Pistachio Cupcakes





Ever since I fell in love with pistachio macarons, I haven't been able to go back to making almond ones. I just love pistachios! They have such a great taste, and are so versatile. I'm now attracted to any desserts that include pistachios, or "pinashios" as my dear little niece calls them.


I'd been waiting to try this pistachio cupcake recipe for so long now. But when I excitedly bought pistachios in St. Louis, I realized to my dismay that no one I knew there had a food processor or way to grind them. So I returned the bag and waited till I got home.



The combination of pistachios and dark chocolate is simply divine. I can't wait to make these again, and I know so many people who will love them!


I got the recipe from here, but my adapted recipe is below. My only issue was that the batter was so dry. I plopped it into the cupcake pan, but they barely rose or moved, which resulted in oddly shaped and lopsided cakes. I know the recipe doesn't have leaveners, but I thought it would at least form into the liner with the heat.
But this actually worked in my favor because I managed to fit more chocolate ganache into the cupcake liners.The cupcakes also got a tad overcooked but I'll keep that in mind next time. I would recommend checking these 10 minutes before the actual timer goes off.




I'm also curious how it would work if I used salted pistachios and just omitted the salt in the batter.... The blogger recommends using unsalted pistachios, and thankfully Trader Joe's provides them. However, it's much cheaper to buy shelled pistachios (harder to find them unsalted) and shell it myself. This recipe would be totally worth spending an hour shelling them :)




I've been hooked onto the sweet/salty combination ever since I experienced my first salted caramel macaron. And now this joins the ranks as one of the tastiest cupcakes ever. More to come from my obsession on pinashios!

Pistachio Cupcakes
(Makes 16-18 cakes)

3/4 cup fine ground pistachios + a few regular shelled pistachios, coarsely chopped
3/4 stick of butter
3 oz. cream cheese at room temp
1.5 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
1.5 tsp sea salt

4 oz. bittersweet chocolate
4 oz. heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Beat the butter and sugar in a bowl together. Add eggs one at a time, and then the cream cheese and ground pistachios. Blend in the vanilla and then add the flour, salt and baking powder. Toss in the last bit of chopped pistachios and fold it in. 
Fill the pan about 3/4 full and bake about 20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

To make the ganache, heat the heavy cream in a saucepan over medium heat until it simmers and almost boils. Put the chocolate chips in a heat-proof bowl, and pour the heavy cream over it. Let it sit for a couple minutes before you whisk it together. It slowly thickens as you stir. 

I pour the ganache over the cupcake and if I make it again, I'd put way more, filling it to the top of the liner! You can also dip the cupcakes in the chocolate, but that was too messy for me. Sprinkle with additional pistachios if you like :)

Comments

  1. I love pistachios! I'm missing one ingredient, otherwise I'd make these right now.

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  2. nice post. thanks.

    ReplyDelete

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