This Vegan Pistachio Cake has is naturally coloured with avocado, has a hint of lemon and is super moist. It is the perfect cake with your daily tea or coffee. This eggless pistachio cake has a unique and refreshing flavour profile!
What you can expect from this cake
This cake is fluffy and has NO dense spots typical of nut-based cakes or eggless cakes. It has the texture of friands so is perfect for morning tea, afternoon tea or as an easy vegan dessert.
This eggless pistachio cake has a delicious and unique flavour profile. It has the nuttiness of pistachios, slight tang of lemon and beautiful green hue of avocados!
The natural fat in the avocado makes the cake extra moist and replaces some of the fat from eggs. With enough sweetener and lemon juice, the avocado flavour doesn't strongly come through.
Love vegan pistachio recipes but want something simplier? Check out my vegan pistachio cookies with cranberries.
Video: how to make this vegan pistachio cake
Ingredients to make this cake
This lemon pistachio cake recipe has no weird ingredients, no food colouring and is packed with nuts and fruit (avocado)! Although it's an eggless cake, it doesn't use any egg replacers or aquafaba :).
If you're allergic to pistachios, I'd recommend my whole lemon cake or lemon drizzle cake instead. Or if you would like a vegan lemon avocado cake, simply substitute the pistachios with almond flour by grams.
Incorporating a lot of fruit or vegetables (avocado) to a cake can make it dense. However, adding an acid such as lemon juice (apple cider vinegar for other cakes) balances it out making a softer cake. In saying that, I do not recommend substituting the lemon juice with apple cider vinegar in its entirety, as there's quite a lot of it!
If you don't like the lemon flavour, you replace it with
- orange or tangerine juice
- dairy free milk and 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar (for texture) OR
- dairy free milk and almond extract (for flavour).
Steps to make the cake
I'm always a fan of easy cake recipes and this vegan lemon pistachio cake is no exception. To make the cake, add all dry ingredients (except the pistachios) to a bowl and mix.
Add the rest of the ingredients (pistachios, avocados and the wet ingredients) to a food processor and blitz until combined.
Combine the ingredients in your mixing bowl to form a very thick cake batter. As there's already so much natural moisture and oils in the avocado and pistachios, we don't need to add too much liquid!
As the batter is quite thick, you'll need to scoop (or slowly pouring) the mixture into your lined loaf tin.
Like all cakes packed with fruit or nuts (such as my vegan apple bread) this pistachio cake takes time to bake. If the cake browns TOO quickly and the middle is still uncooked, cover the tin with an oven safe bowl or aluminium foil to force the oven to cook inside the cake.
The final cake will be brown on the outside but green inside!
When you take the cake out of the oven, it will deflate a little. This is completely fine and will not affect the end result of the cake!
Icing and decorating the cake
A simple sugar icing best suits this lemon pistachio cake. It is elegant, simple and makes the cake look like it's from a cafe! I made the icing using only powdered sugar and lemon juice. You can sub the juice for almond milk or other plant-based milk but the lemon juice really adds an extra element to the cake.
Alternatively, if you want a healthy lemon pistachio cake, you can top it with thick coconut yoghurt or whipped coconut cream.
Key tips for baking:
- Make sure your oven isn't too hot (many ovens are hotter than they say they are so I recommend getting an oven thermometer in the long term). There are lots of pistachios in this cake and nuts tend to burn easily in the oven. As mentioned above, if your cake is browning too quickly, simply cover the cake with a large oven-safe bowl or aluminium foil. Or you can lower the temperature of your oven.
- Taste test the eggless pistachio cake batter before you bake it. I couldn't really taste the avocado in my final cake but if you can (and don't like it), simply add more lemon juice/zest.
- This cake can be made into vegan pistachio cupcakes. Your cupcakes won't need to be baked for as long (maybe around 25 mins). They also won't deflate as much when out of the oven.
- You can customise this cake to make a vegan pistachio and rose cake or vegan pistachio cardamom cake. Simply mix in a dash of rose water or cardamom spices to the cake batter and bake as is! You can also add rose water to the icing.
