We love simple loaf cakes. When they are as delicious and moist as this Pistachio & Almond Loaf Cake, everything is just perfect. Then we dig in, and the cake disappears from the cake plate in record time. Maybe we should get into the habit of baking these delicious cakes in pairs… then they might last a little longer. ;P
»Enhancing« simple cakes with nuts is always a good idea. Nuts not only add a lot of flavor to the baked goods, they also impact the texture positively. Pistachios and almonds have a fairly high fat content. Adding these nuts (finely grated) to a cake not only gives you a nice, light texture – the cakes also stay moist for much longer and don’t dry out as quickly.
Unfortunately, nuts have become a bit of a luxury ingredient these days – similar to cocoa and chocolate. This is quite noticeable with pistachios at the moment. These nuts were never really cheap, but thanks to the Dubai Chocolate hype, they are now used in many more products than they were before. Accordingly, prices are rising constantly. Anyone who loves pistachios will probably bite the bullet without much complaint. Everyone else might want to think twice about using those small green (delicious) nuts. ;)
The recipe calls for 150g (5.3 oz.) ground pistachios and 100g (3.5 oz.) ground almonds for the cake batter. If that’s too much for you, you can adjust the quantities here – for example, using more almonds than pistachios. If you’re thinking »but then the cake won’t be as nice and green if I use fewer pistachios« – don’t worry, the vibrant green color the cake has is not because of the pistachios alone. We added a tiny bit of Pandan paste as well to get that delightful green color. ;P
If you’re not familiar with Pandan – it’s an aromatic paste/extract made from the leaves of the Pandan plant. The plant is widespread in Southeast Asia and is being used for cooking and baking. The leaves are harder to get here (in Germany), but the paste can be found in pretty much every Asian supermarket. We really like Pandan – not just for its color, but also for its nutty-vanilla-ish flavor.
If you don’t have Pandan at home or maybe because you don’t like it, simply leave it out and maybe use a little vanilla extract instead! Without the coloring from the Pandan paste, the cake won’t be quite as green, but it will still be delicious. The nuts are the main flavor giving ingredient here anyway.
If you’ve bought Pandan paste or extract because of us ow and aren’t quite sure what to do with the leftovers, you can take a look at other recipes we got where Pandan is used. Our Easy Pandan & Chocolate Marble Cake not only looks amazing with its bold colors, it also tastes amazing! It’s definitely worth baking!
If you’d rather bake something smaller, check our recipe for Pandan & Lemon Crinkle Cookies. They’re also delicious. Or how about cute little Madeleines? Our Pistachio & Pandan Madeleines are certainly worth baking, as well. Green always looks great on a cake table as a showstopper! ;P
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
For the cake batter:
7 oz. (200g) butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup (150g) sugar
4 medium eggs
1/4 cup (60g) Greek yogurt
a few drops of Pandan paste* (optional)
1 1/4 cups (160g) all-purpose flour
5.3 oz. (150g) ground pistachios*
3.5 oz. (100g) ground almonds*
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 organic lemon, zest
1 pinch of salt
For the decoration:
1 cup (130g) confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp. lemon juice
some heavy cream
1-2 tbsp. chopped pistachios
Für den Teig:
200g weiche Butter
150g Zucker
4 Eier (M)
60g griechischer Joghurt
etwas Pandan Paste* (optional)
160g Mehl (Type 405)
150g Pistazienkerne*, gemahlen
100g Mandeln*, gemahlen
3 TL Backpulver
1/2 Bio-Zitrone, Abrieb
1 Prise Salz
Für die Dekoration:
120g Puderzucker
1 TL Zitronensaft
etwas Schlagsahne
1-2 EL gehackte Pistazien
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F). Lightly grease a 23x12cm loaf tin* and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Grind the pistachios in a high-powered mixer until you get a fine powder – a few larger pieces here and there are okay. Set aside.
3. Add butter and sugar to a large bowl and mix until light and fluffy. Add the eggs separately and mix well after each addition. Next, add the yogurt and a few drops of Pandan paste (optional) and mix in. Combine flour, ground pistachios, ground almonds, baking powder, lemon zest, and salt, then add everything to the large bowl and fold in with a rubber spatula.
4. Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf tin, smooth out the top and bake the cake for about 65-75 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Take the cake out of the oven and let it cool down inside the baking tin for some time, then lift it out with the baking parchment and let it cool down completely on a wire rack.
5. For the glaze, mix confectioners’ sugar with lemon juice and some heavy cream – you want a thick glaze that is not too runny. Adjust with more heavy cream or confectioners’ sugar if necessary. Spread the sugar glaze evenly on the cooled cake and sprinkle with chopped pistachios. Let the glaze dry completely before cutting the cake into slices.
1. Den Ofen auf 160°C (320°F) Ober-/Unterhitze vorheizen. Eine 23x12cm Kastenform* leicht einfetten und mit Backpapier auslegen. Zur Seite stellen.
2. Die Pistazien in einem starken Mixer fein mahlen – ein paar größere Stücke hier und da sind ok. Zur Seite stellen.
3. Die weiche Butter mit dem Zucker in einer großen Schüssel hell und luftig aufschlagen. Die Eier einzeln dazugeben und jeweils gut unterrühren. Den Joghurt und einige Tropfen Pandan Paste (optional) zur Schüssel dazugeben und ebenfalls gut unterrühren. Das Mehl mit den gemahlenen Pistazienkernen, gemahlenen Mandeln, Backpulver, Zitronenabrieb und Salz vermischen, dann zur großen Schüssel dazugeben und mit einem Gummispatel unterheben.
4. Den Teig in die vorbereitete Form füllen, glatt streichen und dann etwa 65-75 Minuten backen. Mit einem Holzspieß testen, ob noch Teig kleben bleibt und den Kuchen erst herausholen, wenn dieser sauber herauskommt. Den Kuchen aus dem Ofen nehmen und in der Form einige Zeit abkühlen lassen, dann mithilfe des Backpapiers aus der Form heben und auf einem Kuchengitter komplett auskühlen lassen.
5. Für die Dekoration den Puderzucker mit Zitronensaft und ein wenig Sahne verrühren. Es soll ein dickflüssiger Zuckerguss entstehen – ggf. mit Sahne oder Puderzucker nachjustieren, bis die Konsistenz passt. Den abgekühlten Kuchen mit dem Zuckerguss bestreichen und mit den Pistazien bestreuen. Bis zum Anschneiden komplett fest werden lassen.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
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Pistachio & Almond Loaf Cake
- Prep Time: 00:20
- Cook Time: 01:15
- Total Time: 04:00
- Yield: 1 1x
- Category: Cakes
- Cuisine: International
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
The perfect cake for everyone that loves pistachios – this Pistachio & Almond Loaf Cake is extremely tasty and has the perfect texture. So good!
Ingredients
For the cake batter:
7 oz. (200g) butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup (150g) sugar
4 medium eggs
1/4 cup (60g) Greek yogurt
a few drops of Pandan paste* (optional)
1 1/4 cups (160g) all-purpose flour
5.3 oz. (150g) ground pistachios*
3.5 oz. (100g) ground almonds*
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 organic lemon, zest
1 pinch of salt
For the decoration:
1 cup (130g) confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp. lemon juice
some heavy cream
1-2 tbsp. chopped pistachios
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F). Lightly grease a 23x12cm loaf tin* and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Grind the pistachios in a high-powered mixer until you get a fine powder – a few larger pieces here and there are okay. Set aside.
3. Add butter and sugar to a large bowl and mix until light and fluffy. Add the eggs separately and mix well after each addition. Next, add the yogurt and a few drops of Pandan paste (optional) and mix in. Combine flour, ground pistachios, ground almonds, baking powder, lemon zest, and salt, then add everything to the large bowl and fold in with a rubber spatula.
4. Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf tin, smooth out the top and bake the cake for about 65-75 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Take the cake out of the oven and let it cool down inside the baking tin for some time, then lift it out with the baking parchment and let it cool down completely on a wire rack.
5. For the glaze, mix confectioners’ sugar with lemon juice and some heavy cream – you want a thick glaze that is not too runny. Adjust with more heavy cream or confectioners’ sugar if necessary. Spread the sugar glaze evenly on the cooled cake and sprinkle with chopped pistachios. Let the glaze dry completely before cutting the cake into slices.
Notes
Let the baking begin!
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