Pistachio Cream Cupcakes.

 

 

These cupcakes are so cute and delicious. They are actually pretty simple and quick to make too and don't really have too many ingredients to them either which, is always a bonus. Again I found this lovely recipe in my 200 cupcakes cookbook which, is brilliant and has some really lovely, unique recipes in it. If you are a fan of making cupcakes or just baking in general I would deffinately reccommend getting it. Only £3.74 on Amazon, you can't really go wrong. It's a bargain.

 

 

I decided to make these little cupcakes yesterday as I have always been a fan of pistachios and I really liked the sound of the whole recipe. They taste really lovely but, my favourite thing about them is actually how sweet they look. I love the pistachio dusting around the base of the cakes, it's a really sweet idea and I love the colour pairing of the snow white icing and the pastel green chunks of pistachio, it makes the cupcakes look quite elegant and girly.

 

As I said though, more importantly, the taste is really lovely too. In the book the recipe calls for the use of Almond liqueur however, to save money and because I already had some in the house, I just used some almond essence which, worked really well. Obviously though, if you do have the pennies to spare or maybe already have some almond liqueur in the house I would deffinately use it as I bet it tastes delicious! Still, almond essence works well though for the baker on a budget!

Sometimes I feel a bit like an 18 year old going on 80 with my baking addiction and love of making cupcakes, then there are days like today when I wake up with a huge smile on my face and hurry downtairs purely to watch the first episode of the new series of Glee which, makes me feel like I'm a 12 year old again. One of these days I will work out how to act my age.

 

Recipe

 

Makes 12.

 

150g (5 oz) Pistachio nuts

125g (4 oz) lightly salted butter, softened

125g (4 oz) caster sugar

2 eggs

150g (5 oz) self-raising flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

 

To decorate:

300ml (1/2 pint) double cream

2 tablespoons icing sugar

2 tablespoons almond or orange flavoured liqueur or 2 teaspoons of almond essence.

 

 

Line a 12-section bun tray with paper cake cases. Process the pistachio nuts in a food processor until finely chopped (remove the shells and skins to the best of your ability first if necessary).

 

Beat the butter, caster sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder and 50g (2 oz) of the ground pistachio nuts with a hand-held electric whisk in a bowl for about a minute until light and creamy. Divide the mixture between the paper cases.

 

Bake in a preheated oven, 180C, Gas Mark 4, for 20 minutes or until risen and just firm to touch. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

 

Peel away the paper cake cases. Whip the cream with the icing sugar and liqueur in the bowl until only just holding its shape. Transfer half to a separate bowl and reserve. Spread the remainder around the cakes and roll in the remaining ground pistachio nuts to coat the sides. Spoon the reserved flavoured cream on top and decorate with a few pieces of pistachio.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Thankyou for reading!

 

Love Courts x