by Are you a fan of nutty desserts? Here’s an easy-to-make gluten-free, Almond Pistachio Cake recipe your whole family will love.
This delicious treat combines the flavours of ground whole almonds and pistachios, creating a moist and dense crumb. All that’s needed to adorn this nut-based cake is a lemon glaze and crushed pistachios.
This lemon-scented loaf cake is utterly delicious! After quickly devouring one slice, I found myself dabbing on the lingering crumbs clinging to the bottom of the plate. It’s that amazing!
It’s a gluten-free loaf cake with mostly finely ground almonds and pistachio nuts.
The finishing touch is a quick and easy lemon glaze I turn to when baking a Lemon Thyme Cake. And to jazz it up, I crowned the nutty loaf with crushed vibrant coloured pistachios, adding a touch of sophistication to an otherwise fabulous loaf cake.
Now let’s get baking, shall we?
Ingredients for an Almond and Pistachio Loaf Cake
- Ground Almonds: For optimal freshness, buy whole almonds and grind them yourself using a food processor, taking care not to grind them into nut butter. The finely ground almonds will yield a denser, moister crumb.
- Ground Roasted Salted Pistachios: Roasted pistachios will create a deeper pistachio flavour that shines through. You can use either salted or unsalted. If opting for unsalted pistachios, add a 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the cake batter – as this will round up the flavours.
- Gluten-free Flour: Use a gluten-free flour that is ideal for baking. I use the Caputo gluten-free flour when baking. However, you can use whichever one you prefer.
- Sugar: You’ll need granulated sugar for the loaf cake and powdered sugar for the lemon glaze.
- Eggs: Room-temperature eggs break up easily when warm.
- Butter: Use room-temperature butter, as this will yield a smoother texture when beaten with sugar and eggs.
- Lemon: You’ll need both the juice and zest of a lemon.
How to Make a Gluten-Free cake with Almonds and Pistachios
- 1 – Grease a 9 x 5 loaf pan and line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. Then grease the top of the parchment paper. See tips below on how to line a loaf pan.
- 2 – Place the softened butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer.
- 3 – Beat together until smooth.
- 4 – Beat in the eggs one at a time and mix well after each addition until fully incorporated.
- 5 – Add in the ground almonds, pistachios, gluten-free flour, baking powder and lemon zest.
- 6 – Stir until well incorporated, and take care not to over-mix.
- 7 – Transfer the almond pistachio batter to the prepared baking pan and bake in a preheated oven set at 350 degrees F. for approximately 45 minutes or until a skewer or toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- 8 – Allow the cake to cool for about 30 minutes in the pan, then gently release the cake from the pan, peel off the parchment paper and transfer the almond pistachio cake to a cooling rack. Let cool completely before topping with the lemon glaze.
- 9 – Once the cake has cooled, mix the powdered sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl and drizzle the glaze over the cake and top with the crushed pistachios. Then, allow to set before slicing and serving.
You’ll find this gluten-free cake just perfect for those special occasions. Or those simple moments when craving something sweet.
So grab your apron and get ready to savour this heavenly combination of nuts – seconds are much encouraged!
Happy Baking!
How to Line a Loaf Tin
Cut a piece of parchment paper slightly bigger than the loaf tin.
Place the loaf tin over the parchment paper.
Hold the loaf firmly down with one hand and trace an outline of the loaf tin with a pencil.
Cut the parchment paper along the pencilled outline.
Grease the bottom and sides of the loaf tin.
Line the tin with the parchment paper – pencilled outline down -and grease the parchment paper.
More Easy Gluten-Free Cakes
A summertime favourite, this gluten-free Peach Almond Cake features sweet juicy peaches with the subtle nuttiness of almond flour. And It’s almost too pretty to eat.
With its moist texture, bursts of grated carrot and crushed pineapple, these Gluten-free Mini Carrot Cake Loaves are simply irresistible.
Almond Pistachio Loaf Cake
Equipment
- 1 Loaf cake pan 9 X 5
- Electric Mixer
- Food Processor to finely chop the nuts
Ingredients
For The Almond Pistachio Cake
- 3/4 cup butter (softened 170 grams)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
- 4 large eggs
- 3/4 cup finely ground almonds (115 grams)
- 2/3 cup finely ground pistachios (83 grams)
- 3/4 cup gluten-free flour (80.5 grams)
- 1½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
For The Lemon Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar (125 grams)
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 cup pistachios (coarsely chopped)
Instructions
For The Almond Pistachio Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease a 9x5x3 loaf pan and line the bottom with parchment paper for easy removal.
