Pistachio Layer Cake With Cream Cheese Buttercream Food

BEST EVER PISTACHIO PUDDING CAKE

Steps:

• Prepare a 9-inch by 13-inch rectangular baking pan by greasing it with butter and coating the inside of the pan evenly with a thin dusting of flour. Set aside.
• In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer), cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 4 minutes).
• Add the pudding powder and whip on high speed until incorporated.
• Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add a tiny amount of green gel food colouring after the eggs, if desired.
• Combine the milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract in a separate bowl or pyrex measuring cup and whisk with a fork to combine.
• Add the milk mixture to the butter mixture slowly, mixing well until combined.
• Add the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt, and mix on low speed just until the batter forms and no streaks of flour appear.
• Finish mixing by hand with a rubber spatula to be sure the batter is well combined (mixing with the electric mixer at this stage can cause over-mixing, so it's best to finish it gently by hand).
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 60 minutes (sometimes it requires 65 or even 70 minutes), or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
• Let the cake cool completely in the pan before adding the frosting.
• In a large bowl with a hand mixer, whip together the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy.
• Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time and whip on high speed until smooth.
• Add the half and half one spoonful at a time until a spreadable consistency is reached.
• Spread the frosting over the completely cooled cake and top with chopped pistachios, if desired.
• Slice and serve.

PISTACHIO CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease and lightly flour three 9-inch cake pans.
• Pulse the pistachios in a food processor until ground up into very fine crumbs. See photo above for a visual. You'll have about 1 and 1/2 cups of crumbs. (If you have more than that, set aside for garnish.)
• Pour 1 and 1/2 cups of pistachio crumbs in a large bowl. Whisk in the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
• Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Beat in the egg whites on high speed until combined, about 2 minutes. Beat in the sour cream, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients until just incorporated. With the mixer still running on low, pour in the milk (and the green food coloring, if using) and mix just until combined. You may need to whisk it all by hand to make sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl. The batter will be slightly thick.
• Pour batter evenly into cake pans. Bake for around 21-23 minutes or until the cakes are baked through. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, it's done. Allow cakes to cool completely in the pans set on a wire rack. The cakes must be completely cool before frosting and assembling.
• Prepare the cream cheese frosting (see note below).
• Using a large serrated knife, slice a thin layer off the tops of the cakes to create a flat surface. Discard (or crumble over ice cream!). Place 1 cake layer on your cake stand, cake turntable, or serving plate. Evenly cover the top with frosting. Top with 2nd layer and evenly cover the top with more frosting. Top with the third cake layer. Spread the frosting all over the top and sides. (I used a bench scraper to smooth out the sides.) Decorate with garnishes, if desired. Refrigerate for at least 30-45 minutes before slicing. This helps the cake keep its shape when cutting.
• Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for 5 days.

BUTTERY PISTACHIO CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE BUTTERCREAM AND BLACKBERRY COMPOTE

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray three 8-inch cake pans with nonstick cooking spray.
• In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the sugar, pistachios, butter and salt on medium speed. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla.
• Add the flour and baking powder and mix on low speed until smooth. Pour into the prepared cake pans and bake until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 minutes. Cool the cakes in the pans on racks for 10 minutes, then invert onto the racks and cool completely.
• For the blackberry compote: Combine the blackberries, sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over low heat. Let cool.
• For the buttercream: Combine the sugar and 3/4 cup of the water in a pot and bring to a boil. Combine the cornstarch with the remaining 1/4 cup water in a small bowl and add to the boiling sugar mixture. Combine the white chocolate chips and vanilla in a large heatproof bowl. Pour the boiling sugar mixture over the white chocolate chips and mix well. Let cool to room temperature.
• Pour the melted chocolate mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Add the butter and mix on low speed until incorporated, then mix on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the cream cheese and mix until combined.
• To assemble: Place a cake layer, top-side up, on a cardboard disc. Pipe a 1-inch border of buttercream around the top and fill in with 2 scoops of buttercream. Spread 1 scoop of blackberry compote evenly on top. Stack the second cake layer, top-side down and repeat with the buttercream and compote. Set the final cake layer, top-side down, on top. Frost the top and sides of the cake with buttercream.

PISTACHIO CREAM CHEESE LAYERD CAKE

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 325* for coated or dark pans 9 x 13 or 350* for glass or pans not coated. Spray or use butter to coat pan & sprinkle flour, sift remaining powder in trash, set pan aside.
• 2. Mix French Vanilla cake mix according to box with the following ingredients: eggs, water, & oil. Once Blended add 1 box of pistachio pudding mix, blend until smooth. Also, for a more vibrant green color add a few drops of green food coloring.
• 3. Bake in oven for 26-29 minutes according to box. While that's baking, mix cream cheese (blends best at room temp.), 1/2 cup milk, & 1 tsp vanilla until smooth. Then add one box of pistachio pudding mix and an additional 1/2 cup of milk, blending well... then lastly blend 1 whole tub of cool whip to the mix and refrigerate.
• 4. When the cake is cool... Use a frosting spatula to slip around the outer edging of the cake to make sure its not sticking to the pan. Then take a cookie sheet, place on top of cake, hold tightly together and flip quickly, set flat on table, tap the bottom of cake pan a few times, lift cake pan off the now upside down cake, take a cake knife or any long knife and cut evenly down the center splitting the cake into 2 sections. Once separated flip and place the bottom half of the cake back in the pan or on a tray.
• 5. Remove pistachio filling from fridge, stir a few times to make it easier to spread on the bottom layer of the cake... once all of the pistachio filling has been spooned on the bottom layer of the cake... smooth over to make it evenly across the entire cake, then flip and place the top half of the cake back on the bottom.
• 6. Lastly, take the remaining 1 cup of milk and pistachio pudding mix and blend well. Now add the remaining 8oz tub of cool whip and blend. Finally, frost the top layer of the cake. Ready to serve, Enjoy!
• 7. TIP: For a creamier topping make the pudding as the box tells you, then add an 8 oz tub of cool whip, blend well and add topping to cake. For an extra touch sprinkle almonds on top!

PISTACHIO LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter two 8-inch round cake pans. Line bottoms with parchment; butter parchment and dust with flour, tapping out excess. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter with sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add vanilla and beat until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until incorporated, scraping down bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with milk in two batches.
• Divide batter evenly among prepared pans. Smooth tops with an offset spatula. Bake until tops are golden brown and a tester inserted into centers comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool in pans 10 minutes, then invert cakes onto a wire rack, remove parchment, reinvert, and let cool completely. With a serrated knife, trim tops of cakes so they're level.
• Stir together pastry cream and 1/3 cup buttercream. Spread pastry-cream mixture over one cake layer and top with second cake layer, cut-side down. Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes. Spread about 1 cup of buttercream in a thin layer on top of sides of cake (to prevent crumbs from pulling through final layer of frosting; it's okay if crumb coating is uneven, as it will be covered up later). Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Frost cake with remaining buttercream and refrigerate until icing is firm, at least 30 minutes and up to overnight.
• Use a 2-inch round biscuit cutter to mark an overlapping circle pattern around top edge of cake. Place royal icing in a piping bag fitted with a small round tip (such as Ateco #2). Pipe overlapping circles, using markings as a guide. Use a small damp brush to correct any wobbly piping. Cake can be stored in refrigerator up to 1 day; bring to room temperature 1 hour before serving.