This pistachio olive oil strawberry cake is extra moist and complemented by a delightful tangy yogurt frosting layered with sweet strawberries. It’s pure spring bliss with every bite. This post was sponsored by Wonderful Pistachios. And as always all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Beyond Sweet and Savory.

How is it that spring is almost over! A week to be exact! To celebrate spring I partnered with Wonderful Pistachios to share a delicious recipe for a pistachio olive oil strawberry cake. I normally reserve cakes for special occasions but caught the cake bug after I saw Claire Ptak’s insanely beautiful lemon elderflower cake for the royal wedding. When it comes to baking, I’m inspired by the seasons and strawberry is the perfect fruit to pay homage to spring.

Making a cake is all about having fun and experimenting with different flavors and textures. I’ve been using Wonderful Pistachios in desserts like this cake and panna cotta for years and couldn’t be more excited when the No Shells pistachios recently became available which save me a lot of prep time without sacrificing taste. Pistachio flour keeps the cake moist and delicious while offering more nutritionally than all purpose flour. To make the pistachio flour, I simply grind pistachios to a fine crumb in my food processor. Don’t over do it or you’ll get pistachio butter, although tasty, would be disastrous for this cake. I also added olive oil as an emulsifier to augment the moisture and texture of the cake. Use a high quality olive oil that is fruity instead of grassy to ensure the best taste. The floral and slightly sweet flavor of pistachios also pairs well with the olive oil.

When it comes to frosting, I envisioned something lighter instead of buttercream and went with a tangy yogurt frosting to complement the cake’s nuttiness. As luck would have it, I found the most amazing strawberries, called musk strawberries from Pudwill Berry Farms at the farmers market that were perfect for this cake. These musk strawberries have the most beautiful aroma and intense flavor. With every bite, you get a bit of cake, fruit, and frosting.

You can decorate the cake anyway you like but I kept things simple and swiped on the frosting with an offset spatula then smoothed it out with a bench scraper. I added additional chopped pistachios at the bottom to add color and texture and whole strawberries on top.

This pistachio olive oil strawberry cake is extra moist and complemented by a delightful tangy yogurt frosting layered with sweet strawberries. It’s pure spring bliss with every bite. If you’re in need of a delicious and beautiful cake for your next dinner party or gathering, look no further than this delightful, springy cake.

For more cake inspiration, check these recipes: Earl Grey fig cake with salted caramel, blackberry Earl Grey olive oil cake, peach raspberry olive oil cake.

Pistachio olive oil cake
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups white spelt flour
- ½ cup pistachio flour, Wonderful Pistachios No Shell light salted
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 2 medium organic eggs
- ½ cup cold pressed olive oil
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
- ½ cup honey
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
Yogurt frosting
- 2 pints organic strawberries, hulled and sliced
- 1 ½ cups organic heavy cream
- ¾ cup Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsps honey
- remaining whole strawberries for garnish
- 2 tbsps pistachios, whole strawberries for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease three 6-inch cake pans with olive oil and line with the bottom with parchment paper.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, and baking soda then set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs, olive oil, yogurt, honey, and lemon zest on low speed until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients into the yogurt mixture.
- Divide the cake mixture between the pans and level out the top with an offset spatula.
- Bake the cakes in the middle rack in the oven for 30 minutes until golden on top and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in the pan for an hour.
- While the cakes are cooling, make the yogurt frosting.
- Whip the heavy cream with honey until soft peaks form. Gently fold in the yogurt until well combined. Refrigerate the frosting for 30 minutes to firm up.
- Hull two thirds of the strawberries and slice them lengthwise if they are big.
- If the cakes are uneven, trim the tops so you have a nice flat surface to decorate.
- Place one cake layer on a serving plate and spread ½ cup of yogurt on top. Arrange the strawberries over the cream. Repeat with the next layer.
- Place one cake layer on a serving plate and spread ½ cup of yogurt on top. Arrange the strawberries over the cream. Repeat with the next layer.
- Place the third layer on top cut side down.
- Cover the entire cake with a thin layer of frosting to seal the crumbs and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
- Spread the remaining frosting all over the cake with an offset spatula.
- Add a thin layer of chopped pistachios near the bottom and garnish the top with whole strawberries.
ayana
I've never heard of a yogurt frosting before, how interesting! Can I use 2 8 inch pans instead of 3 6 inch pans?
Vy Tran
Absolutely! I would keep an eye on it while baking so you don't overbake or underbake because of the size difference.
Stephanie
Hi!
I’d love to try this for my daughters birthday party. About 40 guests, I was thinking a two layer 12 inch cake might be good. Do you thinking doubling the recipe still works well? Have you ever tried as a sheet cake?
Vy Tran
Hi Stephanie! I'm hesitant to suggest doubling the recipe because I don't know the exact baking time. I haven't made a sheet cake either. I have a post for an earl grey blackberry olive oil cake that would be closer to the 12-inch cake you're looking for: https://beyondsweetandsavory.com/blackberry-earl-grey-olive-oil-cake/. The strawberry one is too small to tell. If you have time to trial doubling the recipe, go for it!