Oh this is a must try recipe – unless there are nut allergies in your household. My wife and daughter had this cake – or something like it, at a tea shop a while ago. They raved about it to me which I always take to meaning I should make it. I scoured the internet and could only find recipes that called for a boxed cake mix – I know, who does that!!? :). So I kept searching and finally found one that was made from scratch. Here’s a Pistachio Pudding Cake from scratch that you just have to make.

It calls for Jello Pistachio Pudding mix and shelled pistachios. Even the buttercream icing has some pudding mix in it – this just ramps up the flavor. I did bake it in a Bundt pan but next time would make it in a couple of 9”x2” round tins and just layer it. The addition of the pudding makes the cake ridiculously moist even a day later, and so rich tasting.

Many of you know, while I love to bake, I don’t really have a sweet tooth. This cake however, had me craving the next piece. I made some pistachio brittle for decoration – so easy. You can make this brittle by combining 1 cup of sugar with ¾ cup water over medium high heat. Let the clear melted mixture turn amber, and then add ¼ cup chopped pistachios and stir quickly. Immediately pour onto a greased piece of parchment paper. Spreading this out using the cut side of a lemon, it really makes the brittle taste great – thanks to Chef Maria for this technique. But watch your fingers as the brittle will be fire hot. If it settles before you have it spread out then just put it in the oven at 300f for a few minutes and it will soften – then spread out and let it dry completely.  It should not be sticky to the touch when you break it into shards for decorating the cake. When chopping the pistachios for the brittle, don’t add the pistachio powder from the chopped nuts – it will cloud your brittle. Just use the whole pieces.

If you use salted pistachios (and really isn’t salted “anything” the best!) it comes through in the final taste of the cake. When I made the frosting I also put almond essence which the recipe didn’t call for but I wanted to increase the aroma and nutty taste in the final product. This is a keeper recipe so please do try it. As always – enjoy!

¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
1½ cups of white granulated sugar
2 (99g) package of jello pistachio pudding – 1 package for the cake and 3 tbsp. for the buttercream icing
4 eggs
¾ cup homogenized milk
¾ cup 35% cream (you could also use just milk or milk and a lower fat cream i.e. 5% 10% etc)
⅓ cup vegetable or canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup chopped pistachios (for the cake) and ¼ cup pieces for the brittle (recipe above)
1¾ cups all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. cornstarch
4 tsps. baking powder
1 tsp Kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 325f
Grease and flour a 10” diameter Bundt pan
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt – set aside
Using the paddle attachment or a hand mixer, cream the butter and granulated sugar – on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes
Add in the pistachio pudding mix and combine thoroughly
Beat in the eggs, one at a time – scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl after the 2nd and 4th egg
Add the ½ cup chopped pistachios and gently stir into the batter
Combine the milk, oil and vanilla extract in a large measuring cup or bowl
Alternate between wet and dry ingredients beating well after each – do it on slow until the liquid or dry ingredients have been incorporated, then mix well before next addition
Pour the cake batter into the prepared Bundt pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean – it took 55 minutes in my oven. I checked at 45, 50 and 55 minutes – if you decide to make this using 2 – 9”x2” round tins, reduce cooking time to 25 – 35 minutes and check at 25 minutes and then every 5 minutes or so thereafter until done
Let the cake cool in the pan before turning out – make the frosting

½ cup salted butter
½ cup milk
3 tbsp instant pistachio pudding powder
½ tsp almond extract
2 – 2½ cups icing sugar

Using the paddle attachment, cream the butter and pudding mix until light and fluffy
Add the milk, almond extract and icing sugar and beat until you cannot feel any granules of pudding mix (about 5+ minutes) when you rub the buttercream between your finger and thumb (yes of course lick it off – but wash your hands again)
Ice the cooled cake, garnish/decorate with the pistachio brittle