Italian Pistachio Cake with Plum Frosting
37
Jul 02, 2024, Updated Apr 28, 2025
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you click on the link and make a purchase.
This Italian Pistachio Cake with Roasted Plum Frosting was inspired by a recent trip to Italy. This dreamy cake is filled with a homemade pistachio paste, topped with a tangy Swiss Meringue plum frosting and even more crushed nuts! The frosting is naturally pink and the whole cake is pretty simple to put together. Serve it with Ribollita for the perfect cozy meal!
Pistachios are one of my favorite nuts to cook with because it tastes amazing with both sweet and savory foods. If you can’t get enough of this nut, try these Orange Cardamom Sweet Rolls with Pistachios, Chewy Pistachio Lace Cookies, or this Pistachio Pesto Pasta! And if you have any leftover pistachio paste from making this cake, use it to make Coconut Pistachio Butter!
Ingredients You’ll Need for Italian Pistachio Cake with Roasted Plum Frosting
- Pistachios – Shelled pistachios are used to make a homemade pistachio paste along with sugar, coconut oil and almond meal. I used Sicilian pistachios because they have have a deeper flavor and vibrant green color but regular pistachios are totally fine too!
- Almond meal – It bulks up the pistachio paste giving the cake more texture.
- Plums – Black plums have a deep flavor and color that makes this plum frosting so delicious and beautiful! For this recipe we are roasting them with sugar and a little bit of balsamic vinegar to bring out their flavor.
- Greek yogurt – This is an important ingredient to make the cake moist and extra flavorful!
For the rest of the ingredients, please refer to the recipe index card below!
How to Make An Italian Pistachio Cake
- For the pistachio paste. Pulse the pistachios in a food processor. Make a sugar syrup and cook it to 220ยบF. Mix with the pistachios and then return to the food processor to blend into a smooth paste.
- For the pistachio cake. Prep your cake pans by spraying them with nonstick spray and lining with parchment paper circles. If you want to bake flat even cake layers, check out my post on how to bake flat cake layers!
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cream together the butter with the sugar and the zest. Add eggs one at a time, then the vanilla.
- Alternate adding the yogurt with the dry ingredients then lastly, add the pistachio paste.
- Evenly divide between the prepared cake pans and bake!
How to Make Roasted Plum Frosting
- Roast your plums with sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt and water until they are super juicy. Let them cool then mix in a blender until smooth, strain then set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the sugar and egg whites then set over a saucepan with an inch or so of boiling water. Heat the egg white mixture until it reads 160ยบF on a thermometer then carefully place in the base of your stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.
- Beat the mixture on high speed for a full 8-10 minutes, this cools down the mixture and as a result won’t melt the butter when you add it.
- After mixing switch to the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed adding the butter a tablespoon at a time. Too fast and it will become a greasy mess. Once all the butter is added mix in the plum puree and set it aside until you’re ready to assemble!
- Decorate. Frost the cake, then if desired, press crushed pistachios onto the sides of the cake. It’s easier to do this with the cake on a cake stand set over a sheet pan to catch the falling nuts.
Tips and Tricks
- Make plum puree, cake and pistachio paste ahead of time for easy assembly! The plum puree can be stored covered in the refrigerator for 1 – 2 days. Make the cake the day before then just wrap with a couple layers of plastic wrap and store on the counter. And the pistachio paste can be made 2-3 days ahead and stored in the refrigerator.
- Mix the zest with the butter to help the flavor travel further in the cake.
- Roast your plums! This helps soften them, pull out more juices, and makes them just a little bit sweeter.
- Different cake pan options. If you donโt have two 8ร2-inch cake pans you can use two 9-inch cake pans OR you can use three 8ร2-inch cake pans.
- The plum frostingโs base is borrowed from the book Layered (one of my favorites!).
Recipe FAQs
What is pistachio paste?
Pistachio paste is a simple mixture of ground pistachios and sugar syrup cooked to a certain temperature to make a thick rich paste to flavor baked goods.
What flavors pair well with a pistachio cake?
Stone fruit like plums and nectarines, citrus flavors like lemon and orange, and cream cheese are pair really well with pistachios!
More Cake Recipes
If you tried this Italian Pistachio Cake with Roasted Plum Frosting Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Italian Pistachio Cake with Roasted Plum Frosting Recipe
This Italian Pistachio Cake with Roasted Plum Frosting was inspired by a recent trip to Italy. This dreamy cake is filled with a homemade pistachio paste, topped with a tangy Swiss Meringue plum frosting and even more crushed nuts! The frosting is naturally pink and the whole cake is pretty simple to put together. Serve it withย Ribollitaย for the perfect cozy meal!
Equipment
- 1 High-powered blender or food processor
- 1 small saucepan
- 1 Small baking dish for roasting the plums
- 1 Strainer
- 1 Stand up mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and a paddle attachment
- 2 (8×3-inch) cake pans with rounds of parchment paper
Ingredients
Pistachio Paste:
- 1 1/3 cup shelled pistachios
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- 1/2 cup almond meal
Plum Italian Meringue Frosting:
- 2 black plums, such as Santa Rosa Plums
- 1/4 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- 3 tablespoons water
- Pinch kosher salt
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup egg whites, from 4 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups about 3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
Pistachio Cake:
- 2 1/2 cups cake flour, sifted
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups white granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon or orange zest, from about 1/2 orange
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup homemade or store-bought pistachio paste
For garnish:
- 3/4 cup chopped pistachio nuts
Instructions
- To Make the Pistachio Paste:
- To a high-powered blender or food processor, add the pistachios. Pulse until roughly ground. Transfer to a small bowl. In a small saucepan, combine the water and sugar. Cook over high heat until it reaches 220 degrees and is bubbling. Pour over the pistachios and mix immediately.
