This Pistachio Cream Cheese King Cake is filled with roasted pistachios, vanilla and cream cheese. My all-green king cake is a nontraditional take on the classic Mardi Gras pastry from New Orleans.
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I purchased Bayou Saint Cake’s online king cake class and used their proprietary king cake dough and glaze recipe, but developed the filling recipe with Bronwen’s guidance. Bronwen recommends adding cookie crumbs to bulk up the filling and prevent spillage. I looked for a pistachio cookie and when I could not find one I stumbled on Nilla wafers, so I ran with vanilla as my third flavor to complement the pistachios and cream cheese.
I am a huge cream cheese pastry fan, as evidenced by the fillings in my Traditional Texas-Czech Kolaches and the icing on both my Best Ever Soft Cinnamon Rolls and Softest Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls. I just think a tangy cream cheese pairs so well with any sweet filling. If you're up for another pistachio challenge, try my pistachio macarons.
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Ingredients
Pistachio and cream cheese take center stage, but vanilla shows up with the addition of vanilla bean paste and vanilla cookie crumbs.
- unsalted butter
- granulated sugar
- roasted pistachios
- all-purpose flour
- vanilla bean paste
- Nilla wafers
- pistachio extract (optional)
- cream cheese
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Here’s how to braid king cake:
Lay the filled dough logs parallel to each other. Place the right log over the top of the other.
Wrap the bottom log over the top log.
Repeat until mostly wrapped.
Place in the pan, fixing the ends to look wrapped as well. Press together gently.
Good to know: I used a 9-inch springform pan as Bayou Saint Cake recommended, however, I did not end up with the traditional hole in the middle. Consider using a larger pan or use a chiffon cake tube pan if you want to ensure you get a hole.
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Substitutions and Variations
Here’s how to customize this king cake to your liking:
- No dairy — use dairy-free butter and dairy-free cream cheese in the filling
- No Nilla wafers — use any cookie crumbs you’d like
- Graham crackers — use graham crackers in lieu of nilla wafers
- Bread crumbs — use unflavored bread crumbs in lieu of nilla wafers
- Unsalted pistachios — if you only have unsalted pistachios make sure you add ¼-½ teaspoon salt to the filling to make up for the lack of salt content
Do you have any other variation suggestions? Let me know in the comments!
Equipment
I always find a stand mixer to be so much easier when beating any kind of filling or frosting. I used it to beat my butter and cream cheese for these fillings with the scraper blade paddle attachment.
A small offset spatula is so helpful for smoothing the fillings onto the dough. I also like to plop my fillings on with a small cookie scoop to evenly portion it out.
My food processor made quick work of chopping pistachios and blitzing the nilla wafers.
Storage
Store at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
Top tip
Make your own colored sanding sugar with ¼ cup granulated sugar and a few drops of food coloring. Mix with gloved hands until the color is fully incorporated.
Lastly, if you make this Pistachio Cream Cheese King Cake be sure to leave a comment or give this recipe a rating. I love to see when people make my recipes, so please tag me @youthsweets on Instagram if you post!
📖 Recipe
Pistachio Cream Cheese King Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 batch king cake dough I used Bayou Saint Cake's
Pistachio vanilla filling
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter room temperature (72g)
- ½ cup granulated sugar (110g)
- 1 cup pistachios finely ground, raw, blanched and peeled (4 ¼ oz)
- 2 tablespoon flour (17g)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- ½ cup vanilla wafer crumbs "Nilla Wafers" (56g)
- ¼ teaspoon pistachio extract optional
Cream cheese filling
- 6 oz cream cheese room temperature
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Glaze
- 1 batch king cake glaze I used Bayou Saint Cake's
Garnish
- 2 tablespoon pistachios roughly chopped
- Green sanding sugar
- 1 plastic baby, bean or button
Instructions
Do Ahead
- Prepare dough according to directions. Bayou Saint Cake’s recipe calls for an overnight proof so prepare for that, if required.
Prepare the pistachio filling
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or in a bowl with hand mixers, cream together the butter and sugar for about three minutes, wiping down the bowl halfway through.
- Add the ground pistachios, flour, vanilla bean paste and nilla wafer crumbs. Beat until combined. Add the pistachio extract, if using, and mix.
- Prepare the cream cheese filling
- Beat the cream cheese on high for 3-4 minutes until completely smooth. Add the granulated sugar and sprinkle in the flour. Beat until combined.
Fill the dough
- Split the dough in half and roll out according to the dough recipe’s instructions. Spread half of the pistachio filling on one half of the dough. Spread half of the cream cheese filling over the top of the pistachio filling.
- Repeat with the other half of the dough and filling.
Bake and decorate
- Proof and bake according to the dough recipe’s instructions.
- Prepare the glaze according to the glaze recipe’s instructions.
- Once cooled, pour the glaze over the cake. Sprinkle pistachios and sanding sugar around the top of the cake. Place the baby in the cake, if using.
- Slice and enjoy!
