I’m gonna warn you now: this is a photo heavy post! Sometimes it feels like a real slog trying to get decent photos of a recipe but this chocolate pistachio sponge cake went the other way.
I think the cake itself just looks so good that I really struggled to whittle down the photos. No such thing as too much cake though, right?
I’ve made pistachio sponge a few times before and it is a thing of beauty. Here’s 3 reasons to add pistachios to your regular sponge cake:
- most obviously, flavour: delicate but nutty
- a beautiful, vibrant colour (green cake!!) – although admittedly these photos don’t show that too well.
- high fat content = suuuper moist sponge
The only thing that’s a little fiddly about this recipe is grinding the pistachios. You’ll need a reasonably strong food processor, and you want to get the pistachios to roughly the consistency of ground almonds.
Don’t worry if you can’t get them quite that fine. I find the easiest way to do this is to start with slightly more pistachios than you need. So, for this recipe I’d start with about 125g.
Then, process until you’ve got fine crumbs and pass through a sieve. You’ll be left with some slightly bigger pieces (hopefully about 25g!) which you can then set aside to decorate the top of the cake.
Other than that, it’s pretty much a basic sponge recipe. Whilst the cake is cooling, whip up some chocolate ganache (and try your best not to eat it out the pan!).
Spread the ganache over your cake, top with some pistachios and there you go: a simple but beautiful chocolate pistachio sponge cake!
Ingredients
- 200g unsalted butter, softened
- 100g caster sugar
- 100g light brown sugar
- 4 medium eggs, beaten
- 100g plain flour, sifted
- 100g pistachios, finely ground (see notes)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 20g unsalted butter
- 150ml double cream
- 125g dark chocolate
- 25g golden syrup
- 25g pistachios, finely chopped
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 180c. Grease or line a 9 inch round baking tin.
- Cream the butter and both types of sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the beaten eggs and combine.
- Add the flour, ground pistachios and baking powder and gently fold in. Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown on the outside. A skewer inserted in the middle should come out with just a few moist crumbs.
- Once the cake has cooled a little, make the ganache: Heat the butter and cream in a saucepan over a medium heat until it just begins simmering.
- Turn down the heat and add the chocolate, stirring continuously until the chocolate has melted. Stir in the syrup.
- Allow to cool until it reaches a spreadable consistency, then spread over the sponge. Decorate with finely chopped pistachios.
Notes
To grind the pistachios, you'll need a food processor. I find it easiest to start with slightly more than is required, process, then pass through a sieve. Some larger pieces will be left over which you can use to decorate the cake.
I have had to pin this recipe so I can make it later – the cake looks so delicious! <3
Gisforgingers xx
Thanks Claire, love the combination of pistachio & chocolate and it’s dead easy to make it look pretty too!
Wow those photos look amazing!!! I kind of want to go to your place and eat the cake (kinda creepy, I know xD) Definitely trying this out! I never had a pistachio cake, no clue why it never came to mind, since I do use a lot of nuts in my cakes =D
xo, Rosie //The Cheeky Mom
I’m drooling! Currently living through a kitchen extension and excitedly making a list of what I’d like to bake and cook in it. This is going on that list!
Lovely cake! Just baked it today and it’s a big hit! Do you have the nutrition facts for this recipe? Many thanks.
Made the cake this morning for my wife’s birthday… was absolutely delicious, everyone was so impressed. A really fantastic recipe!