Banana And Pistachio Cake (With White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting)
on Mar 13, 2019, Updated Sep 06, 2024
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Feel like you’ve tried every kind of banana bread in existence? How about a banana pistachio cake? Packed with pistachio nuts and smothered in a delicious white chocolate cream cheese frosting, this is a banana loaf with attitude!
Banana bread… the cake that we all love to eat. And the cake that most of us feel confident making. We like it because it works. It’s delicious. It’s easy to make. And it uses up the brown bananas that no one wants to eat.
I have my fair share of other banana bread recipes on Scrummy Lane – all delicious, all a bit different. If you have an air fryer, try this mini air fried banana bread. This pineapple, coconut and banana cake (aka Hummingbird cake!) is great in the summer, and is another real crowd pleaser. This banana, chocolate chip and peanut butter cake is a cake I created to try to copy something I’d tried in a cafe. It’s incredible!
Why you’ll love banana and pistachio cake
If it’s a unique take on the classic, I highly recommend you give this pistachio banana bread a try!
Here’s a summary of what I think you’ll love:
- It’s a unique take on a classic. Studded with pistachios and slathered in a delicious white chocolate cream cheese frosting, it’s a little bit special, don’t you think?
- It looks pretty delicious, right, with all those green and pink tinged pistachios on top.
- Thanks to both almond flour and yoghurt in the mixture, the loaf is moist but not at all heavy.
- The frosting recipe makes enough for two cakes so you can freeze some for your next cake. Or use it to ice cupcakes, a layer cake, or brownies.
- I originally made this recipe with gluten free flour, so it’s easy to adapt if you need your loaf to be gluten free.
About the ingredients
You’ll find a full list of ingredients with amounts in the recipe card below. But here’s a summary of what you need to know.
Bananas: The riper the better for the best flavor and sweetness.
Greek yogurt: For extra moisture and tangy flavor. I prefer authentic Greek yogurt made of just milk and yogurt cultures, but any plain Greek yogurt is fine.
All-purpose flour: I originally made this cake with gluten free flour, so that does work too if you prefer.
Pistachios: I recommend ready-shelled pistachios to save time!
For the icing
This is a quick and easy 4 ingredient icing for banana cake – or any other kind of cake. All you need is:
- cream cheese (either in a block or tub)
- butter: unsalted
- white chocolate
- icing sugar / powdered sugar
As I’ve already mentioned, the recipe makes enough for two cakes so you can freeze the leftover frosting for another time.
How to make the cake
There’s a simple formula for making this cake:
Step 1: Cream together the butter and sugar either with a handheld whisk or in a food processor.
Step 2: Whisk in the eggs.
Step 3: Add the other ‘wet’ ingredients i.e. the banana and yoghurt.
Step 4: Add the ‘dry’ ingredients i.e. the flour mixture and ground nuts, then fold in the pistachios.
Step 5: Bake!
Step 6: Let cool. Make the frosting. Spread it all over the cake. Sprinkle with more yummy pistachios. Eat.
Pretty easy, right?
This is a quick and easy 4 ingredient icing for banana cake – or any other kind of cake. All you need is:
- cream cheese
- butter
- white chocolate
- icing sugar / powdered sugar
Helen’s Top Tips
- When I first made the frosting for this banana pistachio loaf, I could only find white chocolate with crispy rice bits in it at the supermarket. Surprisingly, it was delicious! Try it! You could also try using milk or dark chocolate for the frosting.
- You could use a different kind of nut instead of pistachios. How about hazelnuts, walnuts, flaked almonds or macadamia nuts? I think macadamia nuts would work especially well with the white chocolate frosting.
- As I’ve already mentioned, the recipe makes enough for two cakes so you can freeze the leftover frosting for another time!
- Make sure you let the cake cool completely before adding the frosting.
Recipe FAQs
This lovely banana and pistachio bread comfortably lasts for 4 or 5 days if kept wrapped up in the fridge in an airtight container – that’s if you don’t eat it all before then!
Yes, you can freeze the unfrosted cake for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight, then frost as described in the recipe. Alternatively, you can freeze frosted leftovers in a freezer safe container for up to 2 months.
Yes, of course. I love the pop of green and pink on top from the pistachio decoration, but the cake will still be very tasty without the frosting. Alternatively, you can add a different topping such as a classic buttercream, a white chocolate ganache or even whipped cream.
More easy morning or afternoon tea cake recipes
This frosted banana bread is the sort of cake you would make if you had friends coming over for a cup of coffee or tea.
