>>21961545
absolutely use extract, liqueur, whatever. Concentration (and a bunch of sugar) is the only way to get pistachio flavour to translate from nut to dessert.

Making your own extract or liqueur will be expensive - pounds of unsalted pistachios aren't cheap. But it shouldn't be that hard to get your hands on either for a semi-reasonable price. Even a tincture mixed with some nocino or frangelico will work.

For the cake, something like...
250g flour (2-ish cups cake flour, or more like 1 3/4 cup all purpose - eyeball just about anything else, but weigh this)
300g ish / about 1.5 cups granulated sugar, with maybe a tbsp or two of honey - something with some caracter like manuka or buckwheat,
1/2 - 2/3 cups crushed pistachios
2 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup oil or ghee/clarified butter (browned butter might work - give a bit of extra 'brown' to the nut flavour)
3/4 cup full fat sour cream
3/4 cup or so heavy cream (without the carageenan if possible), brought to a simmer
1/4 cup frangelico/nocino/pistachio liqueur
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2-1 tsp pistachio extract, depending on potency
1/2 tsp proper vanilla extract (or double... more vanilla rarely hurts)
1/2 tsp salt
maybe a pinch of cardamom... hesitant to recommend cinammon or allspice as pistachio's a fairly delicate flavour
a few drops of green food colouring or a 1/2 tsp spirulina or whatever if you really need this to be green.

>beat egg whites to stiff peaks, set aside
>mix (in this order for the first six ingredients, with egg whites and baking powder+soda last) flour and sugar (and honey if using), hot cream, sour cream, butter/oil, egg yolks, crushed pistachios, liqueur, extract, vanilla, spices if using, salt, egg white foam, baking powder and soda,

>Preheat oven to 350F, grease and lightly flour two 8" pans (round springform preferable, lined with parchment if you'd like for easy removal), and bake for 30-35 mins depending on humidity, altitude, etc... tbc

>if the chopstick's more or less clean, you're done. If it's a little too shitty for your liking, give it another 5 mins.

For the pistachio whipped cream:

more easily done with a nitrous canister... but whip about 3/4 cup whipping cream with about an ounce / 30mL / a (small) shot of your liqueur with a few drops to a half tsp of your tincture. >Whip/shake until whipped cream. Vanilla won't hurt this, but shouldn't be necessary.

>>21961545
>whipped cream "frosting"
fuck you

>>21961545
>>21961666
>>21961674
Sorry, I got distracted and skipped a few (obvious-ish) steps

When mixing, start low and slow... in fact, mix the flour and sugar with the beaters off

Split the batter more or less evenly between the two pans. The pans should be as identical as possible. If you're going for tiers (don't know why you would with a small cake like this), 2/3 in a 10" and 1/3 in the 8".

Bake as close to the middle rack as possible.

When checking the cake for doneness, no earlier than 25 mins into cooking time, poke the thing - not all the way through - with a skewer, chopstick, toothpick, whatever. It should come out mostly clean, definitely not looking like you committed acts of unwanted sodomy with it.

Cool the cake completely - on a wire rack - before "icing". Do not refrigerate.

Probably easiest, especially if you're using a canister or piping bag, to "frost" this on a lazy susan.

>>21961679
>he wants the sugar to overpower the cake flavoring
Eat shit

When I was in Italy last year, a lot of the bakeries I went to sold croissants with a pistachio cream filling, they were really fucking good. You might look into how they make that filling

>>21961666
>>21961674
>>21961685
Thank you!
>>21962111
Looked them up; they seem tasty. Will look into them.

>>21961545
Are you trying to make modern version of Watergate cake?

>>21962141
Never heard of that, so I looked it up. Looks tasty, but I want the cake part to taste like pistachios as well.