Yogurt and Olive Oil Pistachio Cake With Lemon Buttercream

There’s No Resisting This Rich Yet Delicate Olive Oil Cake.

How is it possible to make a cake that’s rich and dense and light and fluffy all at the same time? Two magical ingredients: yogurt and olive oil. Both give fat—i.e. moisture galore— and lots of flavor to the this tender, lovely pistachio cake. Making cake with olive oil instead of butter is common in places like Italy where olive oil is traditionally made. And as for yogurt? We love to bake with yogurt! Baking with yogurt (like in these Oat Scones) is a pretty terrific way of adding not just moisture but also fluffiness to your baked goods, because the acidity of the yogurt reacts with the chemical leaveners (in this case, baking powder) to add a little extra lift to your finished cake.

Pistachio Cake With Lemon Frosting: Tastes Even Better Than It Sounds

Despite its elegant demeanor, this pistachio-flecked olive oil cake slathered with lemon buttercream is as easy as can be to make. In fact, if you’ve ever made a quick bread (like zucchini, banana or pumpkin) before, you can count yourself an olive oil cake expert. Here’s what you’ll need to make this pistachio cake recipe.

• Cake flour (a slightly finer flour than AP flour. Look for it in a box in the baking aisle.)
• Baking powder
• Ground cardamom
• Salt
• Sugar
• Olive oil
• Vanilla extract
• Plain Greek yogurt
• Eggs (a lot of them)
• Lemon zest

How To Make Greek Yogurt Cake

This simple pistachio cake recipe is easy to make and stunning enough to serve as the centerpiece for a baby shower, bridal shower or even Mother’s Day. After you’ve gathered your ingredients, you’ll need to prep your equipment. Here are the simple steps to make the best pistachio-olive oil cake recipe ever:

1. Butter three 8-inch round cake pans and line bottoms with parchment paper. Take the time to do this thoroughly up front, so you don’t have any stuck-cake debacles right at the end.
2. Pulse pistachios, flour, baking powder, cardamom, and salt a few times in food processor.
3. Mix that pistachio goodnesswith sugar, olive oil, vanilla, eggs, yogurt, lemon zest.
4. Pour the batter into the cake pans, and bake!
5. Whip up the lemon buttercream frosting recipe!
6. Cool—all the way!—the cakes, then frost, and assemble! And ta da! You made a cake.

Tools You’ll Need:

• 3 8-inch round cake pans
• Food processor
• Large bowl
• Electric or stand mixer
• An offset spatula is really helpful for frosting a cake, but you can get by with just a regular silicone or rubber spatula.

More Irresistible Desserts

• Baileys Chocolate Bundt Cake
• Banana Walnut Cake
• Rhubarb Cobbler with Mint

Are you a Yogurt Cake Lover Now?

If you made this pistachio cake from scratch, we want to see your handiwork! Be sure to snap a photo of it and tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper or #themodernproper.