Tuesday, March 11, 2014

St. Patty's Day Cake (aka Easy Pistachio Cake)

Well, St. Patrick's Day is nearly upon us, so I thought I'd share a recipe that celebrated the wearin' of the green. My mom used to make this cake all the time, especially for potlucks. It's so moist, it doesn't need frosting and is SO delicious. It'll even make believers out of those who fear green foods. Best of all, it's easy.




So here's what you're going to need:

  • 1 package yellow cake mix (I prefer Duncan Hines)
  • 1 small package pistachio pudding mix
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup canola/vegetable oil
  • 1/2 tsp. almond extract


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


Pour everything into a large mixing bowl.

Mix on low to combine.

Scrape down sides, then beat at medium speed for 2 minutes.

Add 6-8 drops of green food coloring, if desired, and mix into batter.

Grease and flour a Bundt or tube pan, or spray with baking spray (love this stuff!).

Now pour in your batter.
Doesn't that look pretty? So spring like.

Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes, until toothpick inserted half-way between outer edge and center cone comes out clean.

Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto cooling rack.

Once cake has cooled completely, sprinkle with powdered sugar. 

I suppose you could add glaze instead of the powdered sugar, if you like, but we've always done it with powdered sugar. 


Honestly, you don't really need a fork for this. It's simply a prop. :)
I just pick it up and eat us. Well, at home anyway.
This cake is moist and delicious.
And green! Perfect for St. Patty's Day.

Do you do anything special for St. Patrick's Day? 
My favorite way to celebrate is by eating corned beef and cabbage.
YUM!

And now for a couple of gratuitous puppy photos.
Maddie has decided that Dixie, our golden retriever, is her new best friend.
Look how Maddie's got her little paw draped over Dixie's.

And Dixie doesn't mind in the least.

Looks like a lasting friendship to me. :)

19 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness...down to business first -- those puppy picks are soooooo cute!!!!! And the holding paws....adorable! Glad Dixie doesn't mind having the young whippersnapper about the place. I'm in full doggy swoon over those pics.

    Ahem...now for the real reason we visit the café. Nifty and easy recipe for a cake. Might be daring enough to try it. I'm Irish -- born in Dun Laoghaire -- so of course we celebrate St. Patrick's day. Very traditional though. Always make Irish soda bread. And we take in any Irish dancing or harp music we can find. And there's always a ceilidhi somewhere though I haven't gone to one in a couple of years.

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    1. Kav! So many people can claim Irish ancestry, but you really ARE Irish!

      Okay, so what is a ceilidhi?

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    2. A ceilidhi (pronounced kaylee) is an Irish dance party. There's a live band consisting of fiddle, uilleann pipe (Irish bagpipes), tin whistle, accordion, bodhran (drum) and even banjos and guitars. All the dancing is done in sets -- jigs, reels. Kind of like Irish square dancing I guess, though no one is calling out the moves. Here's a youtube video of the type of dancing...just forward to the dancing. Haymaker's jig, ah I know it well.

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOVfFgpWkYs

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    3. I love it! And it does have a lot in common with square dancing - which has Scots/Irish roots, I'm pretty sure.

      Thanks, Kav :)

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    4. Makes me wish I were Irish. Sounds like you're going to have quite the party, Kav.

      I have to live vicariously through my Irish neighbor. Love his accent. He's probably been in the states for about 25 years now, but he still tells about when he first arrived. Had a relative who was a nun and he went with her to some potluck or something. As he stared at the spread of food he was struck by one thing--no spuds! How can poor Irish lad have a proper meal with no spuds? :)

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  2. I think I could handle this! :-) I want Dixie - love big doggies! of course the little ones are always cute and being a puppy on top of it is just icing on the cake. I miss my lab so much :-(

    I don't even know when St Patrick's Day is or wht it is- but if it's today nobody better pinch me. not much sleep and yesterday was busy at work then shift relief with mr sarcasm himself...anyways..keep telling myself it's Lent and to forgive..grrr

    I did try some kind of potato and cabbage dish once and I think it was around St Patrick's day - concannon or colcannon or something like that - I lowered the butter called for (which probably totally messed up the dish) but it was surprisingly pretty good at the time and might make it again(with a bit more butter!)
    Susanna

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    1. You're good, Susanna. St. Patrick's day isn't until Monday. But just think how happy everyone would be if you showed up at work with a green cake!

