If you haven't noticed, I'm obsessed with pistachio. Pistachio everything - pistachio cake, pistachio doughnuts, pistachio gelato, ice cream, kulfi, eclairs, choux, macarons. Think of anything, and pistachio is the best flavour of it.

But pistachio pairings are ALSO incredible. For the summer months I love nothing more than a taste of the tropics - mango and coconut in particular. Sure, the weather in England might not do much for my summer state of mind, but these tropical flavours definitely help boost my mood. 

I also like lighter treats and desserts in warmer climes. Perfectly frosted and decorated layer cakes are gorgeous, but most of the time I just want a slice of a moist and lovely loaf cake as an afternoon treat. And this pistachio mango loaf cake fits the bill perfectly.

It's based off a scaled down version off our Hero Sponge Recipe, with added mango, pistachio and cardamom. To help with keeping it light, I strayed from my beloved Swiss meringue buttercream recipe. I know, madness. But I wanted to try making a loose, light and tangy frosting using yoghurt, coconut cream and cream cheese. Through some trial and error, we got a light and beautiful frosting that I could simply spoon over the loaf. 

Of course, I HAD to use my sinfully addictive pistachio creme. It was staring at me in my cupboard, screaming "USE ME". And use I did, liberally.

The earthy nuttiness of pistachio, juicy mango, exotic warming cardamom, with the subtle sweet and tangy flavours of the coconut yoghurt frosting - this loaf cake ticks ALL the boxes. It's NOT cheap to make, so don't bother baking it for just anybody. Only the best of the best deserve this, and that's YOU.

As always, this recipe is a doddle. Hero sponge is a one bowl recipe, all ingredients measured in grams. If you DID want to create a showstopping celebration cake version of it, you can follow our Hero Sponge recipe for the pistachio variant, add in mango and a teaspoon of ground cardamom, and decorate with coconut Swiss meringue buttercream. But this loaf cake is the easiest for even the most hopeless of bakers, and decorating it requires no skill at all. 

Pistachio, Mango and Coconut Loaf Cake Recipe

Pistachio Mango Loaf Cake Recipe

Ingredients for Pistachio Mango Loaf Cake Recipe

2 eggs, medium

50g oil, any neutral oil like vegetable or sunflower

80g low or non-fat yoghurt

65g milk, whole or semi-skimmed

10g vanilla extract (approx. 2 teaspoon)

200g granulated sugar

A pinch of salt

230g plain flour

10g baking powder (approx. 2 teaspoon) 

15g ground cardamom

50g pistachios, chopped

100g mango, chopped

Easy Method For Pistachio Mango Loaf Cake Recipe 

1) Preheat oven 160 degrees Celsius.

2) Mix all the wet ingredients together in a mixing bowl. This would be the eggs, oil, yoghurt, milk and vanilla extract. 

3) Add in the sugar and salt and mix to combine well. Sift in the flour, baking powder and cardamom and mix until lumps are just gone - be careful to not over mix. It's okay to have a few tiny lumps remaining.

4) Toss the mango in a few tablespoons of flour to coat. Tip it into the batter with the pistachios and fold in.

5) Line a loaf tin with a loaf tin liner or strips of baking parchment paper. Pour in the batter.

6) Bake for 40 minutes, checking for doneness by inserting a cocktail stick or paring knife in the middle of the sponge - it's ready when it comes out just clean with no wet smears. If there is any stickiness on the skewer, bake at increments of 2 more minutes.

7) Leave it to cool in the tin at room temperature for 15 minutes before removing from the tin and placing on a wire rack to cool completely. 

Coconut Yoghurt Frosting Recipe

I opted to try a lighter style of frosting, instead of my usual go-to Swiss meringue buttercream. It's not a stable frosting like SMBC, so you can't pipe with it or fill and cover a layer cake, however, it has a very light texture and gives an appetising "coffee shop" style and homely aesthetic when spooned over. It comes together in a matter of minutes and is also low in sugar, yet full of flavour. It tastes so good I was happily spooning it straight into my mouth.

Ingredients for the Coconut Yoghurt Frosting

85g full-fat Greek yoghurt, strained

100g creamed coconut, strained

125g full-fat cream cheese

50g icing sugar

1/2 tsp ground cardamom

1/2 tsp Vanilla extract

Method For Coconut Yoghurt Frosting Recipe

1) Place yoghurt, creamed coconut, cream cheese, cardamom, vanilla and icing sugar in a bowl. Whisk on low to combine the ingredients, either in a stand mixer or using a hand-held mixer.

2) Then increase the speed to high and whisk for a few more minutes till you can see whisk tracks and the frosting is thicker.

Decorating The Pistachio Mango Loaf Cake

Now that you have your sponges and buttercream ready, let's get to the super fun part - the decorating! You can go as simple, or as dressy as you want. Keep 

Ingredients for Decorating the Pistachio Mango Loaf Cake

100g pistachio creme

20g pistachios, chopped

Method For Decorating the Pistachio Mango Loaf Cake

1) Spread the pistachio creme over the top of the loaf.

2) Spoon over the coconut yoghurt frosting and spread lightly using the back of a tablespoon.

3) Sprinkle crushed pistachios over the top.

Variations of Pistachio Mango Loaf Cake

Gluten-free

You can make this cake as gluten-free so easily. Simply swap the flour for gluten free flour and add a bit of Xanthan gum. We have a great Gluten-Free Hero Sponge recipe here that includes flavour variations.

Vegan/Dairy-Free/Egg-Free

This loaf cake can also be made vegan, dairy-free and egg-free by swapping the dairy products with plant-based substitutes and the egg can be replaced with egg replacer powder. We have a Vegan Hero Sponge recipe here that includes flavour variations too.

Nut-free

NO. C'mon. Pistachios are nuts. Hence, you CANNOT make this cake nut-free. 

Hope you enjoy this loaf cake as much as I do!

Love,

Reshmi xoxo