Lemon Pistachio Cake

Soft and simple lemon pistachio cake with a delicious pistachio sheet cake and a lemon white chocolate buttercream. This sheet cake is full of delicious flavor and lemon, pistachio and white chocolate goes absolutely perfectly together!

This sheet cake is full of flavor, combining beautifully the earthy notes from the pistachio sheet cake with the lemon in the buttercream. The addition of the white chocolate in the buttercream perfectly balance the flavors of the pistachio and lemon.

This cake tastes absolutely amazing and I hope you’ll love it too!

For more sheet cake and pistachio recipes, try Chocolate Sheet Cake with Mascarpone Frosting, Raspberry Pistachio Layer Cake and Birthday Blondie Bars.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

• Easy to make: What I love so much about sheet cakes is that they are so easy to make! They are a no-fuss kinda cake.
• Super soft and tender: This pistachio cake is so full of flavor and has most soft and tender texture.
• Pistachios: Pistachios have beautiful earthy notes that gives the cake the most soft texture and delicious flavor
• Lemon white chocolate buttercream: To complement and balance the earthy notes off the pistachios the lemon and white chocolate really lift this cake to another level.

INGREDIENT NOTES

These are some of the key ingredients for this recipe. For a full list of ingredients, check out the recipe card below.

• Butter: Take it out of the fridge 1-2 hours before baking.
• Eggs: Take them out of the fridge 1-2 hours before baking.
• Unsalted pistachio: The beautiful green color of the cake is naturally colored by the pistachios.
• Buttermilk: Buttermilk makes for a softer and more tender cake. Measure out the buttermilk and let it come to room temperature 1-2 hours before baking
• White chocolate: Use chips or a block of white chocolate.

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS - CAKE

Here is how make and bake these lemon pistachio cake. This recipe needs a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, or a hand mixer. You will also need a 22x33 cm sheet pan lined with baking paper.

The full recipe is down below in the recipe card.

Before starting preheat the oven to 170ºC/ 340ºF conventional oven. Prepare a 22x33 cm sheet pan with baking paper.

STEP 1. Blend the pistachios into a flour-like consistency. Sift together the all-purpose flour, blended pistachios, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set it aside. Mix together the buttermilk and vanilla extract and set it aside.

STEP 2: In a mixing bowl, using the paddle attachment, add the butter, vegetable oil, and granulated sugar and mix it on high speed for 3 min.

STEP 3: Add the eggs one at a time into the mixture. Mix it in until combined.

STEP 4: Continue by alternating between adding ⅓ of the flour mixture and ½ of the milk mixture, ending on the flour mixture. Mix in each addition until just combined.

STEP 5: Divide the cake batter into the sheet pan and bake it for 35-37 min or until a cake tester comes out clean.

STEP 6: Let the cake cool on a cooling rack. After 10 min, gently remove the cake from the cake tin and let the cake cool down completely.

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS - BUTTERCREAM AND ASSEMBLING

STEP 1: Melt the white chocolate and heavy cream together over a bain-marie or in the microwave. Let it cool down to room temperature in the fridge (it’s important that it’s not too hot).

STEP 2: Take the butter out of the fridge 10 min before starting and cut the butter into cubes. Sift the powdered sugar.

STEP 3: In your stand mixer, use the paddle attachment, start by creaming the butter for 2 min on medium speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix 1 min more. Add the melted white chocolate and mix it in until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and give it another mix to make sure it’s fully incorporated with the butter.

STEP 4: On low speed, add the lemon juice and the sifted powdered sugar in 2 portions, mix in the powdered sugar at low speed, until each addition is fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the vanilla extract. Mix for 2 min on low/medium speed.

STEP 5: Take the bowl off the stand mixer and with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, beat it well by hand to make sure to remove the air bubbles in the buttercream.

STEP 6: With a spatula, add the buttercream on top of the sheet cake and spread it out evenly. Sprinkle it with a bit of chopped pistachios and it’s ready to be enjoyed.

