Raspberry Pistachio Cake

This raspberry pistachio cake is made with soft pistachio cake layers sandwiching homemade raspberry jam and all covered with raspberry buttercream. It's a delicious flavour combination with all natural colouring!

Why you'll love this recipe

• Pistachio cake layers. These soft cake layers are made with finely ground pistachios for the perfect amount of nutty, pistachio flavour and fresh green colour.
• Homemade raspberry jam filling. You could use store-bought jam but this homemade jam is so easy to make (and seedless!). This filling gives the cake more moisture and makes it a little more exciting.
• Raspberry buttercream. This cake is covered with an easy American buttercream that's easy to whip up.
• Naturally coloured. This entire cake is naturally coloured by the pistachios and raspberries! No food colouring needed.

Tools

• 6" cake pans - This recipe is scaled for three 6" cake layers. Use any light-coloured aluminum cake pans that are 2" or 3" in height (taller cake pans tend to help cakes bake flatter but it doesn't matter which you use). Try not to mix pans from different brands as they can bake slightly differently.
• Blender or food processor - You'll need this to grind your pistachios finely. If you're able to find pistachio flour or already ground pistachios, you can skip this step. If you have the patience, you can also use a mortar and pestle or thoroughly whack the pistachios in a ziploc bag with a rolling pin until they're a finely ground flour consistency.
• Stand mixer - You'll need a stand mixer or hand mixer to mix the cake batter and especially for the buttercream frosting. I usually opt for a stand mixer when making buttercream because I can leave it running for over 10 minutes.
• Fine mesh sieve - The pistachio flour tends to clump up because of the oils that are released from the nuts. We'll need a sieve to break up the clumps but any larger pieces that are sifted out can be added back to the batter (don't discard them!).
• Piping bags - You'll need piping bags to pipe a buttercream design on the cake. I like using 18" piping bags because they're roomy enough for various usages.
• Piping tips - You'll need piping tips of your choice depending on the kind of buttercream design you want to create. A piping tip coupler is also handy for switching out piping tips with the same piping bag of frosting.
• Offset spatula - Offset spatulas of two different sizes are useful for spreading the raspberry jam filling on the cake layers and for spreading the frosting around the outside of the cake.
• Cake scraper - Use a tall, metal scraper to smooth the sides and top of your cake. Metal scrapers are great because you can run them under hot water for an extra smooth finish.

Ingredient notes

• Pistachios - Use unsalted and shelled pistachios. You'll be grinding them down into a finely ground flour consistency with a blender or food processor.
• All-purpose flour
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Salt
• Unsalted butter - We're using melted to make this cake easier since there are already a few components to it, as with all cakes. No creaming softened butter needed!
• Granulated sugar
• Eggs - Make sure your eggs are at room temperature so they don't cause the melted butter to solidify on contact.
• Greek yogurt - This should also be at room temperature. Greek yogurt helps make the cake more moist.
• Oil - Using a combination of butter and oil makes cakes more moist and soft than using butter alone since oil doesn't harden when chilled.
• Vanilla extract
• Raspberries - You can use fresh or frozen raspberries for the raspberry jam. Both work perfectly. You can even just use store-bought raspberry jam if you're in a pinch.
• Powdered sugar - This is for the American buttercream. I prefer using a ratio of 2:1 butter to powdered sugar to prevent the buttercream from being too sweet. If your powdered sugar is clumpy, you may want to sift it before using it.
• Heavy cream - This is used to thin out the buttercream to a pipable consistency. Mix it into the buttercream one tablespoon at a time as needed until it reaches your preferred consistency.

How to make a raspberry pistachio cake

Make the pistachio cake

Prep - Preheat oven to 350°F. Line three 6" cake pans with rounds of parchment paper on the bottom and set aside.

Grind pistachios - In a bullet blender or food processor, whiz pistachios for about 30 seconds until they become a coarse flour texture. Transfer this to a medium bowl.

