Light, fluffy, and moist pistachio latte coffee cake made with two layers of pistachio streusel & an espresso glaze.
This post may contain affiliate links, please read the privacy policy for details. This post is sponsored by Papanicholas Coffee. All opinions are my own.
pistachio coffee cake with coffee
This pistachio coffee cake is made with coffee in the batter, two layers of brown sugar pistachio streusel and an espresso glaze on top. While the name coffee cake would suggest that there’s coffee in the cake, coffee cake actually got it’s name because it’s meant to be enjoyed *with* coffee – so we’re taking this coffee cake a bit to the next level.
papanicholas coffee
I’m partnering once again with my all time favorite coffee brand: papanicholas coffee for this pistachio coffee cake. I use their coffee beans every day and am so happy to be able to partner with them to spread the love of their coffee. In this recipe I used their five-star restaurant coffee which has flavor notes of brown sugar and molasses with a medium body that pairs so perfectly with the pistachio. I definitely highly recommend trying some of their coffee, they have so many delicious flavors and are always the coffee I use in my recipes (and for my daily caffeine dose!). You can find their website by clicking here. Also, if you do end up purchasing their coffee be sure to use code FRESH20 for 20% off your coffee order!
expert baking tips
Weigh your ingredients:
My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale.
Use room temperature ingredients:
It’s important that your ingredients are at room temperature so that they can easily incorporate with each other. Take out your butter, eggs, milk, and sour cream about an hour before starting the cake.
Mix the cake batter carefully:
It is super important to not overmix the cake batter or you end up with a tough and chewy cake rather than a light and moist cake. When alternating between adding the wet and dry ingredients, be sure to only mix just until the ingredient is fully combined and no more.
line your pan tall with parchment paper
This cake is not one that you want to flip upside down to get it out of the pan. Butter your pan, and get out a sheet of parchment paper. Crinkle up the parchment paper, then un-crinkle it and place it in your buttered pan, pressing the parchment up the sides of the pan. This will give you a way to lift the cake out of the pan (plus I happen to enjoy the little crinkles it puts in the sides – it’s a little rustic almost!)
A note on oven temperature:
Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and might not always actually be at the temperature they claim to be at. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.
ingredients for pistachio coffee cake
coffee cake:
- All purpose flour: for structure. I haven’t tried it but a using a 1:1 gluten free flour should work if needed too.
- Baking powder: for helping the cake rise.
- Salt: for balancing and bringing out the sweetness of the cake.
- Unsalted butter: for tenderizing the cake and giving it that classic buttery taste. You can substitute in salted butter, just omit the extra salt from the recipe.
- Granulated sugar: for sweetening the cake and keeping it moist. The sugar also helps aerate the butter to give this cake it’s rise and keep it light and fluffy.
- Eggs: for moisture, structure, and binding the batter together.
- Vanilla: I use and love this vanilla extract.
- Sour cream: for richness and moisture.
- Whole milk: for moisture
- Coffee grounds: for flavor. I know it might sound a little strange, but I promise they don’t give off any weird texture and coffee grounds are 100% safe to consume (just think about chocolate covered espresso beans)
pistachio brown sugar streusel:
- Unsalted butter: the base of the streusel, really what makes it buttery and delicious. You can use salted butter here as well.
- Light brown sugar: sweetens and adds flavor to the streusel. You could also use dark brown sugar.
- All purpose flour: adds structure to the streusel.
- Ground cinnamon: for flavor.
- Pistachios: I used roasted & salted pistachios, but unsalted will work well too.
espresso glaze:
- Powdered sugar & espresso: the icing on the cake!
how to make pistachio coffee cake
Here’s a little bit of what the process of making this cake looks like. The full recipe is at the end of this blog post.
- Mix together all of the pistachio streusel ingredients and set them aside.
- Beat together the butter and sugar, then beat in the eggs and vanilla.
- Fold in half of the flour mixture, followed by the sour cream and milk, then the rest of the flour mixture.
- Layer the cake batter and streusel, then bake.
pistachio coffee cake recipe q&a
can I double this recipe?
