Pistachio Matcha Cake with Chocolate Ganache Frosting (Vegan)

Growing up in an Indian household, there were certain flavors I grew up loving – rose, saffron, cardamom, mango and pistachio (to name a few). Pistachio ice cream is still one of my favorite ice cream flavors!

I’ve been wanting to make more pistachio flavored desserts and I thought my birthday was the perfect excuse to try my hand at a pistachio cake – a Vegan Pistachio Matcha Cake with Chocolate Ganache Frosting to be exact.

This cake is as decadent and delicious as it sounds, but it definitely took a few mishaps to get to a successful recipe that I am so excited to finally share. This just goes to show you that there is always a journey to any destination – and sometimes it’s a flour filled, half-baked, mess in the kitchen kind of journey.

Vegan baking is exciting, but can be challenging and downright frustrating when things just don’t seem to go right. Luckily Google has a ton of answers and I was able to figure it out why my cake was overflowing and not baking in the center. A few adjustments later and my new favorite cake was born!

This pistachio matcha cake is vegan, yet incredibly moist, slightly dense (just like I like my cakes), with a subtle and sweet pistachio-matcha flavor.

I created this cake for an Instagram giveaway I did with Encha Organic Matcha, a wonderful company that supplies delicious organic matcha from Uji Japan (and it just so happened to be my birthday as well). The matcha gives the cake just a hint of matcha flavor and a slight green hue. It compliments the pistachio flavor so well!

As a self-proclaimed chocoholic, I knew I wanted to use a decadent vegan chocolate frosting for this cake. Interestingly enough, most recipes I found for matcha and chocolate cakes used matcha in the frosting, with a chocolate cake. However, the inverse just seemed like the way I wanted to go. Luckily, I found an amazing vegan chocolate ganache frosting recipe from Minimalist Baker and it’s a winner! I highly recommend it!

The flavor combo of pistachios, matcha and chocolate really work well together. You get just the right amount of flavor of each without any of them being too overpowering.

Now onto that pistachio flavoring… I perused the web to see how other people were flavoring their pistachio desserts and it was a mix between fresh ground pistachios, pistachio butter and almond extract. While I love almond extract, I really wanted the subtle flavor of pistachios to come through without being masked by anything else, so I decided to go the fresh ground pistachio route – replacing some of the flour in the cake with the pistachio flour I made. I also used fresh pistachio milk in place of almond milk, which I’ve used in other vegan cakes before like my vegan Meyer Lemon Cake.

The end result is a very natural pistachio flavor which isn’t too intense. However, if you do want a more intense flavor, you can try using roasted pistachio oil in place of the coconut oil in the recipe. La Tourangelle has amazing flavored oils that I highly recommend.

Lastly, this cake maintains its moisture amazingly well if stored properly. If you happen to have leftovers, I recommend storing it in the fridge in an airtight container. It will last 5-7 days and still taste fresh and delicious!

Pistachio Matcha Cake with Chocolate Ganache Frosting (Vegan)

admin Growing up in an Indian household, there were certain flavors I grew up loving – rose, saffron, cardamom, mango and pistachio (to name a few). Pistachio ice cream is still… Desserts cake, dessert, vegan cake, chocolate, matcha, pistachio European Print This

Serves: 8-10

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 4.2/5

( 6 voted )

Ingredients

Cake:

• 2.5 cups All Purpose Flour
• 1 cup Pistachio Flour (about 1.5 cups raw pistachios, ground)
• 1.5 cups Sugar
• 2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 tsp Sea Salt
• 2 Tbsp Organic Matcha Powder (I used Encha Organic Matcha)
• 1.5 cups Fresh Pistachio Milk (see Notes)
• 1/3 cup Coconut Oil (liquid, not solid) or Roasted Pistachio Oil (for more intense pistachio flavor)
• 2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
• 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• To garnish: Matcha Powder and Chopped Pistachios

Chocolate Ganache Frosting:

• Minimalist Baker Recipe

 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Put raw pistachios in the bowl of a food processor and blend until a fine powder. Measure out 1 cup. 
3. Sift all purpose flour, sugar, baking soda and salt into a large bowl. Add in pistachio flour and matcha powder. Mix with a spoon or whisk to combine.
4. In another bowl, mix fresh pistachio milk, melted coconut oil, apple cider vinegar and vanilla extract.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir well to combine.
6. Grease and flour (2) 6" circular cake pans with additional coconut oil and flour.
7. Pour batter into each pan. Only fill halfway up the pan. You may have some batter leftover which is ok. DO NOT OVERFILL! 
8. Bake for 50-55 minutes until a fork or toothpick comes out clean. Cool cakes in pan on a cooling rack.
9. You can use cake the same day or you can make it one day in advance.  Once cool, wrap in plastic wrap or put in an airtight container in the fridge.

NOTE: To make pistachio milk, combine 1 cup raw pistachios with 4 cups filtered water in a high speed blender. Blend until fully incorporated. Strain mixture using a nutmilk bag or cheesecloth. 

To assemble:

1. Once cakes are cool, use a serrated knife to trim off the tops to create a flat surface.
2. Place one cake layer, cut side down, on a cake stand or plate.
3. Make chocolate frosting.
4. Add some chocolate frosting on top of the layer and spread evenly across surface.
5. Place next layer on top, cut side down, and frost top and sides.
6. Garnish cake with chopped pistachios and some matcha powder.
7. Cake will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5-7 days.