This light, cool, somewhat tart, slightly sweet delicacy is prepared in the style of a key lime pie shooter. It features a parfait-like aesthetic and the delectable flavor of key lime pie. Everyone has room for a little dessert, which makes them the ideal way to round off a holiday gathering or even a gathering on game day. Whipping cream, freshly grated lime zest, and graham cracker crumbs are garnish options.
| Prep Time: | 1 hr |
| Cook Time: | 25 mins |
| Additional Time: | 1 hr 10 mins |
| Total Time: | 2 hrs 35 mins |
| Servings: | 20 |
| Yield: | 1 8-inch layer cake |
Ingredients
- cooking spray
- 3 cups unsalted pistachios
- 2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ cup unsalted butter
- 1 ¾ cups white sugar
- 5 large egg whites
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 drop green gel food coloring
- 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 8 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 drop green food coloring
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray three 8-inch round cake pans with cooking spray. Line each pan with a round piece of parchment paper, and spray with cooking spray.
- Prepare the cake: pulse pistachios in a food processor until finely ground, 10 to 15 pulses. Transfer 1 1/2 cups ground pistachios to a bowl with flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda; whisk until well combined and set aside. Place remaining ground pistachios, about 1 1/3 cups, in a bowl and reserve for finishing the cake.
- Beat butter and white sugar for cake in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium-high speed, scraping down the sides as needed, until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg whites and beat on high speed until combined, about 2 minutes.
- Mix in sour cream, vanilla extract, and almond extract until combined, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture in batches on low speed until completely incorporated, about 2 minutes. Mix in milk and food coloring until just combined, about 1 minute.
- Divide batter evenly among the prepared cake pans. Gently tap each pan on the countertop to spread and flatten batter.
- Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of each pan removes cleanly, 22 to 24 minutes. Cool cakes in the pans for about 10 minutes. Run a table knife around the edges to loosen cakes, then invert carefully onto a serving plate or cooling rack. Let cool completely, about 30 minutes.
- While the cakes are cooling, prepare buttercream: beat cream cheese and butter in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in powdered sugar in 1/2-cup increments on medium-low speed, allowing sugar to be completely incorporated before adding more, until combined, about 4 minutes. Mix in vanilla and food coloring on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Place one cake layer on a serving plate or cake stand. Top with 1 cup buttercream and 1 tablespoon ground pistachios, and spread evenly over the surface using a spatula. Place second cake layer on top; top with 1 cup buttercream and 1 tablespoon ground pistachios, and spread evenly over the surface. Place third cake layer on top, and spread 1 cup buttercream evenly over the surface. Spread 2 cups buttercream evenly around sides of assembled cake and smooth with a spatula. Transfer cake to the refrigerator and chill for 30 minutes.
- Remove cake from the refrigerator and spread remaining buttercream over top and sides of cake until sides are smooth and top is billowy. Using a small offset spatula, make a spiral pattern on top of the cake. Press remaining ground pistachios into sides of the cake.
- Slice and serve immediately or chill in an airtight container until ready to serve. If chilled, allow cake to come to room temperature before serving.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 628 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 85 g |
| Cholesterol | 59 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 9 g |
| Saturated Fat | 14 g |
| Sodium | 268 mg |
| Sugars | 69 g |
| Fat | 30 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Pretty cake, but efinitely cut back on the sugar in the frosting. It was way too sweet.
This cake is magnificent! I did it with small differences from the recipe so I’ll share how they worked out. I made a single sheet instead of layers and found that this worked very well with the icing on top and processed pistachios on top. I also don’t have a stand-up mixer so used a hand mixer and that worked just fine! (The butter and sugar did not incorporate until after adding the egg white.) Also did not have whole milk and 2% worked just fine! I cut the icing sugar in half because that flavor is better for me and because I had only one sheet the icing amount was enough. Lastly, I did not have gel food coloring so needed a couple more drops of the liquid food coloring in order to achieve green color. My roommate and I just ate our first piece and both LOVED it! Will absolutely make this again.
This was by far the best tasting cake that I have ever made! The flavors and texture were amazing. My teenage sons and daughter loved it. The only thing I would suggest would be to make less of the frosting, as the amount produced from the recipe exceeds what is needed.