      Dixie is a love. She's convinced that everyone who steps foot into our house is there to see and love on her. She's such a sweetheart.

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    2. LOL Monday is my ONLY day off next week - I work Fri-Sun thn Tues-Sat. I'm hoping I enjoy Wed and Thurs of this week being off.
      my lab thought everyone was her friend too- not many people at the house but she was used to having attention - then she wanted to be left alone I think. my friend and I figured out of her old dog and my 2 that when her kid was born my lab would be his little buddy - instead she hid under the table with her bulldog and my german shepherd tolerated his crawling and toddler years! in her old age she's turned into an attention hound.

      work would probably like a cake but coworker gave up all brought-in goodies for lent and another here doesn't eat sweets atall (he's a man) and my supervisor an I agree we dont' need temptation...would be too awkard/unsafe to leave it for the operators unless they took chunks back out to their units so guess I'm off the hook...but there IS a quilting thingy on Monday if I go but doubt I will since I have to be back on my side of town by 3:30 for a meeting. just making sure I wear green on Monday..
      Susanna

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  3. I have pistachio pudding lovers in my family, so I know they're going to love this cake. Thanks, Mindy!

    That picture of Maddie with her paw on Dixie is so cute!

    Wynter isn't a cuddler - at least with other dogs. The closest she'll get to Thatcher is when they both have to sit to put their leashes on. He'd like to be more friendly, but then she goes all "grumpy old lady" on him.

    But the cat likes him. Wrestling with him has kept her winter pudginess down this year :)

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    1. Let me get this straight, Jan. The cat wrestles with Wynter? That is too funny.

      Gracie, our Australian shepherd/blue heeler mix, is the grumpy old lady around here. And she's not afraid to let people know it either. I get tickled when Maddie sasses back at her, though. Pretty cute.

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    2. No, sorry. Mixed up pronouns. Sheesh.

      The cat wrestles with Thatcher. Wynter is too grumpy even for her.

      Actually, it isn't so much that Wynter's grumpy as it is that she has too much wolfishness in her. Her idea of play is...well...let's just say if you're a cat or a small dog, you want to stay out of her way. She gets pretty rambunctious! That's when I send her outside to run with a boy :)

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    3. Wynter looks cuddly! my shepherd was never good at playing either- she was too serious. I could jog around the house and my lab would chase after me forever - the shepherd would watch then suddenly jump in front and trip me or grab my pants leg and pull me down and be so proud of herself for being such a clever dog and ending the run!
      Susanna

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  4. I HAVE THIS RECIPE TOO. Forgot all about it. THANK YOU FOR THE REMINDER.

    It's sooo good.

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    1. You're welcome, Tina! I had forgotten about it for a while too. Now I'm glad I rediscovered it.

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  5. Precious doggies!!! And amazing cake. I bet it is sooo good! I just pinned it, too. :) I plan to make asap!

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  6. BTW, another green cake recipe I have is where you poke holes and drizzle green jello (mixed with water, I think). I'll have to dig that out.

    Tina will be sharing corned beef and cabbage on Friday!

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  7. Oh, I love how sweet these dogs are together! Doesn't it just warm you to see that?????

    LOVE THE GREEN CAKE!!!! We like to do it with whipped cream icing because I love icing!!!! :) And Missy, I've done the green Jello in poke cake. And we topped it with Cool Whip, it was a big summer treat, but that would be great for St. Patrick's Day, too!

    I'm Irish.... so for me, the fun of doing Celtic things is inborn. And I love the crazy of green rivers and leprechauns.... Wee folk rock!!!!

    Kav, I love that you were born in Ireland! Go you!!!!!!

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  8. This looks delicious! I'll have to make this!

    Kav, that's lovely to know. I have a deep sense of admiration for geography and place. I always ask people where they were born, which town, country or city. Almost everyone knows this and it's so much fun to see how far-flung we all are... sometimes half-way across the world.

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