EXPERT BAKING TIPS

• Use a kitchen scale: My default setting for my recipes is grams. It is the most precise way of measuring out your ingredients, I therefore highly recommend using a kitchen scale.
• Don't over mix your batter: I always use a spatula after everything has mixed together, to give it one final gentle fold together. This makes sure everything in the bottom of the mixing bowl has been mixed into the batter.
• Light vs. dark baking pans: For the best result, use an aluminum baking pan, greased with butter and lined with baking paper in the bottom. Aluminum pans are light in color and therefore attract less heat. That means it bakes more gently which results in a softer cake. If you use a black baking pan it'll attract a lot more heat. That will then give a darker crust, which can result in a dryer cake.

FAQ

STORAGE

Store the sheet cake on the kitchen counter in an airtight container. It's best enjoyed within a few days.

Other Pistachio and Sheet Cake Recipes To Try

Make sure leave a STAR REVIEW if you loved this recipe! Make sure to tag me on Instagram @juliemarieeats. To get more ideas by following me on Pinterest.

Lemon Pistachio Cake

Soft and simple lemon pistachio cake with a delicious pistachio sheet cake and a lemon white chocolate buttercream. This sheet cake is full of delicious flavor and lemon, pistachio and white chocolate goes absolutely perfectly together!

5 fra 15 stemmer

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Total Time 55 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 15 slices

Calories 468 kcal

Equipment

• 22x33/ 9x13 in sheet pan
• 8x12 Inch Parchment Paper

Ingredients

 

MetricUS Customary

 

1x2x3x

PISTACHIO CAKE

• 100 g unsalted pistachios blended into flour
• 260 g all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 240 g buttermilk room temperature
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 180 g butter room temperature
• 65 g vegetable oil e.g. canola oil
• 330 g granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs room temperature

LEMON WHITE CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM

• 100 g white chocolate
• 20 g heavy cream
• 200 g butter cool room temperature
• 350 g powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DECORATION

• Chopped unsalted pistachios

Instructions

 

PISTACHIO CAKE

• Preheat the oven at 170ºC/ 340ºF conventional oven and prepare a 22x33/ 9x13 inch sheet baking pan with parchment paper.
• Blend the pistachios into a flour-like consistency.
  100 g unsalted pistachios
• Sift together the all-purpose flour, blended pistachios, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set it aside. Mix together the buttermilk and vanilla extract and set it aside.
  260 g all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ¾ teaspoon salt, 240 g buttermilk, 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, or mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer, add the butter and granulated sugar and mix it on medium-high speed for 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and add the vegetable oil and mix it together on low speed until combined.
  65 g vegetable oil, 330 g granulated sugar, 180 g butter
• Add the eggs one at a time into the mixture and mix it in until combined.
  4 large eggs
• Continue by alternating between adding ⅓ of the flour mixture and ½ of the buttermilk mixture, ending on the flour mixture. Mix in each addition until just combined.
• Add the cake batter to the sheet pan. Bake it for 35-37 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
• Let the cake cool on a cooling rack. After 10 minutes, gently remove the cake from the cake tin and let the cake cool down completely.

LEMON WHITE CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM

• Melt the white chocolate and heavy cream together over a bain-marie or in the microwave. Let it cool down to room temperature in the fridge (it’s important that it’s not too hot).
  100 g white chocolate, 20 g heavy cream
• Take the butter out of the fridge 10 minutes before starting and cut the butter into cubes. Sift the powdered sugar.
  200 g butter, 350 g powdered sugar
• In your stand mixer, use the paddle attachment, start by creaming the butter for 2 minutes on medium speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix 1 minute more. Add the melted white chocolate and mix it in until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and give it another mix to make sure it’s fully incorporated with the butter.
• On low speed, add the lemon juice and the sifted powdered sugar in 2 portions, mix in the powdered sugar at low speed, until each addition is fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the vanilla extract. Mix for 2 minutes on low/medium speed.
  2 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Add the cake to a serving tray and add the buttercream on top of the sheet cake. Spread it out evenly and sprinkle it with chopped pistachios. It’s ready to be enjoyed.
  Chopped unsalted pistachios

Notes

Update: The baking powder was on the 24th March 2023 updated from 2 teaspoon to ½ teaspoon as well as the salt reduced from 1 teaspoon to ¾ tsp

Nutrition

Calories: 468kcalCarbohydrates: 72gProtein: 6gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 50mgSodium: 450mgPotassium: 129mgFiber: 1gSugar: 51gVitamin A: 127IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 92mgIron: 2mg

Keyword lemon, pistachio, sheet cake, white chocolate buttercream

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