- Beat the butter and the sugar together in a medium-sized bowl until smooth.
- Slowly beat in the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated.
- Stir in the ground almonds and pistachios, the gluten-free flour, baking powder and lemon zest into the egg mixture.
- Transfer the batter mixture to the prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Transfer the cake to a cooling rack and allow it to cool for 30 minutes in the pan before releasing it.
- Then, gently release the cake from the pan, peel off the parchment paper and transfer the cake to a wire rack to cool completely before topping it with the lemon glaze and crushed pistachios.
For The Lemon Glaze
- In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice.
- Drizzle the cooled cake with the lemon glaze and top with the crushed pistachios.
- Allow the glaze to set, then slice and serve alongside your favourite hot beverage.
You mention Cafe Italia by Liza Franklin in your recipe Almond Pistachio Loaf Cake, but I can’t find it anywhere. Do you have a source? By the way, the picture of that loaf cake is absolutely gorgeous. Nice presentation.
Hi Judy, I stand corrected! Thanks for bringing it to my attention, its actually Liz Franklin. I updated my post to link you directly to my Amazon affiliate program simply for your convenience however at no additional cost to you. Hope you get to try it…so worth it, enjoy!
Guess it’s “pistachio cake week”, as two days ago I’ve baked a pistachio-lavender-lime cake!
I just love your moist version. The lemon scented syrup. Great presentation too. Hope to make it once I’ll have another pistachio cake craving! 🙂
Ooooh, just the mention of your pistachio lavender lime cake sounds amazing….hope you get to post that soon! As for this almond pistachio cake, I must say it is the absolute moist and delicious loaf cake I’ve ever baked and I’ve baked quite a few in my lifetime! Hope you get to try it Ronit you’ll love it!
I plan to post the recipe next week.
Your cake is on top of my “recipes to try” list. I do hope to try it soon. 🙂
I am so looking forward to it Ronit, have a wonderful day!
Thank you, hope you’ll have a nice day too. 🙂
This cake looks extremely moist and delicious. Well done!
That it is Jess and one slice is simply not enough!
I adore nut cakes of all types and pistachio cake is at the top of the list. The soaking of the freshly baked loaf with syrup is the perfect touch to keep it moist. This is a terrific cake for me to bake and send to my daughter at college.
You are absolutely right Paula the syrup when pored over a warm loaf renders it beautifully moist! Your daughter is extremely lucky to be the recipient of your baked goods and I’m sure it’s much appreciated!
I love your recipes Marisa! They are so simple yet the end result is always perfection! Love the styling here as well!
Thanks Annika, that’s very sweet of you! I believe eating well doesn’t have to mean overly complicated dishes and I always enjoy adding that little extra bit of love…my family truly appreciates it and makes them feel special too!
Such a decadent looking cake. The images left me spellbound. Cheers Marisa! I am glad I stopped by and had a look at your amazing blog. Cheers!
Thanks Vidya for your lovely comment and glad to see you like the cake! It’s pretty simple yet so delicious!
My pleasure.
My pleasure dear.
This loaf cake looks amazing. I love almonds, pistachios and figs, so I definitely am going to make it….and buy Caffe Italia too!
Liliana it’s a small cookbook with about 30 recipes but they’re all yummy! I dressed up the loaf cake with figs and decorative flowers for a simple show stopping dessert and it never fails to impress! Enjoy!
Made this cake and found it to be over powered by the lemon in the topping. Wish I would have completely left it off. Otherwise I enjoyed the texture of the cake. Cheers!
Hi Ali! Yes the loaf is very lemony with a wonderful moist texture. You can absolutely reduce the lemon syrup topping or leave it out all together if that works for you. Thanks for taking the time to comment and giving your feedback😊
Hi can I use almond meal
Hi Samira, I’ve never tried it with almond meal so I could not confirm. But I have been meaning to try it out with almond flour and I’ll update the recipe when I do.
Hi this looks delicious but can I use regular all purpose flour instead of gluten free
Samira, the original recipe uses 5 tablespoons of all-purpose flour with 1 cup of butter and 1 teaspoon of baking powder. It’s just as yummy!
Hi can I replace the butter with oil ?
Nancy, I tried substituting with an equal amount of oil but found it too greasy which probably could have worked with less oil but can’t say for sure without testing it out. Let me know how it goes if you try it.