This vegan pistachio loaf cake has a delicate, nutty flavour and a soft, moist texture. Made with real pistachios and topped with pistachio cream spread, this delicious cake is simple yet sophisticated.
I absolutely love a loaf cake, they are so simple yet so satisfying, and this vegan pistachio loaf cake is one of my favourites. Adapted from my earl grey lemon cake, this pistachio version has a soft, moist, tender texture, almost like a pound cake; and the flavour is delicately nutty and not too sweet.
Ingredient Details:
Pistachios: I used unsalted, unroasted pistachios. Roasted, salted ones should also work ok, but I would omit the salt from the recipe in that case.
Pistachio cream: This is optional, but it makes an amazing topping for the pistachio loaf cake. Pistachio cream is not the same as pistachio butter - pistachio butter is just blended pistachios, like peanut butter; whereas pistachio cream is a sweetened, creamy spread that tastes incredible. There are several vegan ones, I used one by Rhythm 108 which is available on Ocado, or there is this one by Eatalian which you can get from Amazon.
Olive oil: I use extra virgin olive oil, I don't find that the flavour comes through strongly. Feel free to use regular olive oil or another neutral flavoured oil such as sunflower or canola.
Plain flour + cornflour: Regular plain (all-purpose) flour with a bit of cornflour (cornstarch) added gives the crumb a nice texture. You can swap the cornflour for an equal weight of plain flour if you don't have any, but I do recommend using it if you can.
Baking powder + soda: You need to use both, they are not interchangeable.
Yogurt: I use Greek style soya yogurt, though a regular plain vegan yogurt is also fine.
Milk: Any variety of unsweetened non-dairy milk will work (except tinned coconut milk) but I like soy milk the best for baking as it has the highest protein content so most closely resembles dairy milk.
Sugar: Either caster or granulated for the cake is fine, I do not recommend swapping this for any other kind of sugar or sweetener.
Vinegar or lemon juice: This reacts with the bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) to help the cake rise and give it a fluffy texture.
Vanilla + almond extracts: Adding some almond extract helps to bring out the delicate pistachio flavour.
How To Make Vegan Pistachio Loaf Cake:
(Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page)
- Step 1: Place the pistachios, milk, yogurt, oil, vinegar and vanilla and almond extracts in a blender and blend until smooth.
- Step 2: In a separate bowl, whisk together the plain flour, cornflour, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt.
- Step 3: Scrape the wet ingredients into the dry and stir with a balloon whisk to form a thick, smooth batter.
- Step 4: Pour the batter into a lined loaf tin and bake for 60 minutes.
Top Tips:
USE SCALES. As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scales rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
For the teaspoon and Tablespoon measurements, please use proper measuring spoons, not just regular spoons. A teaspoon is 5ml and a Tablespoon is 15ml.
You can add some bake stable green food colouring to the cake batter if you want it to have more of a vibrant green colour (the cake pictured did not use any food colouring).
For even more pistachio flavour you can fold about 100g of roughly chopped pistachios into the batter before baking.
Flavour Variations:
If you want to try switching up the flavours a bit why not try:
- Adding the finely grated zest of 2 large lemons or oranges to the cake batter.
- Adding in ½ - 1 teaspoon of ground cardamom.
- Folding in 125g of chocolate chips.
- Add a Tablespoon of rosewater.
FAQ's:
The pistachios need to be ground up to a fine flour consistency, you don't want any big pieces of pistachio. I tested two different methods of blending them:
1: With the wet ingredients. For this method I blended the pistachios along with the milk, yogurt and oil. It only took a few seconds for my bullet blender to blend it to a smooth cream with no lumps of pistachio.
2: Dry with the sugar: For this method I blended the pistachios with the sugar, which helps to prevent them from turning into pistachio butter as easily. This method took slightly longer as I needed to stop and shake the blender a couple of times so that it blended evenly, and the pistachios were slightly coarser than the wet blended, but it was still fine enough for the cake.
Both methods work well and the baked cakes were almost indistinguishable, so use whichever method you prefer!
Keep the loaf cake in an airtight container at cool room temperature for up to four days.
Yes this vegan pistachio loaf cake freezes really well, either whole or in slices. Allow it to cool completely before freezing, either well wrapped or in a freezer-proof container. Store for up to three months. Allow to defrost at room temperature before serving.
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Vegan Pistachio Loaf Cake
Equipment
- blender
- 21b loaf tin
Ingredients
Cake:
- 110 g (scant cup) shelled pistachios
- 160 g (⅔ cup) unsweetened non-dairy milk (I use soy)
- 160 g (⅔ cup) plain non-dairy yogurt (I use Greek style soy)
- 82 g (6 Tablespoons) oil (I use olive, do not use coconut)
- 1 Tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 220 g (1 + ¾ cups + 1 Tablespoon) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 30 g (¼ cup) cornflour (cornstarch)
- 200 g (1 cup) caster or granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- ¼ teaspoon table salt (omit if using salted pistachios)
To Top:
- about 5 Tablespoons vegan pistachio cream spread*
- a handful shelled pistachios roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/160℃ fan/350°F/gas mark 4. Line a 2lb loaf tin with baking paper.
- Place the pistachios, milk, yogurt, oil, vinegar and vanilla and almond extracts in a blender and blend until smooth with no chunks of pistachio.**110 g (scant cup) shelled pistachios, 160 g (⅔ cup) unsweetened non-dairy milk (I use soy), 160 g (⅔ cup) plain non-dairy yogurt (I use Greek style soy), 82 g (6 Tablespoons) oil (I use olive, do not use coconut), 1 Tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon almond extract
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the plain flour, cornflour, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt.220 g (1 + ¾ cups + 1 Tablespoon) plain (all-purpose) flour, 30 g (¼ cup) cornflour (cornstarch), 200 g (1 cup) caster or granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda), ¼ teaspoon table salt
- Scrape the blended wet ingredients into the dry and stir with a balloon whisk to form a thick, smooth batter with no dry patches.
- Scrape the batter into the lined tin and spread it level. Bake for about 60 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then carefully turn it out onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely.
- Once the cake has cooled, spread the pistachio cream over the top, sprinkle over some chopped pistachios and serve.about 5 Tablespoons vegan pistachio cream spread*, a handful shelled pistachios
Notes
- *Pistachio cream is not the same as pistachio butter or paste, it is a sweetened, creamy spread. I get it from Ocado or Amazon.
- **Alternatively you can blend the pistachios with the sugar rather than the wet ingredients until it forms a fine flour.
- USE SCALES. As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scales rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
- For the teaspoon and Tablespoon measurements, please use proper measuring spoons, not just regular spoons. A teaspoon is 5ml and a Tablespoon is 15ml.
- For even more pistachio flavour you can fold about 100g of roughly chopped pistachios into the batter before baking.
- See post above for tips, details and storage instructions.
If you tried this recipe let me know how it went! Rate it, leave a comment or tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess
Alex
I'm planning on making a pistachio-raspberry celebration cake.
Aiming for a pistachio sponge, pistachio cream, pistachio feuilletine layer, raspberry jelly and raspberry cream (very ambitious, I have a non-vegan recipe I'm basing this on!).
Would this sponge work as a round base?
I was looking at 18in diameter and need 3 layers, so I'd need to scale it up accordingly. I think there's a scaling website somewhere!
Happy to take any suggestions!
Thanks xxxx
Hannah
Hi Alex, that sounds incredible! I haven't tried this recipe in a round tin but I don't see why it wouldn't work, it should make enough batter for two 18-20cm round tins.
Jo Smith
I made this cake and bought it into work today. It’s gone down a treat. Light and delicious. Definitely going to be make it again!