Every once in a while you’ll need a quick and easy tea cake to serve at breakfast, brunch or snack. These not-too-sweet little pistachio olive oil tea cakes are perfect for those occasions. Crunchy bits of nuts with the aroma of olive oil is a great combination.

Pistachio Olive Oil Mini Tea Cakes on a platter

Olive Oil Tea Cakes Recipe

Ever buy yourself a little treat, something that sounded perfect and tasty, but was left disappointed after biting into it? Maybe the bakery wasn’t as skilled as hoped, or perhaps the pastry had been waiting too long for someone to come by and savor its original deliciousness. Could have just been an off day, it happens. Sometimes even from a really good bakery. Whatever the case, you were left with the “wha waa” feeling. However these moments can lead to inspiration.

These little pistachio olive oil cakes are the result of such inspiration. After being disappointed in a pistachio cake we bought, we were determined to make them to the level of deliciousness originally hoped.

After a bunch of recipe testing, we worked out just the treat hoped for. The slightly sweet nature of the Pistachio Olive Oil Tea Cake, the flavor and crunch of the pistachios playing off of the flavor from the olive oil and the softness of the cake. Pull an espresso and call me happy.

Different nuts for olive oil tea cakes recipe

Pistachios are definitely unique in flavor and a favorite. But they aren’t always budget friendly. As with most nuts, they can be pretty costly. Use whatever nuts you like and in whatever quantity. The more nuts you use, the more crunchy and flavorful these tea cakes will be. So we suggest using at least 1/2 cup of chopped nuts and reserve some for the top of the tea cakes. Our recipe calls for 3/4 cup of nuts and this is a good balance of nuts inside the tea cakes and leave enough for some topping. Just make sure the nuts are toasted. A raw nut won’t have the same snappy texture.

Video: Pistachio Olive Oil Tea Cakes Recipe

Pistachio Olive Oil Mini Tea Cakes in a muffin tin
Pistachio Olive Oil Mini Tea Cakes on a plate

Use Good Olive Oil

Note on the olive oil: in our recipe testing, we used a range of olive oils (an even used with a regular vegetable oil) to see if there would be a noticeable difference. End result, there was quite a flavor difference. After first shooting for Lucina Italia  many years ago, we fell in love with their oils and vinegars, and in this recipe the exceptional flavor of their olive oil helped make the taste magical. Every olive oil has its own character and that character will come through in the tea cakes.

If you were to make them with nice oil vs an exceptional one, would I be able to tell? To paraphrase the original Mostly Martha movie, “It’s not that I can tell which one you did use, but I could tell which one you didn’t.” A movie which, btw, is still one of my all time favorite food movies. We’re dying to discover another great food movie, so if anyone has any suggestions, spit ’em out! 😉 . So far my top 10 (in no particular order) are: Mostly Martha (2001 version), Big Night, Dinner Rush, Eat Drink Man Woman, Tampopo, A Chef in Love, Soul Food, Chocolat, Babette’s Feast, and Bottle Shock.

Cheers to good pastries! And afternoon espressos!

Todd

Pistachio Olive Oil Mini Tea Cakes

Yield: 12 Mini Tea Cakes
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
One could easily make this as a loaf or a larger tea cake, however the mini cakes are fun and easy when using a muffin pan.
Your choice in olive oil will be reflected in the flavor of the cakes. Choose wisely. We love Lucini olive oil. It's a little higher price point, but oh so tasty. If you don't have sour cream on hand, sour greek yogurt or even creme fraiche (for the bougie amongst us) make acceptable substitutes.
5 from 4 votes
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Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup (90 g) toasted chopped unsalted Pistachio Nuts , divided (or nuts of choice)
  • 2 lrg. Eggs
  • 1 cup (220 g) packed Brown Sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) Kosher Salt
  • 1/2 cup (120 ml) good Olive Oil
  • 1/2 cup (125 g) Sour Cream or Greek Yogurt
  • 2 teaspoons (10 ml) Vanilla Extract
  • optional zest of 1 orange

    or 1/2 teaspoon Orange Bitters

  • 1 1/4 cups (156 g) All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons (7.5 ml) Baking Powder

Equipment

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Lightly oil a 12-cup muffin pan or line with baking cups.
    Oiling a muffin tray
  • Chop or lightly crush the pistachios with a mortar & pestle.
    Chopping pistachios
  • Whisk together eggs, brown sugar, salt, olive oil, sour cream (or Greek yogurt), vanilla extract, and optional orange zest until well combined. Stir in about 1/3 of the pistachios. Set wet batter aside.
    Whisking batter together
  • In another bowl, whisk or sift together flour and baking powder until evenly combined.
    Whisking flour with baking powder
  • Stir flour mix into the wet batter until just combined (don't over mix or the tea cakes will end up baking more dense and drier).
    Flour added to batter
  • Divide batter between the 12 muffin cups (should fill each about 2/3's full). Top with the remaining pistachios.
    Batter in muffin tins
  • Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 18-25 minutes or until slightly golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
    Baked pistachio tea cakes in oven

Notes

To Toast Raw Pistachios:
In Oven: Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Place pistachios on a baking sheet pan and bake for 8-10 minutes or until nicely toasted to your liking (stir the pistachios once or twice while toasting to help them toast evenly).
On Stovetop: Add the pistachios to a dry skillet. Toast over medium heat, shaking and stirring often, until evenly toasted (don’t walk away while toasting – they can quickly go from raw looking to burnt if not monitored and stirred frequently).
In Air Fryer: Air fry at 330°F (165°C), shaking and stirring about halfway through for 6-8 minutes or until toasted to your liking.

Video

Nutrition Information per Serving

Calories: 276kcal, Carbohydrates: 31g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 16g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 6mg, Sodium: 111mg, Potassium: 207mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 19g, Vitamin A: 102IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 60mg, Iron: 1mg
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Calories: 276

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