Pistachio Pudding Pound Cake

Delicately flavored of pistachio, this delightful pistachio pudding pound cake recipe is perfect for spring. Added bonus; with lower sugar and butter content than most pound cake recipes, this is one you’ll keep coming back to!

When my kids were little every Wednesday morning I would take them to their Grandpa’s shop to visit. First they’d stop by their Grandma’s desk to say hi and she’d give them each two quarters to get a pop out of the pop machine. Then they’d go into Grandpa’s office to say hi. He kept a tin of pistachios on his desk and they’d line up to get a handful of nuts. They’d settle themselves down by the tiny television in the front office and watch Scooby Doo with Grandma and Grandpa, cracking open pistachios and slurping down a soda. They’ve all outgrown this ritual now, but because of their Wednesday morning snack runs, all of my kids have developed a love of pistachios…and Scooby Doo.

Today’s cake is a recipe that I developed just for my kids. This was one that nobody complained about one bit as I worked to get it just right. I think that I made it 4-5 times before I got it tweaked to perfection and it’s now my daughter’s and my stepfather’s favorite.

Unassuming from the outside, this tender cake has a wonderful pistachio flavor inside. To achieve this flavor, I used two boxes of pistachio pudding. Pudding is a wonderful addition to cake. It keeps the cake dense and moist, plus it’s incredibly affordable with a long shelf life, so it’s a good thing to keep in the pantry.  This pistachio pudding pound cake is a lighter version of pound cake, not healthy mind you, but it has much less sugar and butter than most versions. If you are a pistachio lover like we are, I guarantee you’re going to love this one.

Pistachio Pudding Pound Cake

This pistachio pudding pound cake is wonderfully dense and moist inside with a delicate pistachio flavor. 

4.89 from 63 votes

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Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour

Servings: 18

Calories: 295kcal

Author: Amy D.

Ingredients

• 3 cups all purpose unbleached flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup butter (, softened to room temp)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 2 small boxes instant pistachio pudding mix
• 1 1/3 cups buttermilk
• 1 1/4 cup confectioners sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1-2 Tablespoons of milk

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• In a medium sized mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, sugar and vanilla together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, beating one at a time. Then add both boxes of pistachio pudding, beat until well blended, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Mix in the flour mixture and the buttermilk alternately, starting and ending with the flour.
• Prepare 2 loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray.
• Divide the cake batter between the 2 loaf pans.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Cool on wire racks for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely on wire rack.
• Whisk together the confectioners sugar with vanilla and milk until smooth and lump free. Drizzle over the cakes.

Nutrition

Serving: 18Servings | Calories: 295kcal

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If you love pound cake, then here’s another cake recipe for you to try! My triple butterscotch pound cake has butterscotch batter, butterscotch chips baked inside, and a totally addictive browned butter butterscotch glaze drizzled on top. It’s a butterscotch lovers dream come true.