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Home » Recipes

Published: Feb 5, 2021. Post Updated: Sep 26, 2023

Home » Recipes

Pistachio Milk Cake

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Pistachio Milk Cake is a version of Mexican Tres Leches Cake that we love. In this recipe, ground Pistachios are added to the cake, in the Milk and course pistachios are scattered over the top. Making it taste like a giant Pistachio Kulfi!

Pistachio Milk Cake in a blue bowl

Pistachio Milk Cake

This Pistachio Milk Cake is adapted from my milk cake recipe (this recipe). I have adapted the cake recipe to include ground pistachios and added some to the tres leches too. 

This is a deliciously sweet recipe with a feather light moist pistachio sponge soaked in pistachio milk.

Pistachio Milk Cake

Tres leches translates to ‘three milks’ and in this recipe, the '3 milks' are - Double Cream, Evaporated Milk and Condensed Milk.

The volume in the cake is achieved by whipping egg whites. This also creates a very light cake. The cake is pierced all over and then the tres leches is poured over the top.  

Ingredients for Pistachio Milk Cake

Plain Flour

Baking Powder

Cardamom

Salt

Eggs

Milk

Evaporated Milk

Condensed Milk

Double Cream

Sugar

Pistachio - Ground and Course

How to make pistachio milk cake

A full detailed recipe is at the bottom of the page.

Preheat the oven to GM4/180 C and butter a oven proof dish or oven tray leaving a ½ inch border around the edges. (9 x 13).

Greased tin showing that sides and edges are not greased

Roast Pistachios in a dry pan till fragrant.

Pistachios roasting in dry pan

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl.

Dry ingredients added to a bowl

In a second bowl beat the egg whites for a minute before adding sugar and beating for another minute. Continue to beat for 1 – 2 minutes until it reaches the soft peak stage.

Egg white whisked to soft peaks

In a third bowl beat egg yolk with sugar till pale.

Egg yolks and sugar in a bowl

 

Egg yolks whisked in a bowl

Combine Egg white and Egg Yolk mixture.

Gently add the flour mixture to the egg yolk mixture and fold in the whites.

Egg whites and egg yolk mixture being mixed together in bowl

Egg yolks, whites being mixed in a bowl

Egg whites and yolks mixed together in a bowl

Flour being mixed into batter

Pour into tin/dish and bake for 25 – 30 minutes.

Baked Pistachio Milk Cake in a tin

Make Milk mixture by combining evaporated milk, condensed milk, double cream, ground pistachio and cardamom in a bowl and whisking together.

3 Milks combined in a bowl

Pistachios mixed into milks

Once cooled, pierce all over with a fork and drizzle in the milk mixture.

Pistachio Milk Cake with holes all over the top

3 milks poured on top of milk cake

Leave for 30 minutes.

Beat the cream with sugar and spread over the top.

Cream whipped in bowl

Sprinkle over course Pistachios.

Pistachio Milk Cake in a bowl

tips for making the best pistachio milk cake:

  • Be very gentle when mixing batters/egg whites/yolks and incorporating one mixture into another. Over mixing will remove all the volume created from the whisking of the whites.
  • Let the cake rest for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour after pouring on the 3 milk syrup so it can absorb all the liquid. You can even leave it overnight.
  • Bake in either a deep oven tray or pyrex rectangular dish. I used a 9 x 13 inch tin.
  • Butter the tin or spray but not up the sides and not till the edges. 
  • This cake will rise like a souffle and then fall slightly in the middle after it has been in contact with cooler air outside of the oven. 
  • I added green colouring to the batter for the cake and to the tres leches. I used a gel colouring so a dot is enough. You can skip this entirely if you prefer.
  • If you grind the pistachios too much, they will turn into a pistachio butter so keep a close eye on them and grind them in short bursts.
  • Roasting the pistachios first brings out their flavour. Please don't be tempted to skip this step!
  • I add 20g ground Pistachios to the Tres Leches mixture. This enhances the flavour of the pistachios without inhibiting absorption. There will still be a very slight puddle remaining on top.
  • You can flip the cake upside down before pouring over the 3 milk mixture, so you have a nice flat surface to begin with.

how to store/make ahead

Yes! Store covered in the fridge for a few hours or up to 3 days.

can it be frozen?

