I truly enjoy making elaborate desserts like Keto Chocolate Cake or Keto Tiramisu. But I also enjoy creating simpler sweet treats too. And I find that their simplicity often belies a rich and complex flavor. They look quite unassuming but one bite and you’re hooked.
Such is the case with this lovely Keto Pistachio Cake. The ingredients are straightforward, the method is unfussy, and the whole cake comes together with minimal effort, but the results feel incredibly special. The delicate pistachio flavor and the tender crumb make it taste like something from a boutique bakery.
And it doesn’t have any of that unnaturally green hue that comes from using boxed pudding mix! It’s just naturally nutty and delicious.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Real pistachio flavor: Made with ground pistachios, no artificial flavors or boxed mixes.
- Simple and elegant: This one layer cake is easy to make but looks and feels sophisticated.
- Naturally low carb and gluten-free: Made with almond flour, pistachios, and keto friendly sweeteners.
- Balanced sweetness: This cake isn’t overly sweet, which allows the flavor to shine through.
- Great for any occasion: Make it for the holidays, for a birthday, or just because. It’s even delicious with coffee for breakfast!
- Moist and tender: It has just the right balance of density and lightness.
Ingredient Notes
- Pistachios: You can’t have pistachio cake without pistachios! I used roasted, unsalted nuts.
- Sweetener: Any granular sweetener will work, but allulose based sweeteners will make the cake darken more quickly.
- Extra virgin olive oil: This cake recipe uses olive oil instead of butter. You can use another vegetable oil instead.
- Heavy whipping cream: This adds a bit of moisture and richness to th cake.
- Almond flour: Make sure to use a good finely ground almond flour for the best cake texture.
- Protein powder: As always, a little protein powder helps keto baked rise better. You can use whey, egg white, or plant based proteins.
- Kitchen staples: Eggs, vanilla extract, baking powder, and salt.
How to Make Keto Pistachio Cake
- Grind the nuts: Chop the pistachios In a food processor until finely ground with some larger pieces. Reserve some for the top of the cake.
- Combine the wet ingredients: Beat the eggs and sweetener until lightened and frothy. Mix in the oil, whipping cream, and vanilla extract.
- Add the dry ingredients: Add the almond flour, ground pistachios, protein powder, baking powder, and salt and beat until well combined.
- Bake: Pour the batter into a greased baking pan and bake until golden brown.
- Decorate: Once cooled, dust the top with powdered sweetener and sprinkle with the reserved pistachios.
Tips for Success
Don’t forget to line that cake pan with parchment! It helps you remove your cake layers with ease. While you can always run a knife around the sides of a pan, a cake that sticks to the bottom could ruin your day. I also like these silicone cake liners for a re-useable option.
Feel free to play with the flavors a bit here. Some pistachio extract could enhance the flavor even more. Or you could add some cardamom or orange zest to give it a more Mediterranean flair.
The sweetener you use will change the cake a little bit. I used a combination of erythritol and allulose and you can see how dark the sides of my cake are. That’s from the allulose, which caramelizes and browns very quickly. If you use an erythritol-based sweetener, the cake will be lighter in color.
I don’t recommend using an allulose-based sweetener entirely, as the cake will likely become far too brown and even taste a little burned on the outside.
More Simple Keto Cakes to Love
Keto Pistachio Cake Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup (123 g) pistachios, unsalted
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 cup (142.5 g) granular sweetener
- 1/3 cup (78.86 ml) olive oil
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups (168 g) almond flour
- 1/4 cup unflavored whey protein powder, (or egg white protein powder)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Powdered sweetener for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF and grease an 8-inch round cake pan. Line the bottom with a circle of parchment and grease the parchment.
- In a food processor or chopper, chop the nuts until mostly finely ground with some larger pieces. Reserve about 2 tablespoons for the top of the cake.
- In a large bowl, beat together the eggs and sweetener until lightened and frothy, about 1 minutes. Beat in the oil, whipping cream, and vanilla extract.
- Add the almond flour, ground pistachios, protein powder, baking powder, and salt and beat until well combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake 40 to 50 minutes, until golden brown and just firm to the touch. Remove and let cool 20 minutes in the pan, then run a sharp knife around the sides and flip out onto a cake plate.
- Dust the top with powdered sweetener and sprinkle with the reserved pistachios.
