Sometimes you just need a little bit of sophistication
and elegance in your life!
And this perfect Pistachio Rose Cake is exactly that!
Rose scented buttercream for the filling and of course a stunning shiny mirror glaze
Fresh organic roses to decorate this delicate layer cake but of course that part is optional!
The babies breath is purely for the photograph and not intended to be served in any way on this cake
Since baby’s breath is slightly poisonous if ingested
For those wanting an easier cake recipe which does NOT require a mixer
Try my newest version Pistachio Cake that’s an easy one bowl mix!
Notes for Success:
If you do not have strawberry couverture you can still make this mirror glaze recipe by using vegan white chocolate
Of course your final glaze will be white, but you can color it any color you like!
The original cake recipe called for vegan yogurt, but I now prefer to use more plant milk instead of buying another ingredient
Additionally flax meal was used as the egg replacer but upon further review I decided to leave it out
Flax meal can cause heaviness with an already high fat recipe like nut cakes, there is no egg replacer needed here
I find recipe is best when using raw nuts that you grind to a fine meal yourself, rather than using a nut flour
For the mirror glaze recipe:
If you cannot find coconut sweetened condensed milk in the store you can easily make your own!
Combine 2- 14ounce cans of coconut milk and 2/3 cup granulates sugar in a medium heavy bottom sauce pot
Cook over medium to high heat stirring often until it boils
Turn the heat down to a simmer for 45 minutes it will reduce down to 2 or 2¼ cups volume
Pistachio Rose Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 cup Vegan Butter 226g
- 1¾ cups Granulated Sugar 350g
- 1½ cups Plant Milk 237ml
- 2 teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract 10ml
- 3 cups All Purpose Flour 375g
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder 6g
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda 6g
- ½ teaspoon Salt 3g
- 1 cups Raw Unsalted Pistachios 125g
For the Icing
- ½ Recipe Buttercream of your choice
- 1 Tbs Rose Extract
For the Mirror Glaze
- 2 ounces Strawberry Couverture *see notes 56g
- 2 ounces Vegan White Chocolate 56g
- ¼ cup Vegan Sweetened Condensed Milk 50ml
- ½ cup Granulated Sugar 100g
- â…“ cup Corn Syrup
- 7½ Tbs Water 112ml
- 1 teaspoon Agar Powder
Instructions
- Prepare 2-8" cake pans with grease & parchment paper lining & preheat the oven to 350°F
- Grind the pistachios in a food processor or chop as fine as possible by hand with a knife, set aside
- Combine the plant milk with the apple cider vinegar & vanilla set aside.
- Sift the flour with the salt, baking powder & baking soda
- Cream the vegan butter & sugar on medium to high speed until light & fluffy, this may take 3-5 minutes. Scrape the bottom & sides of the bowl from time to time to ensure an even mix.
- Turn the speed down to low & add 1/3 of the sifted dry ingredients mix just until it is combined
- Now add half of the plant milk & mix just until combined
- Repeat with another 1/3 of the dry ingredients, the other half of the plant milk then the last of the dry ingredients.
- Last add the ground pistachios & mix well. If using food color add it now
- Portion the batter into your prepared pans & bake in the preheated 350°F oven for 20 minutes. Then turn the oven temperature down to 300° & bake for another 15 minutes or when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, no raw cake batter.
- Cool the cakes in the pans until they are cool to the touch, then flip them out onto a wire rack to cool the rest of the way.
- Prepare the buttercream recipe of your choice & add the Rose Extract at the last stage of mixing, tasting for your desired flavor- you can add more or less of the extract according to your taste.
- Fill & Crumb Ice the cake as shown in the video tutorial & refrigerate to cold while you make the mirror glaze.
- For the Mirror Glaze: In a large bowl combine both chocolates chopped into smaller, same sized pieces
- Combine the sugar, water, sweetened condensed coconut milk & corn syrup & heat over medium heat stirring often to at least 150°F then add the agar powder
- Whisk constantly and bring to a rolling boil then pour over the chocolate in the bowl & whisk to melt. Add color if desired
- Cool to at least 90°F before pouring it over your cake.
- Place your chilled cake on a cooling rack set over a parchment paper lined sheet pan
- Pour the mirror glaze over the cake letting the excess run down over the sides.
- The agar will cause it to set very quickly so try not to use a spatula to ice it, just allow the excess to drip off
- You can reuse the excess glaze, just scrape it off the parchment paper & store in a clean container in the refrigerator for up to 2weeks- simply rewarm when needed
- Decorate your cake as shown in the video or as you prefer 🙂
Hey Gretchen,
This cake looks adorable, thanks for sharing this amazing recipe! Are the pistachios used whole or ground? I can’t find them in the written instructions.
Greetings from The Netherlands,
Bettina
The pistachio “genoise” was amazing! I loved the texture. This was the first time I succeed in making a vegan cake with a good texture.
YAY! thanks for the feedback!
Grechen, thank you so much for your recipes, they have helped me so much. I have a question. Could I use rose blossom water instead of extract? In the cake and in the buttercream.
Stunner of all stunners! How much white chocolate did you use in the glaze? You wrote 2oz of strawberry couverture but did not write an amount for white chocolate. Hoping to make this for my daughter’s 20th birthday : )
She will love it.
Thank you .
Jenny
Thank you for letting me know! I have recently implemented the “jump to recipe” button here on my website & it is really messing with some of my posts! Ugggh!
I will update that now, it is 2 ounces – Click here for a closer look at JUST the mirror glaze recipe & video
Also I realize it has deleted the amount of agar as well, it is 1 teaspoon
Hi! My daughter wants this cake for her 50th birthday party. I started a practice cake last night, but my layers sank badly in the middle. Do you have any tips, please? Thanks!
Hi Bonnie! It’s hard to say but I will always start with this question: “Did you use all the same ingredients as I did and did you weigh them with a scale or with a cups measure?”
Also what size pans sis you use?
Hi Gretchen,
Thank you for your amazing vegan baking recipes and fun videos! I would like to convert this cake into cupcakes with buttercream frosting for a vegan bake sale. I know there would be significant changes to time. Any changes to temperature or suggestions on time?
Thanks!
Hey there, so yes you can do it, but understand that this cake recipe will not dome up as we like our cupcakes to do. They will stay flat so if you are OK with that?
Otherwise fill batter 3/4 full in the cupcake liners & bake 18minutes then check if it needs more time
Thank you! They did not dome up, as you noted, but I put vegan buttercream roses on top so it all worked out.
Hi – How would the bake time differ if I baked in three 7in pans?
Just a couple minutes longer since the batter will be slightly thicker – I usually do the “gently press the centers” to see if the cake springs back or the toothpick test is good too!
I’m the text, you not that you prefer to just use more milk. Do you mean it works to just replace the yogurt with an equal additional amount of milk?
Yes that is correct
Rather than buying another ingredient, I have found that using more plant milk in place of the yogurt works out great if not better