Here are some other options from Scrummy Lane:
- Gingerbread muffins with salted caramel icing
- Sticky blueberry lemon curd cake
- Nutella swirl loaf cake (with hazelnuts)
- Easy Italian apple cake
- Really easy lemon mascarpone cake
- Or see all my cakes here
Banana And Pistachio Cake (With White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting)
Equipment
Ingredients
For the loaf
- 8 tablespoons butter, chopped into pieces (1 stick)
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup ripe bananas, (2-3)
- 4 tablespoons of Greek yoghurt
- 1 cup plain flour , (substitute with gluten free flour if you like)
- 1/2 cup almond meal
- a large pinch of salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup pistachio nuts
For the frosting
- 3½ ounces cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3½ ounces white chocolate
- 1 cup plus a tablespoon of powdered/icing sugar
Instructions
For the loaf
- Pre-heat the oven to 355F/180C and line a regular-sized loaf tin (approx. 23 x 13 x 7 cm) with baking paper.
- Cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer or in a food processor, then add the eggs with the motor still running one at a time until well mixed in.8 tablespoons butter, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 2 eggs
- Scrape the mixture into a large bowl and add the banana and Greek yoghurt. Mix well.1 cup ripe bananas, 4 tablespoons of Greek yoghurt
- Sift in the flour, almond meal, salt and baking soda and mix until just combined. Then fold in the pistachio nuts.1 cup plain flour, 1/2 cup almond meal, a large pinch of salt, ½ teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 cup pistachio nuts
- Pour the batter into the lined loaf tin and bake for 55 to 65 minutes or until a skewer or knife inserted into the loaf comes out clean. (Cover loosely with some kitchen foil after about 30 minutes to stop the loaf browning too much)
- Leave to cool.
For the frosting
- Whip the cream cheese and butter together, then melt the chocolate in 30-second spurts in the microwave (or in a bowl over simmering water). Let the chocolate cool slightly, then whisk into the cream cheese and butter mixture as well.3½ ounces cream cheese, 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, 3½ ounces white chocolate
- Add the powdered sugar and mix really well.1 cup plus a tablespoon of powdered/icing sugar
- When the loaf is completely cool, use about half of the frosting to frost your loaf (you can freeze the rest). Decorate with the reserved pistachio nuts. Enjoy!
You call for baking powder in ingredients but in the method you add baking soda.
They are different.
Hi Nicholas. Thanks for pointing that out – you are right of course, and it is actually an oversight on my part. I have changed it to 1/2 a teaspoon of baking soda instead of 1 teaspoon baking powder. Both will actually work, but baking soda is often the better choice in banana bread. I hope you enjoy it!
This is the best banana cake I have ever made. We don’t have a sweet tooth in our family, so we didn’t make the frosting and reduced the sugar in the cake, but it was still delicious. I added a few more pecans and a handful of dark chop chips, it is a very versatile recipe. I also used whole meal spelt flour. Living in the UK I really appreciated the conversion option and so glad I found you, can’t wait to try some more recipes
Hello Pat! What lovely feedback – thank you so much! It’s helpful to know the substitutions you made worked so well and also that you appreciate the UK conversions. I don’t know whether you have an air fryer at all but I also have another very popular recipe for an air fryer version of banana bread. I’ve had good feedback on that too! 🙂
Hi, have you tried making this without the frosting? How did it turn up? 🙂
Hello, Ann! Glad you like the recipe! I actually haven’t tried making this without the frosting, but I don’t see why you couldn’t. I suppose it would taste a bit like regular banana bread, which I make all the time. Give it a go and let me know!
Hi Helen, I made it with the frosting in the end, it tasted amazing! Thank you 😉
Oh, really happy to hear it, Ann! I still have half of mine in the freezer – you’ve reminded me to fish it out! Thanks so much for popping back and giving me some feedback – really appreciate that! 🙂
That looks gorgeous!! I can’t wait to try this recipe Helen! I would have NEVER guessed you weren’t a baker from THIS insanely gorgeous banana bread! 😀
Once you get into baking, you may find you will need a separate area to store your NEVER ending baking tray collection! :p
Hi, Dini! Thank you so much for the compliment. I’ve never made so many cakes since I started my blog, but to be honest I’m still more of a cook. Still, it’s good to have a few personal cake classics up your sleeve!
Helen, this loaf look gorgeous! The white chocolate cream cheese sounds delicious!
Thank you, Shiran! I take every opportunity to put white chocolate in my baking!
Thanks so much for passing by as well. So great to ‘meet’ you! 🙂
Thank you so much, Shiran! I take every opportunity to put white chocolate in my cakes! Thanks so much for passing by and taking a look at the blog as well. 🙂
Ce gâteau pareil extra! J’ai envie de manger un bon morceau!!
Merci beaucoup, Eva! Moi aussi j’ai envie de manger un bon morceau avec mon cafe … mais malheureusement c’est tout fini!
This is amazing Helen! So beautiful and gluten-free too… love the recipe! I’ve pinned it to remind me to try it someday 🙂
Hey, thanks, Aimee! It gives me a real thrill to know people are actually interesting in making my recipes … haha! Thanks for the pin! 🙂
Yum, Helen this looks delicious! Beautiful photographs too. Those pistachios looks amazing! I love their color.
Thank you, Cindy! 🙂
Such a beautiful combination of colours in the photo. Banana loaf is such a classic – love your reinvention! x
Thank you, Trisha! So glad you liked it! 🙂