Aunt Mona's Pistachio Cake

Hello everyone, and Happy Mother’s Day!

I hope you all are planning to spend some quality time with your loved ones this weekend - of course, a special shoutout to all of our mom readers!

Mothers are some of the most special and hardworking people in the world. They give so much of themselves every single day through their care, strength, and endless love - not to mention often putting others' needs before their own. This Mother’s Day, they deserve nothing but the absolute best! A moment to be celebrated, appreciated, and surrounded by love, because everything they do truly matters.

For me, Mother’s Day took on a deeper meaning when I became a mother three years ago. That’s when my true journey of self-discovery began. Motherhood awakened parts of me I didn’t even know existed. I suddenly felt a deep desire to give my child the best - not necessarily in material things, but in presence, nourishment, and wholeness. That’s how the seed for Nuttinosh was planted. I wanted to create something rooted in love and health, not just for my family, but for others too.

This Mother’s Day feels even more special as I now have two sons. Our newest, Atlas, is four months old as I write this. Each child arrives with a lesson, a mirror, and a purpose. Atlas has already taught me patience, contentment, and the power of quiet presence. Children are our greatest teachers - they call us to grow, to pause, to listen, and to shed old patterns.

So what does motherhood mean to me? It means being willing to evolve alongside my children. It means creating a space where they can be fully themselves - free, safe, seen, and loved. It means embracing my imperfections and showing up with vulnerability and openness. Because parenting isn’t about being perfect, it’s about connection.

That’s why this year, we are so excited to share an extra special Mother’s Day Cake recipe, direct from the talented Micheli at Aunt Mona’s Cakes! Aunt Mona’s Cakes is a queer and Latinax-owned home bakery located in Minneapolis, MN - Their cakes are stunningly beautiful, creative, and delicious every single time (You can check out more of their story and work in this great article by Racket). Be sure to follow them online for updates, or to inquire about a special cake you have in mind! 

Collaborating with a talented local baker like Aunt Mona's to create this cake using Nuttinosh Pistachio Butter really brings together the best of both worlds: expert craftsmanship and small-batch pistachio goodness. The result is a perfectly balanced dessert that’s as indulgent as it is memorable, and is sure to make Mom feel like #1 today.

We are so grateful to Aunt Mona’s for accepting the Nuttinosh challenge and knocking it out of the park, really! This cake is bright, flavorful, and so, so darn pretty. Imagine the incredible combination of nutty pistachios, floral notes of rose, and a warm pinch of cardamom all rolled into a stunning layered cake - we’ve been so excited to share it with all of you to try!

This recipe is pretty involved, we’ve got quite a few moving parts - pistachio cake, pistachio-rose swiss meringue buttercream frosting, AND a wonderful cardamom filling. But guess what? Your mom deserves it, so you’ve got this! If you’re looking to really dazzle Mom this weekend, this is the one.

This pistachio cake recipe pairs Nuttinosh Roasted Pistachio Butter with a pistachio-rose Swiss meringue buttercream and a cardamom cream cheese filling for a moist, nutty layer cake that holds up beautifully whether you're baking for Mother's Day or any weekend gathering.

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Aunt Mona’s Pistachio Cake by Aunt Mona’s Cakes

Ingredients for Cake:

• 1 cup of whole milk
• 1 tbsp of white vinegar 
• 4 eggs
• ½ cup olive oil 
• 1 ½ cups of granulated white sugar 
• 2 cups of all purpose flour 
• 4 tsp of baking powder 
• ½ tsp of salt 
• ½ cup of Nuttinosh Roasted Pistachio Butter
• ¼ cup of chopped pistachios (optional)
• 1 tsp of pistachio extract (optional)

Ingredients for Pistachio-Rose Swiss Meringue Buttercream:

• 100g (3.5 oz) egg whites
• 200g  (7 oz) granulated sugar 
• 340g (12 oz) butter, room temperature
• ¼ cup Nuttinosh Roasted Pistachio Butter
• ⅛ tsp rose extract

Ingredients for Cardamom Cream Cheese Filling:

• 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature 
• 1-2 tbsp of ground cardamom (to preference)
• 1 tbsp heavy cream
• ⅓ cup powdered sugar 

Directions: 

How to make your cake:

1. Start making your “buttermilk”, and add one tablespoon of vinegar to one cup of milk. Let that rest to the side for five minutes.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, oil, and sugar together until it is light and fluffy. 
3. Then add in your sifted flour, baking powder, and the salt, whisk on until fully combined and no clumps, try to not over mix. Next, add your Nuttinosh Roasted Pistachio Butter.
4. Lastly, slowly mix in the buttermilk until you have a smoother batter. 
5. Separate your batter evenly into two 8-inch cake pans.
6. Bake at 340 degrees for 40 minutes. 
7. Let your cakes stay in the pan for 5-7 minutes, and then wrap them with plastic wrap. They should be warm, by wrapping them in the plastic wrap you are locking the moist in! 
8. Once your cakes are fully cooled in the fridge or freezer, you can make the frosting.

