Gluten-Free Raspberry Pistachio Cake
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This Gluten-Free Raspberry Pistachio Cake is beautifully moist and fragrant. Pistachios are blended into a paste as the basis of the sponge and a handful of raspberries are baked into the batter. Finally a tangy raspberry icing is drizzled over the top with fresh raspberries and pistachios to scatter.
This Raspberry Pistachio Cake is an ideal example of how you can achieve the most glorious, moist, evenly textured and light cake using a plain gluten-free flour blend that you can get in any supermarket.
I don’t use any xanthan gum in my baking but this recipe goes to show you don’t need these highly processed and hard to digest gums to bake an excellent gluten-free cake.
To achieve the perfect texture in this gluten-free Pistachio Cake we use pistachio nuts which are ground into a paste and then used as the basis for the sponge mix along with the gluten-free plain flour. The protein in the pistachio paste helps to structure the cake really well and contribute to a beautifully moist texture.
As a perfect accompaniment to the pistachio we have a very punchy raspberry flavour due to the zingy raspberry icing made with fresh raspberry puree and the mountain of raspberries piled on top of the cake.
This cake is super to easy to make and incredibly delicious, let me show you how.
Why You’ll Love This Gluten-Free Raspberry Pistachio Cake
- A beautiful gluten-free cake made with easy ingredients that you can pick up at any supermaket.
- Using the pistachio paste produced an amazingly textured cake, perfectly moist and spongey. Plus it tastes delicious
- Fresh raspberries are studded throughout the cake
- Gorgeously fruity tangy icing made with fresh raspberries.
- No xanthan gum needed.
Ingredients needed
For the pistachio paste:
Pistachios. You want unsalted roasted pistachios here, weighed after they have been de-shelled.
Caster sugar. A fine white sugar for sweetness.
Golden syrup. You need a liquid sugar here to help soften the paste. You can use honey but it will give more flavour to the paste.
Vanilla extract. You don’t need to use the best quality vanilla extract here as there's already a lot going on with the flavours and it won't make a difference. A supermarket brand is just fine.
Egg white. The egg white helps bind the paste together.
For the cake:
Lemon. Use an unwaxed lemon (or make sure you wash off the wax before zesting).
Caster sugar. A fine white sugar for sweetness and a well-structured cake.
Unsalted butter. Make sure your butter is at room temperature.
Eggs. This recipe uses medium size, about 60g each with shell (50g each without shell). These are often classified as large eggs in the US. I recommend weighing your eggs to ensure the correct amount.
Gluten-free plain flour. This cake can be made with your favourite brand of gluten-free plain flour. You don't need xanthan gum or a self-raising flour. I like Doves Farm Gluten-Free Plain White Flour which works perfectly here. Or you could use my Homemade Gluten-Free Flour Blend.
Salt. The salt amps up the flavour of the other ingredients.
Baking powder. For lift and a tender crumb.
Raspberries. Fresh raspberries work the best here.
For the raspberry icing:
Raspberries. You can use fresh or frozen raspberries.
Icing sugar. (powdered sugar). Icing sugar produces a smooth glaze which is lovely over the top of the cake.
Step by step instructions
For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.
Make the cake
- Start by making the pistachio paste. Grind pistachios in a food processor then add the remaining ingredients and blitz until a paste forms.
- Whisk the lemon zest with sugar then slowly beat in the butter.
- Mix in the pistachio paste then add the eggs one at a time.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt then beat into the batter.
- Stir in the raspberries, pour into a tin then bake.
Decorate the cake
- Gently heat the raspberries until they break down. Sieve out the seeds.
- Mix the raspberry puree with the icing sugar.
- Spoon the icing onto the now cooled cake then leave the icing to set.
- Pile on more raspberries and sprinkle with finely chopped pistachios.
Expert Tips
Make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature so they mix together evenly.
It's easiest to make the pistachio paste in the food processor to make sure the nuts are fully ground, you can then add the other ingredients into it to blend smoothly. However, you can use a spice or nut grinder to blitz the pistachios and mix it into the other ingredients by hand into a large mixing bowl.
To avoid the raspberries from sinking too much in the cake you can coat them with a tablespoon of tapioca flour just before you stir into the cake mixture.
FAQs
Store the cake in an airtight container for up to 3 days in a cool dark place. It will dry out though if you store in the refrigerator.
You can make the pistachio paste up to 3 days ahead of when you want to bake the cake. Store the paste in the fridge until you are ready to make the rest of the cake.
You could also make the sponge cake and store for up to 3 days before you decorate it with the icing and serve.
