Watergate Bundt Cake is nutty and moist thanks to pistachio pudding and pecans. Finished with a sweet, light whipped cream topping and coconut, this pistachio Bundt cake has it ALL!
If you love pistachio, try our soft and chewy pistachio cookies. Loaded with white chocolate chips and pistachio pudding, they have great flavor and a perfect texture. You’ll also enjoy our pistachio fudge for something a little more decadent!
Why You’ll Love This Watergate Bundt Cake
If you’ve never had a Watergate Cake you are truly missing out! It’s a vintage classic and one of the most popular recipes on my site, for a good reason.
As if the moist, nutty cake and fluffy frosting wasn’t enough, I love adding the chopped pecans and coconut flakes to the top of the cake for that extra delicious crunch!
Here’s what makes this pistachio cake so special:
- By using a boxed cake mix and instant pudding mix, you cut down on time and effort without sacrificing flavor. The moist cake made with pistachio pudding is incredible.
- The light “frosting” made with Cool Whip or homemade whipped cream is the perfect finish to the nutty dessert. I love the shape and the way the frosting wraps around each slice of a bundt cake!
- There are no cake layers here and no piping frosting. This is an easy Bundt cake recipe perfect for beginning bakers, but still delicious enough to impress!
Some of my favorite Bundt cakes include this Cherry 7-UP Pound Cake, with its sweet glaze on top! I also love this Lemon Zucchini Bundt Cake. I’m happy to add Watergate Bundt Cake to the list of new favorites!
Important Ingredient Notes
- White cake mix– Any brand you like (or whatever is on sale!) is just fine.
- Pistachio pudding mix – Be sure to buy instant pudding, not cook-and-serve.
- Canola oil – Vegetable oil is also fine.
- Eggs – Let these sit out at room temperature. They’ll hold more air when beaten, giving your pistachio cake a lighter texture!
- Spite – Or another lemon-lime flavored soda like Sierra Mist or 7UP.
- Chopped pecans – You could use pistachios if you’d like, but I prefer the flavor and texture of pecans in this Watergate cake recipe.
For the topping:
- Cool Whip – You can also substitute a homemade stabilized whipped cream if preferred.
- Skim milk – To keep our topping light.
- Instant pistachio pudding mix – For more pistachio flavor and a light green tint.
- Chopped pecans– Toast the pecans for best flavor!
- Coconut flakes – Use sweetened shredded flakes. Toast the coconut if you prefer.
How to Make Watergate Bundt Cake
Prepare: Preheat your oven to 350°F. Coat a 12-cup Bundt pan with baking spray. (I love this pan, it never fails on me when I flip my cake out!)
Make the Batter:
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the cake mix, oil, pudding, eggs, and lemon lime soda with a hand mixer on medium speed for about 3 minutes, or until well-combined.
- Fold in the pecans.
- Pour the batter into the Bundt cake pan.
Bake: Place the pan in the oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned.
Cool: Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the pan for about 5 minutes. Flip onto a wire rack and cool completely before frosting.
Frost the Cake:
- Whisk the milk and pudding mix together and refrigerate the mixture for about 5 minutes.
- Fold the Cool Whip into the chilled pudding mixture.
- Spread the frosting over the cooled cake.
- Press the pecans and coconut into the sides of the cake.
Tips and Tricks
- Store this Watergate Bundt cake covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Leftovers are delicious chilled!
- If your Bundt cakes tend to break, crumble, or get stuck when you try to remove them from the pan, you may be leaving them in the pan too long. After taking the cake out of the oven, let it rest in the pan for only 5 minutes! Tap the bottom of the pan gently with a knife to help loosen the cake.
- If you use homemade whipped cream, keep in mind that it won’t last quite as long as Cool Whip. The addition of pudding does stabilize the whipped cream, so it will last longer than whipped cream that isn’t stabilized, but it still doesn’t match the storage life of Cool Whip!
Recipe FAQs
For a more traditional cake, try my Watergate Cake recipe, which is made in round cake pans, or my Watergate Sheet Cake Recipe.
Yes! If you’d like to keep it simple, try the glaze from my Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake, but omit the lemon zest. The cream cheese frosting from my Carrot Bundt Cake would also work, or simply dust the cake with powdered sugar.
Yes, you can freeze this cake before you frost it. After baking, remove the cake from the pan and wrap it in foil twice to freeze. When ready to eat, let the cake thaw at room temperature, then frost and add the pecans and coconut.
