Pistachio Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream

These pistachio cupcakes with strawberry buttercream are a go-to once I need one thing a bit totally different from the standard cupcake flavors. They’re at all times a crowd-pleaser! Many readers have even used this identical batter to make a 6-inch cake, too. The buttery pistachios mix superbly with hints of vanilla and almond, all wrapped up in a delicate and fluffy cake crumb.

I initially printed this recipe in 2017 and have since added new images and extra success ideas.

One reader, Katie, commented: “The strawberry/pistachio mixture is sensible. I’ve made these two years in a row for my husband’s birthday and they’re our favourite cupcakes ★★★★★”

Pistachio is an underrated taste within the dessert world. The nuts are actually scrumptious cracked open and eaten on their very own, however even higher after they shine as the primary taste in ice cream. Or pistachio cake, or pistachio cookies! Or, better of all, cupcakes.

By the way in which, do you know that pistachio ice cream is normally flavored with almond extract? It enhances the pistachio taste.

Inform Me About These Pistachio Cupcakes

• Taste: The pistachio taste isn’t tremendous sturdy and that’s as a result of we’re counting on the precise nuts and never synthetic pistachio taste. You may actually add synthetic taste in case you’d like, however I like the sunshine pistachio, scrumptious almond, and robust vanilla taste stability within the recipe as written beneath. Add the depth of the true strawberry taste and your tastebuds will definitely thanks!
• Texture: I used my vanilla cupcakes as the start line for this recipe, and in case you’ve ever tried these earlier than, right this moment’s pistachio-flavored model will style additional buttery and delicate. You’ll add floor pistachios to the batter, however don’t get nervous about that texture—the tiny pistachio items style creamy and chewy within the cupcake when baked.
• Ease: It is a primary cupcake recipe—whisk dry elements; beat sugar, butter, egg whites, and extracts. The additional step right here can be processing the pistachio nuts, which takes just a few seconds. Identical applies to the frosting, the place you’ll pulse the freeze-dried strawberries first.

Selecting the Proper Substances

• Pistachios: We’ll grind shelled (out of shell), unsalted pistachios into positive little crumbs and pour these into the dry elements. That is how we begin pistachio cookies, too. After grinding, you’re on the lookout for a powdery consistency with just a few small chunks.
• Cake Flour: Cake flour helps promise an additional delicate and cake-like crumb. I take advantage of it in a whole lot of cake recipes as a result of it retains the whole lot gentle and ethereal. In the event you can’t discover it, use this simple cake flour substitute. 
• Egg Whites + Bitter Cream: These two energy elements, together with cake flour, attribute to the cupcake’s gentle and fluffy texture. Egg yolks weigh the crumb down, so that you’ll use solely the egg whites. And bitter cream provides pure moisture, which is essential in a batter with a lot of powdery nuts. I promise you’ve by no means tasted a cupcake like this.

Can I Use Salted Pistachios? Sure, salted pistachios are completely positive and can add a beautiful candy/salty taste. Roasted pistachios work as nicely, however these are normally browner than uncooked pistachios, which can have an effect on the colour of the batter.

Grind the pistachios right down to a crumbly powder, like this:

They’ll flip the cupcake batter a beautiful shade of muted inexperienced.

Do I Add Meals Coloring?

You don’t should. The pictured cupcake batter didn’t embrace inexperienced meals coloring, which is why it’s a bit yellow. In order for you a extra vibrant shade of inexperienced, add a small drop of inexperienced gel meals coloring.

Fill the cupcake liners solely 2/3 of the way in which full, to forestall the cupcakes from spilling over the edges. This recipe yields about 15 cupcakes.

Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

This colourful cupcake options one in all my favourite frostings on the planet: strawberry buttercream. It’s made with strawberry mud aka freeze-dried strawberries floor up right into a powder. It’s unimaginable!

I knew this strawberry frosting can be good for these pistachio cupcakes since you want a meals processor for the nuts anyway. The explanation we’ll use freeze-dried strawberries on this strawberry frosting is as a result of they ship probably the most intense (and pure) strawberry taste whereas, on the identical time, do not alter the feel of the particular frosting. Actual strawberries can find yourself curdling your fairly frosting.

The place to purchase freeze-dried strawberries? I at all times discover them at main grocery shops within the dried fruit part or you may strive Goal, Dealer Joe’s, or on-line right here or right here.

I embellished the cupcakes with a tall swirl utilizing Ateco #849 piping tip. In the event you’re new to cupcake adorning, right here’s my piping ideas tutorial with a video tutorial and plenty of visuals.

You may as an alternative, after all, unfold it on with an icing spatula or knife. Scrumptious any which means you high them with this colourful frosting!

Thrilling Cupcake Flavors

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