My friend Jeanine from Love & Lemons makes the prettiest cookbooks. They’re bright, delicious, happy, and so well designed. Like a magazine and cookbook all in one. Even Kev, not the cook of the family, got lost in her new book, Love & Lemons Every Day. Maybe not as lost as he got in her Lemon Olive Oil Pistachio Cake after work, where he hacked into this tiny work of art with a dull metal spatula. “Gimme that spatula, Kev.” I followed suit.
Jeanine is known for her uncomplicated vegetable-forward, often dairy-free, sometimes gluten-free, dinner recipes made from familiar, every day ingredients. She’s now known around our house for this Lemon Olive Oil Pistachio Cake shared over an afternoon tea party with Hal, her friend, and some lukewarm tea that spent the last half of its life sprawled across the tiny table and floor. You know how 5-year-old tea parties go. Don’t worry, the slices of cake and the seconds were spared. Read: devoured.
This simple lemony, pistachio cake has me rethinking cake recipe composition altogether. Stirred together in a bowl without a mixer, with plenty of eggs and lemon zest, a little olive oil, and a good amount of raw pistachios blitzed into a flour, it is so unfussy and so moist. (Sorry if you hate that word. Is dewey better? No. Moist will have to do.) I’m also smitten with the idea of pistachio flour. I sprinkled it like fairy dust across the top of the cake. Across my bowl of oatmeal the next morning and on top of my pasta the next night.
Kev and Hal agree, this recipe landed firmly in the keeper category. Also bookmarked: well, the whole book, which Jeanine gives a huge sneak peek at here. PS—I’m giving away a copy of her book over on Instagram! Head this way to enter.
To Jeanine (and Jack, too), I hope you’re so proud of this thick, beautiful encyclopedia of recipes. It’s so stunning and so delicious!
Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly spray 2 (6-inch) mini cake pans or 1 loaf pan.
Process the pistachios in a blender to produce a coarse meal or flour. Measure 1 cup of pistachio flour.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the 1 cup of pistachio flour, the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a large bowl, combine the olive oil, almond milk, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Whisk vigorously until frothy. Fold in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 35 minutes for mini cakes and 45 minutes for a loaf. Let cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack.
Make the glaze: In a medium bowl, combine the powdered sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice as needed to make a smooth, pourable glaze. Drizzle over the cooled cake and garnish with the chopped pistachios.
Notes
*Can be substituted for 1 cup almond flour.
My notes: I pulled the cakes out at the 30 minute mark as my oven tends to run a little warm. I went with a thicker glaze to top the cakes since I didn’t have cute cake molds like Jeanine. To do so, I made a 1.5 recipe of the glaze, thickening it with a bit of heavy cream, eyeballing the consistency until it was thick but spreadable.
PS—I bought just the amount of raw pistachios needed for this recipe in the bulk section of our grocery store. Read more on how to do that here.
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Have you or anyone else tried this cake using only almond flour? Also, can I cut back on the sugar? My family doesn’t like sweet cakes. Lastly, can I make this cake a day ahead and refrigerate? Thanks a bunch
This cake is just simply awesome! Delicious. And the recipe is a keeper, set on repeat. I baked this in two 6″ round cake pans, then made a little thicker glaze for stacking. The glaze went over the top and down the sides of the cake. A little scattering of leftover pistachio bits on top. A terrific dessert that felt like a splurge, but was very, very easy to make. Even easier to enjoy. It’s that good!
I am wondering if I could make this in a cast iron pan. Do you think that this will change how the cake bakes? I have a smaller pan (10″ ish?) and a larger one (maybe 18-20″?) – considering doubling the recipe if I use the larger cast iron pan. Thoughts?
I’m not up to speed on cooking cakes in cast iron. I imagine they will cook a little faster on the bottom due to the way cast iron conducts heat, ie they could burn. I love to cook crips in a cast iron but haven’t tried cakes. Let me know if you end up trying it!
Hey! I ended up doubling the recipe and cooking in the larger cast iron. It needed about 40-45 minutes at 350 degrees. I was really pleased with how it came out! the parts of the cake that were touching the cast iron surface were burnt, but it was very easy to scrape off the burnt surfaces with a butter knife after the cake had cooled. I really enjoy incorporating cast iron with my cooking and Im very pleased that this worked.
I added a healthy amount of freshly cut rosemary to the batter of the cake, and some essential lavender oil to the glaze. I also lathered a layer of honey on the cooled cake before I drizzled the glaze on. Really happy with this recipe and my amendments. Thank you!
You might have a leaky mess baking in a springform pan but you can bake this in a solid cake pan. Bake times will vary. An 8″ might need a little longer to bake, producing a thicker cake. For a 9″ I would estimate about the same time, maybe a little less. And a 10″ would need less time, producing a thinner cake. I hope this helps!
Have you or anyone else tried this cake using only almond flour? Also, can I cut back on the sugar? My family doesn’t like sweet cakes. Lastly, can I make this cake a day ahead and refrigerate?
Thanks a bunch
Is there a way to freeze this cake, either before or after baking? What would you recommend?
This cake is just simply awesome! Delicious. And the recipe is a keeper, set on repeat. I baked this in two 6″ round cake pans, then made a little thicker glaze for stacking. The glaze went over the top and down the sides of the cake. A little scattering of leftover pistachio bits on top. A terrific dessert that felt like a splurge, but was very, very easy to make. Even easier to enjoy. It’s that good!
I am wondering if I could make this in a cast iron pan. Do you think that this will change how the cake bakes? I have a smaller pan (10″ ish?) and a larger one (maybe 18-20″?) – considering doubling the recipe if I use the larger cast iron pan. Thoughts?
I’m not up to speed on cooking cakes in cast iron. I imagine they will cook a little faster on the bottom due to the way cast iron conducts heat, ie they could burn. I love to cook crips in a cast iron but haven’t tried cakes. Let me know if you end up trying it!
Hey! I ended up doubling the recipe and cooking in the larger cast iron. It needed about 40-45 minutes at 350 degrees. I was really pleased with how it came out! the parts of the cake that were touching the cast iron surface were burnt, but it was very easy to scrape off the burnt surfaces with a butter knife after the cake had cooled. I really enjoy incorporating cast iron with my cooking and Im very pleased that this worked.
I added a healthy amount of freshly cut rosemary to the batter of the cake, and some essential lavender oil to the glaze. I also lathered a layer of honey on the cooled cake before I drizzled the glaze on. Really happy with this recipe and my amendments. Thank you!
Is there a way to make this gluten free?
There is! But I’m not well-practiced in turning recipes into gluten-free versions of the original, so I can’t offer great guidance here.
Do you have a good vegan cake recipe
I don’t, but check out Oh, Ladycakes and The First Mess!
Do you think I could use a 10” springform pan instead? I don’t have mini pans but still want a cake I can cut into wedges. Thanks!
You might have a leaky mess baking in a springform pan but you can bake this in a solid cake pan. Bake times will vary. An 8″ might need a little longer to bake, producing a thicker cake. For a 9″ I would estimate about the same time, maybe a little less. And a 10″ would need less time, producing a thinner cake. I hope this helps!
Hello. Can regular (1%) milk be substituted for the almond milk?
For sure!