Mother’s day cake.

WHY YOU WILL LOVE THIS CAKE

No artificial flavor added. This cake is as pure as it gets.

A fresh spring time cake that’s light, moist and spongy.

Pairs so well with a cup of green tea or a cup of coffee. Makes a good tea cake or coffee cake.

Best for taking as road trip snack cake. With the spring vacation around the corner, bake this pistachio vanilla cake to take with you for casual snacking.

Made with fresh pistachios and pistachios are so good for you.

Since this cake is made without butter, the cake has a longer shelf life.

INGREDIENTS USED IN THIS PISTACHIO CAKE RECIPE

• Pistachios: I have used unsalted raw pistachios. However, the cake is still sweet even if you use salted pistachios. You can use Salted pistachios too for extra flavor! Pistachios are readily available in all the grocery stores. Since I use a lot of pistachios, I buy them in bulk from Cost co.
• Homemade Cake Flour: I have used all purpose flour mixed with corn flour to make my own cake flour. Used the instructions from cake flour substitute.
• Baking Powder & Baking Soda
• Salt: Salt adds flavor. Skip salt if you are using salted pistachios.
• Light Olive Oil: You can use a vegetable oil too.
• Eggs: two eggs are used.
• Sugar: I used granulated sugar to sweeten this cake.
• Milk: I used a whole milk to keep the cake ultra moist.
• Vanilla Extracts.

TOOLS FOR MAKING THE PISTACHIO CAKE

Anyone who wants to bake a cake, needs to know their tools and equipment make their baking a success.

HAND MIXER:

A hand mixer will be handy. But hey, it doesn’t have to be fancy at all. Any basic hand mixer will work. If you don’t have a hand mixer, then use a balloon whisk. However, I have noticed that, any cake that has eggs in the recipe, requires a hand mixer to fluff the egg with sugar and oil.

MIXING BOWLS:

Last year, my friend gifted me 3 stackable mixing bowls. They have been a life saver. Its stainless steel and deep. My batter doesn’t make a mess anymore . 😛

CAKE PANS

I have a good selection of cake pans starting from round to rectangular to squares to Bundt. But you don’t have to collect cake pans if you aren’t as crazy as me. I would suggest you stick to the basic cake tins. In this recipe I have used a round cake tin in 9 inch.

PARCHAMENT PAPER

A must have for me. Unless I’m baking brownies, I always always line my cake tins with parchment paper.

FOOD PROCESSOR

In this pistachio cake recipe, I have used the food processor to break down the pistachios. You can invest in a small food processor if you use a lot of nuts and spices in your baking.

FLOUR SIFTER

Again, I always use a sifter to separate and break up clumps in dry ingredients such as flour, as well as to aerate and combine them. It helps with making the cake spongy and airy.

STEP BY STEP METHOD TO BAKE PISTACHIO SPONGE CAKE

1. Make pistachio crumbs. Use your food processor to break down the nuts. Be sure that you get a pistachio crumb. Don’t over do the crumbing part or else you will end up having pistachio butter. Pistachio butter is great but not for this cake recipe.
2. Sift the dry ingredients together. 
3. Cream the oil and sugar together.
4. Beat in eggs one by one.
5. Add the vanilla extract
6. Combine the wet and dry ingredients together.
7. Pour in the milk. Mix just until combined– the batter will be slightly thick.
8. Bake. 
9. Let the cakes cool completely.

TIPS AND VARIATIONS

Add a few drops of green food coloring to give the cake a slight green tint just like pistachios, remember we don’t only taste out food but we eat with our eyes too.

Salted actually adds extra flavor! You can use roasted or raw (not roasted), whichever you prefer.

Raw pistachios (not roasted and salted) tend to have a slightly more saturated, brighter green color than roasted pistachios and will give your cake a perfect pale green hue.

That being said, if you are looking for that bright green color (for St. Patrick’s Day perhaps!), you can absolutely add in green food coloring to give your cake a deeper color!

OTHER CAKES YOU SHOULD GIVE A TRY

Tres Leches Cake or 3-Milk Cake

Sandesh Cake with Saffron and Rose Water

Sticky Date Pudding Cake

and some simple EGG FREE Tea Cakes like, Coconut Loaf Cake

Semolina Coconut Cake

Orange Loaf Cake (Butter Free, Egg Free)

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