Making your frosting:

1. Boil a little bit of water on your stove top, we’re going to do a double boil. (You want enough water in the pan to steam your mixing bowl, but not enough where they touch.)
2. Measure out your sugar and egg white in the mixing bowl. 
3. Whisk over the steam until your sugar and egg white mixture reach 160 degrees fahrenheit. Bring the mixing bowl over to a standing mixer and let that whisk until you reach stiff peaks. Once you reach stiff peaks, slowly whip in your butter. After the butter is whipped in, it should be smooth but stable. 
4. Now, add in your rose extract and Nuttinosh Roasted Pistachio Butter.
5. Continue to mix until it is a soft and smooth, yet stable consistency. 

How to make your filling:

1. Whisk together your cream cheese, powdered sugar, heavy cream, and ground cardamom. (It should be soft, smooth, and spreadable. If it is not, your cream cheese is too cold.)

Stacking your cake:

1. Now it’s time to stack your cake. Place one cake layer on your cake board or plate, spread a small layer of frosting on top. Additionally, add a thin layer of frosting around the edges of the cake to keep the filling inside your layers. 
2. Inside the thin layer add your cardamom cream cheese filling. 
3. Add the other cake layer on top and spread a thin layer (some, but not all!) of frosting around the cake completely.
4. Place in the fridge to cool for about 20 minutes. This first thinner coat of frosting is called a “crumb coat”. 
5. After the cake has cooled, its structure should be stable, you may now add the rest of your frosting and decorate as you choose - I decorated mine with chopped pistachios and dried rose petals!

What Makes This Pistachio Cake Different

This pistachio cake started as a collaboration with Aunt Mona's Cakes, a Minneapolis home bakery, but what makes it worth baking again is the layering of flavors: a tender pistachio cake base, a pistachio-rose Swiss meringue buttercream, and a cardamom cream cheese filling tucked between layers. Most homemade pistachio cake recipes lean on pistachio extract or food coloring for flavor and color. This one uses real Nuttinosh Roasted Pistachio Butter in both the batter and the buttercream, so the pistachio flavor comes from the ingredient itself rather than an artificial substitute. The rose and cardamom notes are optional if you want a simpler version, but they're what turn a solid pistachio cake into a genuinely memorable one, homemade in the best sense of the word.

How Pistachio Butter Adds Moisture and Flavor

Pistachio butter does two jobs in this cake batter: it adds fat, which keeps the crumb moist, and it adds concentrated pistachio flavor without the texture of chopped nuts. A quarter cup folded into the batter alongside the eggs, oil, and sugar gives the cake a rich, nutty backbone that plain flour-and-sugar cakes don't have. The same logic applies in the buttercream, where pistachio butter is whisked into the Swiss meringue base for flavor and a subtle richness that pairs well with the rose extract. Because pistachio butter is already smooth and roasted, it blends into batter and frosting evenly, so you get consistent flavor in every bite instead of pockets of ground nuts.

Baking Tips for a Moist Pistachio Cake

A few technique details make the biggest difference in keeping this cake moist. Making a quick buttermilk (whisking vinegar into whole milk and letting it sit) tenderizes the crumb more than plain milk would. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in gently once combined, since overmixing develops gluten and makes the cake dense instead of tender. After baking at 340°F, wrap the warm cake layers in plastic wrap while they're still slightly warm from the pan — this traps steam and locks in moisture instead of letting it evaporate as the cakes cool. Let the wrapped layers finish cooling in the fridge or freezer before frosting; a fully cooled, chilled cake is much easier to frost cleanly than a warm one.

Serving and Storage Tips

This cake keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days once frosted, covered loosely to protect the buttercream. Let slices sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes before serving so the pistachio butter frosting softens back to its intended texture. If you want to make this cake ahead of time, bake and wrap the cake layers up to 2 days in advance (or freeze for longer storage), then make the buttercream and cardamom filling and assemble the day you plan to serve it. This keeps the frosting and filling fresh while letting you split the baking work across two days.

Best Pistachio Butter for Cake Recipes

Roasted pistachio butter works better than raw or unroasted versions in baking because roasting deepens the nutty flavor before it ever goes into the batter, so the pistachio taste holds up against sugar, eggs, and frosting instead of getting lost. Nuttinosh Roasted Pistachio Butter is smooth enough to fold into batter without extra grinding or straining, which is what makes it work equally well in the cake itself and in the pistachio-rose buttercream.