It can but without the syrup and decoration. Make just the cake. Allow to cool and then cover with 2 layers of cling film before freezing for up to 2 months.

To serve, thaw in the fridge over night and add the syrup and decoration the following day.

variations

For a Ras Malai version, add Cardamom and Saffron into the syrup for the cake.

For a Mint Chocolate version – You can add Mint Essence into the Syrup and melt over some Mint Chocolate.

For a Nutella version – add 1 tablespoon Nutella into the Syrup and drizzle some over the top too.

For a Biscoff version, add 1 tablespoon of Biscoff into the syrup of the cake as well drizzling some over.

For a Masala Chai version, use milk instead of cream for the syrup and infuse it with masala chai spice and a tea bag in a pan. Place the pan over medium-low heat. When the milk begins to bubble, remove from the heat. Set aside and allow to cool to room temperature. This is best done a day ahead.

other milk cake recipes you may like:

Trilece

Chocolate Milk Cake

Saffron Milk Cake

**if you make something from  tiffin and tea, i would love to see your creations! don’t forget to rate this recipe and leave a comment below! we love to hear from you. safira x

Close up of Pistachio Milk Cake

Pistachio Milk Cake in a blue bowl

Pistachio Milk Cake

Safira
Pistachio Milk Cake is a version of Mexican Tres Leches Cake that we love. In this recipe, ground Pistachios are added to the cake, in the Milk and course pistachios are scattered over the top. Making it taste like a giant Pistachio Kulfi!
4.94 from 16 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes mins
Cook Time 30 minutes mins
Total Time 35 minutes mins
Course Baking, Baking/Dessert
Cuisine Mexican, Spanish
Servings 12
Calories 539 kcal

Ingredients
  

Cake

  • 50 g Pistachios
  • 100 g Plain Flour
  • ½ teaspoon Ground Cardamom Optional
  • ¼ teaspoon Salt
  • 1 ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 5 Eggs Seperated into Eggs and Yolks in 2 seperate bowls
  • 200 g Caster Sugar 1 Cup (Divide into ¾ cup - 150g and ¼ cup - 50g)
  • 80 g Milk
  • Food Colouring Gel or Similar (Optional)

Syrup

  • 410 g Evaporated Milk
  • 397 g Condensed Milk
  • 250 g Double Cream
  • 20 g Pistachios Dry roasted then Blended to a fine powder
  • ¼ teaspoon Ground Cardamom Optional
  • Food Colouring Gel os simlar

Cream

  • 480 g Double Cream
  • 3 ½ tablespoon Icing Sugar

Decorate

  • 4 tablespoon Pistachios Dry roasted then coursely ground

Instructions
 

Cake

  • Preheat the oven to GM4/180 C and butter a oven proof dish or oven tray leaving a ½ inch border around the edges. (9 x 13).
  • Dry roast the Pistachios till fragrant and then blend to a powder. I like to leave some texture here.
  • Combine the ground PIstachios, Plain Flour, Ground Cardamom (if using), Salt and Baking Powder in a bowl.
  • In a second bowl beat the egg whites for a minute before adding 50g sugar and beating for another minute. Continue to beat for 1 – 2 minutes until it reaches the soft peak stage.
  • In a third bowl beat egg yolkswith 150 g sugar till pale. (2 minutes).
  • Stir Milk and food colouring into the yolk mixture.
  • Gently add the flour mixture to the egg yolk mixture. Then fold in the whites.
  • Pour batter into tin/dish and bake for 25 – 30 minutes.

Syrup

  • Make Milk mixture by combining evaporated milk, condensed milk, double cream, ground pistachios and Ground Cardamom (if using) and a drop of food colour, in a bowl and whisk together.
  • Once the cake has cooled, pierce all over with a fork and drizzle in the milk mixture. Leave for 30 minutes.

Cream

  • Beat the cream with sugar until it has thickened, holds it's shape. Then spread over the top.

Decorate

  •  Sprinkle over course Pistachios.