Check out my other vegan lemon desserts
Vegan Pistachio Avocado Cake
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 2 cups (250g) plain or all-purpose flour*
- ¾ cup (150g) cane sugar
- 3 tsp baking powder
- Pinch of any good-quality salt
Ingredients to blend
- 1 cup (170g) raw pistachios, (weighed without the shell)
- ~1 (250g) medium-sized avocado, flesh only (weighed after removing the skin and seed)
- ⅔ cup (165g) dairy free milk, such as almond, soy or coconut
- ⅓ cup (85g) light-tasting vegetable oil, such as sunflower or rapeseed
- ¼ cup (60g) lemon zest and juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract, optional
Icing (optional)
- 1 cup (100g) powdered sugar / icing sugar
- 1-2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp vegan butter or margarine, optional, for a firmer frosting
To decorate (optional)
- 2 tbsp pistachios, chopped finely
- 1 tsp rose petals
Instructions
- Note: For accuracy, I'd recommend using grams for this recipe except for the tablespoon and teaspoon measurements!
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a 20 cm (8 inch) or larger loaf tin with baking paper. The larger your tin, the shorter amount of time it'll take to bake the pistachio cake.
To make the pistachio cake:
- Add all dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Mix until combined and there are no lumps. Set aside.
- Add the pistachios to a food processor and blitz until it forms medium to fine crumbs. Add the avocado, milk, oil, lemon juice/zest and vanilla. Blitz until there are no more chunks of avocado. The mixture may be lumpy from the pistachios.
- Pour the pistachio mixture into the mixing bowl with the flour. Mix gently until combined. The batter needs to be quite thick (otherwise the cake will not bake through).
- Pour or scoop the cake batter into your loaf tin.
- Bake the cake for 60-70 minutes OR until a skewer can be inserted into the middle and there is no wet batter on it.** If the cake is browning too quickly but is uncooked in the middle, cover the cake with an oven safe bowl or aluminium foil and bake until ready. The cake is very moist and there might be some crumbs on your skewer which is fine.
- Allow the cake to rest in the tin for at least 10 minutes. Remove it from the tin and allow it to cool on a wire rack. The cake might deflate which is fine.
To make the icing:
- Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix until combined. Add more powdered sugar for a firmer frosting or more lemon juice for a runnier frosting
- When the cake has fully cooled, spoon the icing on top of the cake. Sprinkle with pistachios if desired.
- The loaf can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 day, in the fridge for 3 days or in the freezer up to 1 month.
Video
Notes
Please leave a comment below if you made this recipe, have any questions or thoughts! Your comment will help other readers and Rainbow Nourishments.
Hi Anthea, just made this using up things from my pantry. Flour = 120g white spelt, 90g wholemeal spelt, 40g buckwheat; macadamia oil and used your suggestion of ground almonds to replace pistachios which are unloved at our place. Baked in 20cm round tin at 180C in conventional oven for 65 minutes, covering after 45 minutes with metal bowl. Brilliant result - thank you! Now need to pop 3/4 in freezer to prevent overdose of scrumptious cake.
Best wishes from Perth, stay safe!
Can I use coconut and/or almond flour instead?
Coconut flour is rarely a good substitute for regular flour as it's 3 times more absorbent. I listed a gluten free substitute in the notes of the recipe.
The raw batter tasted sooo delicious! But once baked, the cake was very bitter (it was surely the avocado). I wonder if it is because I used a brazilian avocado (called abacate?) even though they are pretty much the same taste and properties?
Thanks for your feedback. It's definitely the first time I've heard of the cake tasting bitter. I just googled that type of avocado and a few sources say that when abacate is heated, it results in a bitter taste. So I'd say it's about the avocado you used!
From the minute you posted this recipe, I knew I had to bake it as I love anything with avocado. It was my first time baking with avocado, I was a bit nervous but I read carefully your recipe and made my cake! It was delicious and was gone within a day!
Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe! x
I'm soo happy to hear you loved the recipe and the cake! Thanks so much for your time with leaving feedback x
This was soooo good! We ate it in 2 days (could have eaten it in one day but tried to be good) and brought another one to a party. Everyone LOVED it. Perfect for summer.
At first, I was nervous it wouldn’t turn out okay because the batter is kind of like cookie dough when you put it in the pan, but it turned out perfect. It is super easy to make and full of flavor.
Oh that's amazing! Your comment wants me to make it again haha. Oh that's interesting that your batter was kind of like cookie dough (mine was a little runnier but still thick) but I'm glad it worked well nevertheless. Thanks so much for your feedback x
I added greek yogurt and it was perfect
Soo happy to hear you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for your comment 🙂
I was so excited for this recipe, but unfortunately, the cake did not bake. I followed the recipe to a tee using the measurement option in cups. I set the oven to 350 deg F and then baked it for 55 minutes, checked, and even though it was light brown on the outside, it was too moist. I then put it in for another 10-15 minutes (to reach the upper 70 min suggestion), and it remained moist. I put it back in two more times for 10-15 minutes each, and the middle remained mushy and felt uncooked, while the outside had fully baked. It tasted good, but disappointed in texture/ mushiness/ overall bake :/
Hi Preeti, I'm so sorry that it didn't work for you - it's the first time it hasn't worked for someone. I suspect one issue was with the measurements. Can I ask what was consistency your batter? For accuracy in any baking, I always recommend using the grams as even 50g can make a difference (the cups are provided as a guide). Another thing is the temperature of your oven - if the outside of your cake baked, it is likely that your oven was too hot. Many ovens (even new ones) say they are a certain temperature but are often hotter (or cooler). I'd also recommend getting an oven thermometer OR if any of your cakes bake outside and not inside, you just need to cover it with a bowl or alumiunium foil to force the middle to bake. It's a common baking issue!
This cake screamed my name as soon as I saw it, I couldn’t wait to make it through my work week to make it Saturday! The 3 ingredients pair so well, tangy and creamy and the color is so beautiful and unique~ I got a lot of compliments and brought a few pieces to family who cook and they were so impressed by this unique and beautiful cake and taste 💗 the directions were so easy to follow and tips and vids always make you feel more confident! I love every thing you do and truly enjoy your channel, creativity, energy and love you put into your healthy art! It helps those of us who want it but don’t know quite where to start- learn and grow and share more health and love!💗 thank you for another hit Anthea!!!
Aw, I'm soo happy that you loved the cake Jennifer and that your family enjoyed it too! It's such a unique flavour combination but it just works :). Thanks a million for your thoughtful and kind comment and for your support! x
big fan of the flavors in this! I did experience some problems with texture not coming out as pictured, but thankfully i didn't mind it being a bit denser. One thing I did was mix the method of measurement for different ingredients (some metric, some imperial) so I think that might have messed with things a bit. Ideally that wouldn't be the case but either way, love the flavor and aesthetic of the cake, and i'll be trying it again!
Glad you enjoyed the flavours! Also yes, mixing the measurements will definitely do that with the cake, as you said but good on you for realising. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave your feedback 🙂
So!! This is soooo good!!!! I wish everyone I know would make it, lol. I always treat my neighbor to my baking, and she said it’s her new favorite! I did go with 3/4 the amount of glaze, and I split the oil amount to part oil/part applesauce, and it was fantastic! And I always vote that peeps use the gram amounts whenever possible!
Aw that makes me soo happy to hear! Glad that those adjustments worked for you and I 100% agree - gram amounts are definitely better! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment Autumn x
The cake taste delicious and the recipe is so clear is very easy to make and impressive to serve it to your guests. Fantastic recipe I love it ….!!!!
Yay, that's amazing! Thanks so much for your feedback xo
This looks amazing Anthea. Definitely on the 'to do' list for winter. 🙂
Can't wait to hear what you think!
Very easy to make and super delicious ❤️
That's great! Thanks for your feedback Leonie!