A light nutty lemony cake with creamy frosting!

Watch the Video:
This light, bright and nutty pistachio and lemon cake is perfect for a summer dessert. It has lots of pistachio flavor with lemon in the background and is topped with perfectly sweetened creamy frosting. Using a star tip for the frosting creates a beautiful presentation, and you can add ground pistachios, lemon slices, or berries for even more freshness. It’s easy to make, and you can even make it ahead of time. I can’t wait for you to try it!
Why you’ll want to make this all summer
- Moist, light lemony cake
- Nutty, crunchy pistachios
- Sweet, creamy frosting
- An easy delicious lemony pistachio cake that’s light and perfect for summer!

The ingredients
The Dry Ingredients for the cake:
- All-purpose flour
- Cornstarch –this lightens the flour up, making it similar to cake flour
- Pistachios -ground
- Baking powder –for the rise
- Zest of a large lemon –substitute a tbsp. of orange blossom water or rose water
The Wet Ingredients for the cake:
- Unsalted butter –softened
- Light olive oil –or your favorite vegetable oil
- Eggs at room temperature
- Granulated sugar
- Pure vanilla extract
- Fresh lemon juice –zest your lemon first
- Plain yogurt –regular or Greek, just make sure it’s full-fat yogurt
The Frosting:
- Mascarpone cheese or cream cheese –room temperature
- Confectioner’s sugar
- Heavy whipping cream
- Pure vanilla extract
- Zest of a lemon –always zest before juicing
Garnish:
- Ground pistachios
- optional: raspberries, blueberries, or strawberries

How to make Pistachio and Lemon Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F, 180 °C.
- Grease a 9-inch (23 cm) round springform pan.
- Combine all of the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk them together.
- In the bowl of a tabletop mixer that has been fitted with the whisk attachment, add the butter, sugar, vanilla, and oil, and then beat together until fluffy –about 3 minutes on high speed.
- Add the eggs one at a time and beat until incorporated.
- Next, add the yogurt and lemon juice and beat until incorporated. The mixture will appear broken, but it will come together once the flour has been added.
- Add the flour in 2-3 batches. When the final batch of flour is left, add the ground pistachios to it and toss them until coated. Add the mixture to the batter and whisk together until just incorporated.
- Using a spatula, mix the batter to release anything stuck to the sides or bottom of the bowl.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the top.
- Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for about 55-65 minutes. The cake is ready when a toothpick that has been inserted into the center of the cake comes out with some moist crumbs attached.
- Allow the cake to cool completely, and then transfer it to a serving platter or cake pedestal.
Make the Frosting:
- Combine all the frosting ingredients in a mixing bowl and whip them until thick and fluffy.
- Transfer the frosting to a piping bag that has been fitted with a large star tip and pipe stars on top of the completely cooled cake.
- Sprinkle the top of the frosting with some ground pistachios

Make ahead and freeze cake
If you have a day that you’ll need a delicious dessert but not a lot of time to make it, this cake is perfect! You can make it ahead up to two weeks in advance. Once the cake cools completely, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and freeze. The night before serving, set the cake on the counter to thaw. All you’ll have left to do is the frosting and your choice of toppings.

Serving
I love the look of the frosting topped with ground pistachios. However, you could add some lemon zest or lemon slices on top of the frosting to make it even brighter or add more freshness with raspberries, blueberries, or strawberries. No matter what toppings you choose, you’ll definitely need a delicious cup of Greek coffee to go with each slice of cake. Kali Orexi!
More of my Favorite Cake Recipes:
- Tahini Cake with Chocolate
- Hazelnut Coffee Cake
- Greek Honey Cake
- Moist Chocolate Cream Cake
- Gluten-Free Almond Orange Cake

Pistachio & Lemon Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake: The Dry Ingredients:
- 1 and 3/4 cups (240g) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup (32g) cornstarch
- 1 cup (135g) pistachios, ground
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- zest of a large lemon or 2 small lemons (1 tablespoon total)
For the Cake: The Wet Ingredients:
- 4 oz ((112g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/4 cup (60ml) light olive oil
- 3 eggs at room temperature
- 1 and 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
Garnish:
- Ground pistachios
- optional: raspberries
The Frosting:
- 8 oz (226g) mascarpone cheese or cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/2 -1 cup confectioner's sugar (to taste)
- 1-2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- zest of a lemon
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 °F, 180 °C. Grease a 9-inch (23 cm) round springform pan.
Combine all of the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk them together.
In the bowl of a tabletop mixer that has been fitted with the whisk attachment, add the butter, sugar, vanilla, and oil. Beat together until fluffy. About 3 minutes on high speed.
Add the eggs one at a time and beat until incorporated.
Add the yogurt and lemon juice and beat until incorporated. The mixture will appear broken. It will come together once the flour has been added.
Add the flour in 2-3 batches. When the final batch of flour is left, add the ground piustachios to it and toss them until coated. Add the mixture to the batter and whisk together until just incorporated.
Using a spatula, mix the batter to release anything that is stuck to the sides and bottom of the bowl.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the top.
Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for about 55-65 minutes. The cake is ready when a toothpick that has been inserted into the center of the cake comes out with some moist crumbs attached.
Allow the cake to cool completely and then transfer it to a serving platter or cake pedestal.
Make the Frosting:
Combine all of the frosting ingredients in a mixing bowl and whip them until thick and fluffy.
Transfer the frosting to a piping bag that has been fitted with a large star tip and pipe stars on top of the completely cooled cake.
Sprinkle the top of the frosting with some ground pistachios and serve with Greek coffee. Kali Orexi!
Recommended Products
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Nordic Ware Leak Proof Springform Pan, 10 Cup, Assorted Colors, 9 Inch
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Traditional Cretan Aprons (heavier fabric)
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Ateco # 828 - Open Star Pastry Tip .63'' Opening Diameter- Stainless Steel
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Ateco 14" Pastry Bag (2 Pack)
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KitchenAid KSM3311XAQ Artisan Mini Series Tilt-Head Stand Mixer, 3.5 quart, Aqua Sky Blue
Hi Dimitra,
Thank you for your great recipe and video. I love the way you offer alternative ingredients. I only make oil cakes and would appreciate if you would please tell me the quantity of oil omitting the butter.
Take care and enjoy your day
Linda
Thank you!! You can use a half cup of oil to make this cake 🙂
Thos sounds yummy. I can’t wait to make it
Can I use ground almonds or walnuts instead of pistachios
Almonds would be perfect!
Sadly this cake was an epic FAIL! The cake was a brick and dry as a popcorn toot. The frosting was never anywhere close to being able to pipe into rosettes or even stay on the cake without it sliding off onto the plate. I followed the instructions as written and shown in the video even taking the cake out at 45 min. because it was baked. I used mascarpone cheese for the frosting as suggested it could be but it NEVER became thick and fluffy, certainly not to allow it to be piped. I even added a full extra cup of powdered sugar AND some meringue powder to help with thickening but nothing helped. I was completely disappointed as I have made many of your recipes and they were wonderful. Sadly this one was a huge waste of expensive ingredients as the whole thing went into the compost!
Oh no!! I’m so sorry that happened to you. Ovens vary so, even when following a recipe it’s best to keep an eye on it and if it looks ready ahead of time then, take it out. Which brand of mascarpone cheese did you use? I’ve used mascarpone cheese (most of the time the Belgioso brand) for over 10 years and have never run into any issues with it. I know that some brands are thinner and have a sticky consistency but, a little extra powdered sugar usually fixes that problem. I hope this never happens to you again…
Can I used almond flour instead of all purpose flour?