Pistachio Pudding Cake
Pistachio Pudding Cake is moist and sweet. Because of the sugar glaze, it tastes like a Krispy Kreme donut. It has been a favorite poke cake in our family for years, usually requested by my youngest son on his birthday. But I make it all year round. The pistachio pudding mix adds flavor and gives the cake its pretty green color.
Before my husband and I were married, he took me to meet his grandparents. Grandma Lucille had made dinner and dessert for us. She was a great country cook, who made amazing fried chicken and delicious rice and beans. But Grandma Lucille was also an incredible baker. She made Pistachio Pudding Cake for dessert that day. It quickly became my favorite cake and she made it many times for us through the years. She also shared her recipe with me and it is now my son’s favorite cake. He requests this classic cake every year for his birthday.
Pistachio Pudding Cake Recipe
What’s needed?
Cake:
- 13.25 box white or yellow cake mix
- 3.4 ounce box instant pistachio pudding mix
- 4 eggs
- 2/3 cup water
- 2/3 cup canola oil
- 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup pistachios or walnuts, chopped (optional)
Glaze:
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1/3 cup warm water
How to make Pistachio Pudding Cake?
- Place the first 7 ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat with a hand mixer on medium speed until thoroughly combined. The batter will be very thick.
- Spray a bundt pan or tube pan with cooking spray and dust with flour. (Grandma Lucille always used a 13×9-inch baking pan and so did I for years. But I tried a tube pan recently and love the way the top of the cake gets gooey and delicious from the glaze after baking.)
- Pour or spoon the batter into the pan and spread it around evenly.
- Now sprinkle the chopped nuts on top of the batter, if desired.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven.
- Here is where the magic happens. While the cake is still warm, use a metal skewer or a chopstick to poke holes in the top of the cake.
- In a small bowl, combine glaze ingredients and stir until smooth.
- Pour half of the glaze over the cake and allow the cake to sit for 10-15 minutes to absorb the glaze. Repeat the process a second time. Poke the holes, pour the rest of the glaze on top and walk away for 10 minutes.
- When completely cool, remove the cake from the pan and place it on a cake plate. Some of the glaze will run down the sides of the cake.
Enjoy Pistachio Pudding Cake with vanilla ice cream or a tall, cold glass of milk. This recipe makes 12 servings.
Pistachio Pudding Cake
Ingredients
Cake:
- 13.25 yellow cake mix
- 3.4 ounce instant pistachio pudding mix
- 4 eggs
- 2/3 cup water
- 2/3 cup canola oil
- 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup pistachios , or walnuts, chopped (optional)
Glaze:
- 2 cups confectioners' sugar
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1/3 cup warm water
Instructions
- Place the first 7 ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat with a hand mixer on medium speed until thoroughly combined. The batter will be very thick.
- Spray a bundt pan or tube pan with cooking spray and dust with flour. (Grandma Lucille always used a 13×9 baking pan and so did I for years. But I tried a tube pan recently and love the way the top of the cake gets gooey and delicious from the glaze after baking.)
- Pour or spoon the batter into the pan and spread it around evenly.
- Now sprinkle the chopped nuts on top of the batter, if desired.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven.
- Here is where the magic happens. While the cake is still warm, use a metal skewer or a chopstick to poke holes in the top of the cake.
- In a small bowl, combine glaze ingredients and stir until smooth.
- Pour half of the glaze over the cake and allow the cake to sit for 10-15 minutes to absorb the glaze. Repeat the process a second time. Poke the holes, pour the rest of the glaze on top and walk away for 10 minutes.
- When completely cool, remove the cake from the pan and place it on a cake plate. Some of the glaze will run down the sides of the cake.
Equipment
- 1 tube pan, lightly sprayed with cooking spray and dusted with flour
- or 1 13×9 inch baking dish, lightly sprayed with cooking spray