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
Pistachios aren’t as low carb as other nuts like pecans or almonds, but they can still fit into a keto diet. They have about 8 grams of carbs and 2 grams of fiber per ounce, according to the USDA database. And this keto pistachio cake is low carb enough to fit most keto diets.
Absolutely! You can bake the cake and store it in the refrigerator a day or two before decorating and serving. You can also wrap the cake tightly and freeze it. Just thaw completely, then dust with powdered sweetener and pistachios.
This keto pistachio cake recipe has 7.7g of carbs and 3.1g of fiber per serving. That comes to 4.6g net carbs per serving.
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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It was easy and tasty. I added part pistachio oil, and almond extract. Made an icing with goat cheese, coconut yogurt and sweetener. The second try I underbaked it and it tasted like pistachio blondie! So good.
Hi Carolyn
I’d like to know if I could replace the almond flour with pistachio flour or maybe 1/2 of it?
I can’t say for sure… it may be more coarse and a little dryer. But feel free to experiment!
Should the sweetner combination be 50% allulose & 50% ethritrol?
That’s what I used, yes. But again, it will darken the outside more… tastes great but keep your eye on it in the oven!
Wanted to edit my reply, I used soy powder, my go to for baked goods that call for unflavored protein powder, and it turned out perfectly.
I made this recipe and it turned out great! My husband is obsessed so now I’m going to make it for other family members. Thank you!
Good evening, for the pistachio cake can I substitute 3 flax eggs for the 3 eggs? Thank you
I honestly cannot know if that will work but you are welcome to experiment.
ANSWER REPLIES CAROLYN!
Your rudeness is absolutely uncalled for. The protein powder is ALWAYS a required ingredient if you want good results. And you never even asked this question so I can’t understand why you’d be yelling at me for an answer.
You might also want to consider why I am slow to respond to comments lately… https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/heartbreaking-news/
My diabetic dad would love this recipe. Should I adjust it in any way to make cookies, instead of cake? He loves cookies, too, and I’d love to surprise him with them this Christmas. 🙂
Thanks so much!
This is not a recipe for cookies. That wouldn’t be something you could do without a major transformation.
I can’t really afford the protein powder? it’s about $20+ for a container and we just need 1/4 cup. I am making this cake for my T1D granddaughter. I don’t care about the protein. Will the cake come out basically the same without it?
Will be making this very soon. Is it ok to omit the protein powder and replace it with almond flour?
No. You can skip it but it won’t rise as nicely.
Did you ever get an answer or figure it out? I’m in the same position. I don’t want the protein powder.
I’d like to know about the protein powder as well. It’s not something that I would like to purchase.
If you plan on doing any amount of keto baking, protein powder will help the outcome of your cakes and muffins.
Thank you so much for this recipe, I followed your recipe and it is delicious! Made this morning and had a slice with a cup of coffee , heavenly. Thank you so much for all your delicious recipes, you are my go to!!
Delicious! Made this yesterday exactly as written, except as I usually do with keto baked goods, I cut the sweetener in half (I used about 70 grams of Swerve granular). (Apparently we just don’t have much of a sweet tooth anymore!). It turned out fantastic! Served with a dollop of whipped cream on top. So pretty, too! Now considering a slice with my morning coffee.
Thanks, Carolyn!
Glad you liked it!
Is there anything we could substitute for the cream? Would love to make this for my wife, but she can’t have anything originating from a cow. 🙁
Coconut milk should work!
I can’t wait to make this but I’m going to make a sugar free ganache for the top to soften the dryness that the almond flour brings ❤️.
Carolyn I have been deciding on what to make for a diabetic friend for hannuka. This looks perfect! I want to make it a little bigger though. I was thinking for a 10″ cake pan I would do 1 1/2 recipe? Of course I need to make this for my family too. 😋
Hi Allie… the math works out well, actually. Area of 8 inch circle = about 50 square inches, whereas the area of a 10 inch circle works out to 78. So 1.5 is about right.
Yea! Thank you ❤️
nutrition question- noting the amounts listed are as per slice, but I’m having a hard time finding how many slices you presumed for one cake. Is that 8?
thank, looking forward to this with a chocolate top!
It shows 10 slices in the top of the recipe card 🙂
Always right at the top of the recipe card.
Thank you, Carolyn. Can’t wait to try this!