Notes

tips for making the best pistachio milk cake:

  • Be very gentle when mixing batters/egg whites/yolks and incorporating one mixture into another. Over mixing will remove all the volume created from the whisking of the whites.
  • Let the cake rest for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour after pouring on the 3 milk syrup so it can absorb all the liquid. You can even leave it overnight.
  • Bake in either a deep oven tray or pyrex rectangular dish. I used a 9 x 13 inch tin.
  • Butter the tin or spray but not up the sides and not till the edges. 
  • This cake will rise like a souffle and then fall slightly in the middle after it has been in contact with cooler air outside of the oven. 
  • I added green colouring to the batter for the cake and to the tres leches. I used a gel colouring so a dot is enough. You can skip this entirely if you prefer.
  • I add 20g ground Pistachios to the Tres Leches mixture. This enhances the flavour of the pistachios without inhibiting absorption. There will still be a very slight puddle remaining on top.
  • You can flip the cake upside down before pouring over the 3 milk mixture, so you have a nice flat surface to begin with.
  • Roasting the pistachios first brings out their flavour. Please don't be tempted to skip this step!

how to store/make ahead

Yes! Store covered in the fridge for a few hours or up to 3 days.

can it be frozen?

It can but without the syrup and decoration. Make just the cake. Allow to cool and then cover with 2 layers of cling film before freezing for up to 2 months.
To serve, thaw in the fridge over night and add the syrup and decoration the following day.

variations

For a Ras Malai version, add Cardamom and Saffron into the syrup for the cake.
For a Mint Chocolate version – You can add Mint Essence into the Syrup and melt over some Mint Chocolate.
For a Nutella version – add 1 tablespoon Nutella into the Syrup and drizzle some over the top too.
For a Biscoff version, add 1 tablespoon of Biscoff into the syrup of the cake as well drizzling some over.
For a Masala Chai version, use milk instead of cream for the syrup and infuse it with masala chai spice and a tea bag in a pan. Place the pan over medium-low heat. When the milk begins to bubble, remove from the heat. Set aside and allow to cool to room temperature. This is best done a day ahead.

Nutrition

Calories: 539kcalCarbohydrates: 51gProtein: 11gFat: 34gSaturated Fat: 18gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 173mgSodium: 229mgPotassium: 392mgFiber: 1gSugar: 41gVitamin A: 1198IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 273mgIron: 1mg
Keyword 3 Milks Cake, Pistachio Milk Cake, Tres Leches Cake
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

    4.94 from 16 votes (13 ratings without comment)

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    Recipe Rating




  1. A m says

    January 22, 2022 at 4:45 pm

    5 stars
    Nice

    Reply
    • Safira says

      January 22, 2022 at 7:07 pm

      Thankyou 🙂

      Reply
  2. A Rasul says

    December 04, 2022 at 5:38 pm

    5 stars
    Loved this. I liked the pistachio in the cake and the flavour was to die for

    Reply
    • Safira says

      December 04, 2022 at 5:39 pm

      So glad you liked it!

      Reply
  3. Sarah says

    March 03, 2023 at 10:06 pm

    Hi for the pistachios do you use the shelled ones? And would you go for salted or not salted ones. Thanks

    Reply
    • Safira says

      March 03, 2023 at 10:09 pm

      Hi
      Yes I buy Pistachios without the shells and they are unsalted. x

      Reply
  4. Kris says

    February 19, 2025 at 4:31 pm

    Can I make this cake with 1-1 gluten free flour?

    Reply
    • Safira says

      February 19, 2025 at 5:55 pm

      Hi,

      I don't have much experience with gluten free baking but I had a quick look at some gluten free milk cake recipes. Some of them have done a 1:1 swap with GF Flour as long as it has xanthum gum in. If it doesn't, the Xanthym gum can be added separately. I am not sure if it will work as I haven't tested it myself. Please do feedback if you give it a try! Thank you

      Reply
      • Kris says

        February 24, 2025 at 1:28 am

        4 stars
        I did make the cake with gluten free flour (with added xanthan gum). It came out very well and was enjoyed by all. The only thing I would change would be to reduce the volume of tres leche mixture-- was a bit too much for the cake to absorb. the pistachio flavor was really pronounced and delish!

        Reply
        • Safira says

          February 24, 2025 at 7:38 am

          Hi Kris,

          Thank you so much for trying it and for your feedback! 🙂

          Reply

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hey...I’m safira! I share accessible Global Recipes as well as Baking recipes for home cooks. One of my passions is to teach home cooks to become more confident in the kitchen and this comes with time and experience.

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