Dry mixture - To the pistachios, add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir together to combine. Set aside.

Wet mixture - In a large mixing bowl, add melted butter and sugar. Whisk together until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking until incorporated.

Wet mixture continued - Add the greek yogurt, oil, and vanilla extract and whisk again until combined.

Combine dry and wet mixture - Use a fine-mesh sieve to sift the flour mixture into the wet mixture. The goal is just to break up any clumps of pistachio flour. Any larger pieces of pistachios that are remaining in the sieve can be added back to the batter. Whisk together until just combined.

Fill cake pans - Divide the batter into your three lined cake pans (about 320g of batter in each). Give each of the pans a spin on the counter to push the batter to the sides of the pan (a trick to help the cakes bake flatter).

Bake - Bake cakes for about 30-35 minutes or until the tops are lightly golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean.

Release cake layers - Let the cakes cool in the pans until they're cool enough to touch with your hands. Run an offset spatula around the sides of each cake and invert the pan to release the cake layers onto a wire rack. Peel the parchment paper off and let the cakes cool completely before assembling.

Make the raspberry jam

Cook - In a small pot, add raspberries, sugar, and water. Heat on medium heat until it comes to a boil, stirring occasionally. Cook the jam until it thickens to a jammy consistency (when you drag a spatula through it, the jam should part on either side and slowly come back together over a few seconds.

Remove seeds - Push the jam through a fine-mesh sieve. Remove and discard the seeds. Let the jam cool completely before using.

Make the raspberry buttercream

Cream butter - In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the softened butter on medium-high speed for about 10 minutes, stopping to scrape down the bowl halfway, or until the butter is very creamy and pale in colour.

Whip buttercream - Add the powdered sugar. Start the mixer on low speed, working up to medium-high speed for about 5 minutes. Add the raspberry jam and vanilla extract and continue beating. Stream in one tablespoon of heavy cream at a time to thin out the buttercream as desired. After everything has been added, scrape down the bowl and continue beating for another 5 minutes.

Melt buttercream - Transfer a large dollop of buttercream to a small bowl and microwave for about 10 seconds until it becomes partially melted. Pour this back into the rest of the buttercream and fold together with a spatula until the buttercream is smooth and silky. Repeat as needed any time the buttercream gets too cold or has been sitting out for a while.

Transfer - Transfer about ¼ of the buttercream to a piping bag and cut the tip of the bag off.

Assemble the cake

First cake layer - On a cake turntable, place down your first cake layer. Pipe a ring of buttercream around the edge of the cake layer. Add about 4 tablespoons of raspberry jam in the middle of the icing ring. Use an offset spatula to spread it into an even layer.

Second & third cake layers - Place a second cake layer on top. Repeat adding the ring of icing and raspberry jam. Top with the last cake layer.

Crumb coat - Smooth a thin layer of frosting over the entire cake as a crumb coat and scrape away the excess with a cake scraper. Let the cake chill in the fridge for about 15 minutes until the crumb coat is firm to the touch.

Final buttercream layer - Spread about ¾ of the remaining buttercream around the entire cake and scrape off the excess with a scraper.

Decorate - Transfer the remaining buttercream to piping bags fitted with piping tips of your choice. Pipe your buttercream design on the cake. Finish by sprinkling crushed pistachios on top of the cake and decorating with ribbon bows.

Storage

This raspberry pistachio cake can be stored in a cake container, airtight container, or covered in plastic wrap in the fridge for up to 3 days. Let it come back to room temperature before serving.

Freezing

Leftover slices can be frozen by placing them in an airtight container or wrapping well with plastic wrap and/or aluminum foil and freezing for up to 1 month.

Thaw in the fridge overnight or at room temperature for several hours before eating.

Frequently asked questions

More raspberry recipes to try

• White Chocolate Raspberry Loaf Cake
• White Chocolate Raspberry Scones
• Lemon Raspberry Cake

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