Definitely – simply double all the ingredients and split them between two 9″ cake pans.
How to store this cake
Keep the cake stored in an airtight container at room temperature. It will taste the best on the day it’s baked, but will keep well for up to 5 days.
Can I leave the coffee out of the cake?
Of course! You’ll just be left with a delicious regular pistachio coffee cake.
tools and ingredients:
You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!
other recipes you might enjoy:
did you make this recipe?
I’d love to see and know your thoughts! please leave a comment and review below, and tag me on instagram @freshbeanbakery. #freshbeanbakery
Pistachio Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Brown Sugar Pistachio Streusel
- 113 g unsalted butter (½ c.)
- 200 g light brown sugar (1 c.)
- 150 g all purpose flour (1 ¼ c.)
- 1 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
- 150 g crushed pistachios (⅔ c.)
Pistachio Coffee Cake
- 210 g all purpose flour (1 ¾ c.)
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. salt
- 125 g unsalted butter room temperature (9 tbsp.)
- 175 g granulated sugar (¾ c. + 2 tbsp.)
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 ½ tsp. vanilla
- 110 g whole milk room temperature (½ c.)
- 1 tbsp. coffee grounds
- 45 g sour cream room temperature (3 tbsp.)
Espresso Glaze
- 60 g powdered sugar (½ c.)
- 1 tbsp. espresso
Instructions
- Before starting, be sure that your ingredients for the coffee cake are at room temperature. Take out the butter, eggs, milk and sour cream at least 1 hour before starting the recipe. When you take out the milk, mix 1 tbsp. of coffee grounds into it and leave it to sit together.
Brown Sugar Pistachio Streusel
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, melt the butter. Add in the brown sugar, flour,cinnamon, and crushed pistachios. Use a fork to mix the ingredients together until you have formed little clumps of dough. Set aside.
Pistachio Coffee Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Butter a 9” cake pan, and get out a sheet of parchment paper. Crinkle up the parchment paper, then un-crinkle it and place it in your buttered pan, pressing the parchment up the sides of the pan. This will give you a way to lift the cake out of the pan so that no streusel falls off of it.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl with a hand mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy (3-4 min.)
- Add in both eggs and the vanilla. Beat the mixture for 1 minute until well combined.
- Add in half of the flour mixture and gently fold it into the batter just until combined, then mix in the coffee milk and sour cream, followed by the remaining flour mixture.
- Pour half of the cake batter into your prepared pan. Top it with ⅓ of the pistachio streusel, then pour the remaining cake batter in, followed by the remaining streusel.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Espresso Glaze
- In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar with 1 tbsp. of espresso. Add more if desired to get a thinner glaze.
- Once the cake has cooled to room temperature, top it with the glaze. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition facts are only an estimate and may vary based on different brands of ingredients and any substitutions made.
I am making this cake for the second time, the first was for a coworker who is very picky. While I did taste the batter, yummmm I did not have the finished product, she however raved about it. It is in the oven now for tomorrow when we break fast. One of the best things about this cake IMO is the crumble, not only is t delicious the proportions are what I believe they should be for a coffee cake, not skimpy, after all isn’t the crumble is the best part! I look forward to eating and sharing this as part of our meal tomorrow!
PS: the one I made for my coworker was made on a Saturday, once completely cooled wrapped and frozen and then shipped to her. It did not lose any of it’s integrity so freezing can be done if needed!
Hi I wanted to know if you use unsalted pistachios or salted pistachios?
Hi, I used roasted & salted pistachios but you can use whichever you prefer 🙂
I loved this recipe, however everytime I have made it I had a problem. When I mixed the butter and sugar with the eggs, coffee and vanilla, the mixture ended up split. I solved it by heating it up a little bit, but, how could I prevent this from happening?
Hi Martina, it sounds like your ingredients are too cold which would cause the mixture to split. I say to take them out about 30 minutes before starting the recipe, but if your house is on the colder side, it will take longer for them to come to room temperature. I’d recommend either letting the ingredients sit out a bit longer before starting the recipe, or you could try heating the ingredients in the microwave in 5-second intervals prior to starting. Hope this helps!