More Cake recipes
- Mint Chocolate Chip cake
- Instant Pot chocolate bundt cake
- Best Chocolate Cake recipe
- Heaven on Earth Cake
- Carrot Cake recipe
- Wacky Cake
Pistachio Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 box white cake mix
- 1 cup canola oil
- 1 package instant pistachio pudding mix 3 oz
- 1 cup lemon-lime soda sprite, sierra mist, etc
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup chopped pecans
For the topping:
- 1 cup skim milk
- 1 package instant pistachio pudding mix 3 oz
- 1 tub Cool Whip, thawed 8 oz
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 12cup bundt pan with baking spray, set aside. I love this pan, never fails on me when I flip my cake out!
- In a large mixing bowl, beat cake mix, oil, pudding, eggs and lemon lime soda on medium spead until well blended (about 3 minutes). Fold in pecans.
- Pour batter into bundt cake pan. Bake for 45 minutes, until edges are lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool in pan about 5 minutes. Flip onto a wire rack and cool completely.
- For the frosting, whisk the milk and pudding mix together. Refrigerate for about 5 minutes. When ready to frost cake, fold the Cool Whip into the pudding mixture. Spread generously over the cake. Using your hand, press the pecans and coconut to the sides of the cake. ENJOY. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Notes
- How to store: Because of the frosting, you need to keep this cake in the fridge. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. A slice of this bundt cake tastes wonderful served cold!
- Removing cake from pan: If your bundt cakes tend to break, crumble or get stuck when you try to remove them from the pan, you may be leaving it in the pan too long. After taking the cake out of the oven, let it rest in the pan for only 5 minutes! Tap the bottom of the pan gently with a knife to help loosen the cake.
- Can you freeze this cake? Yes, you can freeze this cake before you frost it! After baking the bundt, remove it from the pan and wrap in foil twice to freeze. When ready to eat, let the cake thaw at room temperature then frost with the cool whip topping, pecans and coconuts.
Oh, this cake looks amazing! So excited to try this!
I really didn’t think I liked pistachio until I made this cake for my husband (because he does). I was sold after my first bite. This might become my signature potluck dessert. Time to win over more people!
I have made this cake for years. EXCEPT we take half the batter and add 1/2 cup of chocolate syrup and pour on top of the green batter, do not stir it. The green batter bakes up over the chocolate batter and its delightful. I usually do not frost it, but this marshmallow looks pretty yummy so I am definitely going to try that.
This is such an amazing cake!! Everyone at my house really enjoyed it! So yummy!
YUM! This cake was so delicious, it reminded me of one that my grandma used to make!
I’ve had watergate salad before, but this recipe takes it up a notch! Love how creative it is, looks amazing!
Could you use a 13×9 pan instead of bundt pan
I was thinking of adding crushed pineapple that has been drained both the mix and topping. That would replace the coconut and make it taste like the salad mom always made.
please tell me what is an old persons cake???????
My mother made this cake all the time in the 70s – thanks for posting! I will definitely be making this for her!!
I have a thing for bundt cakes too! I love them! This one is so fun 🙂 Pinning!
I love pistachio! This looks right up my alley! I’ve never made a bundt cake (who am I?) but there’s always a first!
Aimee, this looks yummy! I haven’t made a bunt cake in a really long time! This one reminds me of Pistachio Salad my SIL used to make for every family get together, lol. I love pistachios so this is right up my alley! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Yes, it’s very much like a pistachio salad….but oh my gosh, this cake is wonderful 🙂 Let me know if you try it!
Have you made this with pistachios instead of pecans? If I add crushed pineapple to the batter will I have to alter any other ingredients?
OH JESUS THIS IS THE BEST THING THAT HAS HAPPENED TO ME TODAY
Bwahahaha Thank you 🙂
Hey there college dorm room neighbor! Do you think you could substitute the oil in the cake or maybe cut it down? I’ve made a similar cake but I felt like I could really taste oil. But, I love the pistachio!
Hi Dawn 🙂 I haven’t tried it in this recipe, but in other cake recipes I’ve swapped some of the oil for applesauce with no problems! You can’t taste the apple (and the pistachio in this cake is so tasty!) Let me know if that works 🙂
Hi there! I love this cake. Would it be ok to substitute pistachios for pecans? Thx.
I Always use half applesauce half oil been doing this for at least twenty years,never had a failure. Avacodo oil is my favorite 🙂
Haha, old person cake! I remember seeing this cake when I was little at potlucks and thinking the very same thing so I never took a slice. Now, I would love to eat this cake!!! YUM!!!
I have never even heard of a watergate cake and while I can see how people might think it’s an “old person’s” cake, I think it sounds amazing!! I love all things pistachio and think it’s such an underrated flavor!