Gluten Free Lemon Olive Oil Pistachio Cake
by: claire cary
This gluten free pistachio cake is bound to impress! With lemon, olive oil and a whipped mascarpone frosting, this is a showstopper you have to make for your next dinner party!
Ingredients
Wet
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 3 eggs
- ⅔ cup olive oil
- ½ cup greek yogurt
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dry
- 1 ½ cups gluten free all purpose baking flour
- 1 cup ground pistachios from about 1 1/2 cups whole pistachios
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- optional: 1/2 teaspoon matcha
Mascarpone Frosting
- 4 ounces mascarpone cheese chilled
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream chilled
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest or to taste
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit.
- Use a food processor to grind your pistachios into a fine powder. I suggest a food processor over a blender here. About 1 1/2 cups of pistachios will yield 1 cup of ground pistachios.
- Line either an 8 inch springform pan or regular 9 inch cake pan (a regular 8 inch cake pan will be too shallow) with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, add the sugar and lemon zest. Use your hands to massage the zest into the sugar, this will help release some of the oils in the zest and create more lemon flavor.
- Add in all remaining wet ingredients and beat with an electric mixer until combined.
- Add in the flour, making sure to spoon and level to measure, 1 cup of ground pistachios, baking powder, baking soda and salt. I opted to add 1/2 teaspoon of matcha to create a brighter green color, but this is optional. It will not change the flavor at all!
- Add to your prepared pan. For the 8 inch springform pan, bake for about 48-55 minutes, for the 9 inch pan, bake for 40-44 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. All ovens are different, so just check with a toothpick.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- To make the frosting, beat the mascarpone and powdered sugar until combined, about 30 seconds, then beat in the vanilla, heavy cream, lemon zest and salt on low speed to combine, then switch to high speed for about 2-3 minutes or until the frosting is fluffy. It is key that all ingredients are cold here!
- Frost the cooled cake, then top with berries of choice and enjoy!
Notes
You need three eggs for this gluten free olive oil cake which will bind all ingredients together and create a really fluffy texture. I do not recommend any swaps here as the eggs are key for that rise and texture!
I used the Gluten Free Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Baking Flour, which I recommend here. If you use a different blend, make sure it has xanthan gum.
Serving: 1slice / Calories: 450kcal / Carbohydrates: 50g / Protein: 8g / Fat: 31g / Saturated Fat: 9g / Sodium: 219mg / Fiber: 3g / Sugar: 34g / Vitamin C: -4mg