You can freeze the cake before you decorate with the icing. Cool completely then wrap in a double layer of cling film and aluminium foil. It will keep well in the freezer for up to 2 months.
To thaw - remove from the freezer and allow to defrost at room temperature overnight before unwrapping. Once fully defrosted you can unwrap, decorate with the icing and serve.
More Gluten-Free Cakes You'll Love
This Nectarine Thyme Limoncello Cake is a beautifully delicious celebration of summer. Soft and fluffy lemon and thyme sponges are sandwiched together with an easy to whip up Limoncello Thyme Cream. Made with easy to access gluten-free flours this cake has proved a certifiable hit with everyone with no one guessing it’s gluten-free.
This Gluten-Free Plum Almond Cake is a lovely way to make the most of late summer fresh produce, a wonderful treat which is right at home with a cup of tea for company. Rich and moist, this cake is easy to make with a sour cream enriched batter and brown butter for extra flavour.
This Gluten-Free Lemon Raspberry Cake is a wonderfully indulgent cake for a special occasion. The very lemony sponge is made from almond flour (ground almonds) and plain gluten-free flour so it is incredibly accessible for novice gluten-free bakers. Fresh raspberries are baked into the sponge but also fill the cake along with a lemony mascarpone cream.
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Gluten-Free Raspberry Pistachio Cake
Ingredients
For the pistachio paste:
- 110 g pistachios + 15g extra for decoration
- 110 g caster sugar
- 1 tablespoon golden syrup
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 egg white - 30g
For the cake:
- zest of 1 lemon
- 210 g caster sugar
- 210 g unsalted butter - room temperature
- 5 eggs - medium sized
- 150 g gluten-free plain flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 120 g raspberries + 75g extra for decoration
For the raspberry icing:
- 100 g raspberries
- 150 g icing sugar
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/ 160°C fan assisted oven/ gas mark 4 and line and grease an 8 inch cake tin.
- First make the pistachio paste by placing the pistachios in a food processor and blitzing until finely ground. Add the caster sugar, golden syrup, vanilla extract and egg white and blitz again until a paste has formed. Set aside for one moment.
- Place the lemon zest in a food mixer along with the sugar and whisk for a minute together until fragrant.
- Add the butter, one cube at a time and beat on high until light and fluffy.
- Scrape the pistachio paste into the creamed butter and sugar and beat until combined.
- Mix in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down after each addition.
- In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add it to the rest of the batter until just combined.
- Finally stir in the raspberries.
- Pour into the cake tin, smoothing the top then bake for 60 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove from the tin then leave to cool completely before icing.
Raspberry Icing
- Place the raspberries in a medium sized saucepan and heat gently until the raspberries have broken down into pulp.
- Sieve the raspberry pulp, discarding the seeds.
- Mix the raspberry puree with the icing sugar until a thick icing has formed and spoon onto the cooled cake, pushing the icing gently over the side so it forms droplets. Leave the icing to set for at least an hour
- Pile the extra raspberries on top of the cake
- Finely chop the extra pistachios and scatter over the top of the cake.
Hi, Georgina! I want to make this recipe, but I have some questions. The pictures look like you used a deep pan. I don't have a deep pan, I have regular layer cake pans. They are 9.5"x1" and another set of 9"x1.5" ( " denotes inches). Can I use these. I also have some springform pans which are deeper (9" & 10" 3.5" deep each). I don't wish to purchase another pan until I know my family likes the cake! Another question, regarding the oven temperature. You mention in all (that I have seen) fan assisted oven. I assume you mean convection oven? I haven't made anything yet but I love your explanations of why certain flours work or not. I love the science of cooking. I wish I knew more. Do you use medium sized eggs in all your recipes? Most USA recipes call for large eggs. I just weighed some eggs in their shells and the Jumbo was 60g and the large was 55g. Neither were bought this week. Giggles!!! Now I'm wondering if we have different names for the same sizes! Thanks for your help! Sincerely,
Hi Cindy, I use 8 inch round x 4 inch deep cake pans for (nearly) all of my round cake recipes. If you want to scale this recipe to fit the pans you have then this article by Serious Eats can be very helpful >>> https://www.seriouseats.com/how-to-resize-cake-recipes-to-fit-any-pan. Yes, a fan assisted oven is the same as a convection oven. I do use medium sized eggs in my recipes but I am based in the UK and I believe it does translate as large eggs in the US. They weigh at 60g with shell and 50g without shell. I hope that helps!
Gorgeous!
This is the best cake - so light, fill of flavour, dramatic with the raspberry icing- have recommended to lots of gluten free friends!
Hi Karen - that is lovely to hear - thank you so much for your feedback!