- Transfer to the blender or food processor and pulse until finely ground. While the machine is running, pour in the oil. Blend until it resembles a soft peanut butter, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, mix in the almond meal. At this point it should go from soupy to firm. Measure out 1/2 cup of the paste and store the rest in the fridge. Set aside.
- To Make the Frosting:
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. In a small baking dish, toss together the sliced plums, sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt and water. Roast for 15 minutes, or until the plums are super juicy and a syrup has formed. Set aside to cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Add the plums and its juices to a blender and pulse until completely pureed.
- Pour through a strainer, into a small bowl. You should end up with about 1/3 of a cup puree. In the bowl of a stand-up mixer with the whisk attachment, add the egg whites and sugar; beat just until combined. Add a few inches of water to a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Place the stand-up mixer bowl atop the saucepan, creating a double-boiler.
- Heat until the mixture reads 160 degrees on a thermometer and/or until it’s very hot to the touch. Transfer the bowl back to the stand-up mixer and beat, on high, for 8 to 10 minutes until medium to stiff peaks form. The sides of the bowl should be cool to the touch. Remove the whisk attachment and in place of it, add the paddle attachment.
- While the mixer is on low, add the butter, a tablespoon at a time, until it’s light and smooth and fluffy. Lastly, add the 1/3 cup of plum puree and mix until combined. If the frosting is soupy (mine was because it was really hot), add the bowl to the fridge to chill for 5 to 10 minutes. This will work like a charm. Set aside until you’re ready to frost the cake.
- To Make the Italian Pistachio Cake Layers:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour two 8×3-inch cake pans. Line the bottoms with a round of parchment (this isn't totally necessary but I always do this because my biggest fear is cake sticking to the bottom of pans). Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. In the bowl of a stand-up mixer add the butter and sugar; cream together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the zest and then crack in one egg at a time, adding the next egg only when the one before it has combined.
- Almost lastly, add in the vanilla extract. Turn the mixer down to low speed and add the yogurt and flour mixture in a few batches, alternating between the two. Lastly, add the pistachio paste and mix until properly combined.
- Divide the cake batter amongst pans, smoothing out the top with a spatula (the batter will be a little thick so it’ll need some help smoothing out). Transfer to the oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cakes in their pan for 10 minutes before removing them to cool completely on a wire rack.
- To Assemble the Cake:
- Place the first layer of cake on a cake board or a cake stand. Add about 1/4 cup of frosting the top of the cake layer and smooth it out, pushing it out to the sides. Add the second layer on top and then add a second 1/4 cup to the top of that. (These measurements can be eyeballed.)
- Smooth out the top and add a nice thin layer all the way around the sides of the cake. Transfer to the freezer to chill for about 5 to 7 minutes. This is the crumb coat. Add a second even layer on the outside. Transfer to the cake to a baking sheet and press the chopped pistachios all around the sides of the cake. Slice and serve!
Notes
Tips and Tricks
- Make plum puree, cake and pistachio paste ahead of timeย for easy assembly! Theย plum pureeย can be stored covered in the refrigerator for 1 โ 2 days.ย Make the cake the day beforeย then just wrap with a couple layers of plastic wrap and store on the counter. And theย pistachio pasteย can be made 2-3 days aheadย and stored in the refrigerator.
- Mix the zest with the butterย to help the flavor travel further in the cake.
- Roast your plums!ย This helps soften them, pull out more juices, and makes them just a little bit sweeter.
- Different cake pan options.ย If you donโt have two 8ร2-inch cake pans you can use two 9-inch cake pans OR you can use three 8ร2-inch cake pans.
- The plum frostingโs base is borrowed from the book Layered (one of my favorites!).
Nutrition
Serving: 12g | Calories: 1262kcal | Carbohydrates: 119g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 82g | Saturated Fat: 42g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 24g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 236mg | Sodium: 368mg | Potassium: 656mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 83g | Vitamin A: 2083IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 180mg | Iron: 3mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this Recipe? Please Rate & comment below!
Hello! I made this cake once, and I loved the result…the flavors are delightful, and the texture of the cake, buttercream etc. were all divine.
My struggle is with the pistachio paste…I process until the cows come home, but it remains granular/dry, never turning into a “peanut butter” consistency prior to adding the almond flour and water. I’ve followed the recipe to the letter, but I think I must be missing something…any idea what might be going sideways, here?
Thank you so much, in advance!
Unfortunately this recipe was extremely dry. I feel like it needed milk or oil to help with the dryness.
This cake is delicious! I made it once and my family pestered me to make it again. This is the only cake that I get asked to make now.
I tried this pistachio cake because I loved the amount of paste this recipe has! The photography and the cake really inspired me as well. Although this cake tasted very delicious, it was rather dry – I’m assuming that it’s because it’s butter based (butter sets hard and oil stays liquid) and I usually use a mix of butter/oil. My partner couldn’t taste the pistachios… weirdly. I’m thinking of taking this recipe and substituting some of the butter with pistachio oil for a more in-depth flavour and hopefully to make it more moist. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you!!
Hi! I am so excited to make this cake for my mothers birthday- she loves pistachio, and this recipe sounds amazing! I am a bit of a novice at baking however and I was wondering if the pistachios should be raw or roasted? Thanks in advance!
oh amazing! raw would be preferred but it’s pretty hard to find. i made it with both raw and roasted and roasted was delicious, too!