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
I like that this cake is not the typical super moist almost heavy cake that is associated with vegan cakes.
It is quite possibly the most perfect balance of moist without feeling heavy or soggy
If you have ever tried a traditionally European Genoise style cake this pistachio rose cake so closely resembles that
Strawberry Couverture is incorporated into this new recipe for Strawberry Mirror Glaze!
Thanks to Olive Nation for sponsoring this recipe with these high quality ingredients it is so easy to achieve.
Pistachios and Rose Extract are the only two specialty ingredients you will need
Use COUPON CODE GVB20 for 20% off your order!
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL YOUTUBE VIDEO FOR HOW TO MAKE THIS CAKE
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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 cake recipe calls for vegan yogurt, but I now prefer to use more plant milk instead of buying another ingredient
For those who do not have flax meal for the egg replacer it is fine to use your favorite store brand dry blend
Use 2 teaspoons reconstituted with some of the liquid from the recipe
I find recipe is best when using raw nuts that you grind to a fine meal yourself, rather than using a nut flour
Nut flours that you buy in the store are too fine and too dry and they absorb too much of the liquids in this recipe, causing your final cake to be very dry
If you cannot find coconut sweetened condensed milk in the store, there is a recipe below so you can easily make your own!
Pistachio Rose Cake
I am using 2-8" cake pans for this recipe for two very thick layers, you can also divide this batter into 3-8" pans if you prefer, the bake time will be less, by maybe 10-15minutes
Ingredients
For the Cake
- Vegan Butter 1 cup (226g)
- Granulated Sugar 2 cups (400g)
- Golden Flax Meal 3 Tablespoons (24g)
- Hot Water 6 Tablespoons (90ml)
- Vanilla Vegan Yogurt ½ cup (150g)
- Plant Milk 1 cup (237ml)
- Vanilla Extract 2 teaspoons (10ml)
- All Purpose Flour 3 cups (375g)
- Baking Powder 1 teaspoon (6g)
- Baking Soda 1 teaspoon (6g)
- Salt ½ teaspoon (3g)
- Raw Unsalted Pistachios 1½ cups (225g)
- ½ recipe Buttercream of your choice
- Rose Extract 1 Tablespoon
For the Mirror Glaze
- Strawberry Couverture 2 ounces (56g)
- Vegan White Chocolate 2ounces (56g)
- Coconut Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk ¼ cup (50ml)
- Granulated Sugar ½ cup (100g)
- Corn Syrup *or golden syrup 1/3 cup
- Water 7½ Tablespoons (112ml)
- Agar Powder 1 Teaspoon
Instructions
- Be sure all your ingredients are at room temperature before beginning.
- First prepare your cake pans with professional bakery pan grease and parchment paper lining.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F
- Combine the flax meal & hot water together in a small bowl and set aside to thicken for about 5 minutes.
- Grind the pistachios in a food processor or chop as fine as possible by hand with a knife, set aside
- Combine the plant milk & yogurt with the vanilla and set aside.
- Sift the flour with the salt, baking powder & baking soda
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the vegan butter and 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.
- Add the flax paste to the creamed mixture and then whip on high for 20 seconds to emulsify
- Turn the speed back down to low and add 1/3 of the sifted dry ingredients and mix just until it is combined
- Add half of the plant milk/yogurt mixture and mix just until combined
- Repeat with another 1/3 of the dry ingredients, the other half of the plant milk and then the last of the dry ingredients.
- add the ground pistachios and mix well
- Portion the batter into your prepared pans and bake in the preheated 350°F oven for 25 minutes.
- Turn the oven temperature down to 300° and bake for another 15-20 minutes or when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, no raw cake batter.
- *I turn the oven temp down half way through because this is a very thick cake layer I do not want it to over brown on the outside & edges while the inside batter cooks
- 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
- Be sure to remove the parchment paper lining.
- Prepare the buttercream recipe of your choice and 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 and refrigerate to set 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 and 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 and whisk to melt.
- 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 and store in a clean container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month- simply rewarm when needed
- Decorate your cake as shown in the video or as you prefer 🙂
Notes
Pistachio Rose Cake can be left at room temperature for up to 3 days loosely wrapped to prevent drying.
For longer storage refrigerate for up to 1 week
Cake layers can be frozen wrapped well for up to 1 month
Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk
Ingredients
- 1- 14ounce can full fat coconut milk
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
- Combine the coconut milk with the sugar in a heavy bottom sauce pan
- bring to a boil over high heat stirring often
- Once it boils reduce heat to a simmer cook for 45 minutes stirring occasionally and watch it closely so it doesn't burn or boil over
- By the time 45 minutes approaches it should have reduced down to close to 1 or1¼ cup total volume and start to get thick
- It will thicken more as it cools.
- Cool completely then use it in your recipes or see storage information in the notes below
Notes
Keep sweetened condensed coconut milk refrigerated for up to 2 weeks in a clean airtight container or freeze for longer storage up to 1 month
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