Cherry Pistachio Cupcakes are an amazing combination of pistachio cupcake, cherry compote centre and pistachio and vanilla buttercreams. All topped off with a gorgeous fresh cherry.
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Instructions
Pistachio cupcakes
Preheat oven to 180C (160C fan forced) / 350F. Line 12 muffin tin holes with paper cupcake cases.
Blitz pistachios to crumbs
In a large bowl, sift together the plain flour, corn flour baking powder and salt. Add the sugar and pistachio crumbs and stir well so everything is evenly distributed
Beat the eggs well, until they become frothy (you can do this by hand, or with a hand beater or in a stand mixer). Add the buttermilk and vanilla and mix well. Now add the melted butter while whisking to completely combine.
Pour half of the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir well. When mixed through add the rest of the wet ingredients and stir just enough to fully combine everything.
Fill the cupcake liners about ¾ full, then bake for 22-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out with just a few crumbs on it. Make sure to turn the tray halfway through cooking so they all cook evenly.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tins for 5 minutes before transferring the cupcakes to a wire rack.
Fresh cherry compote
Set aside 12 of the fresh cherries. Halve and pit the rest (I just run a small paring knife around the middle of the cherry, break it in half & then dig out the pit).
In a small saucepan, combine the cut cherries, water, lemon juice and sugar and bring to a boil over low-medium heat. Let it bubble away, stirring every so often until it thickens and almost all the juice disappears. Use a stick mixer to break down the cherries a little, but you don't want to make a puree.
Remove from heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until required.
To fill the cupcakes
Use a cupcake corer or small knife to remove about 1 teaspoon of cake from the centre of each cake. Fill with the cooled cherry compote. Plug the top with a little offcut of the cake that was removed (optional).
Vanilla and pistachio buttercream
In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter along with ½ cup of the icing sugar for 8 minutes (yes, that long. We’re going for whipped butter here). Scrape down the sides as necessary and continue beating.
With the mixer on low, add the remaining sugar 1 spoon at a time until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as required. Add the salt, vanilla extract and milk and beat for 5 minutes at medium speed until it looks light and thick and creamy.
Use a food processor to blitz the pistachios to very fine crumbs and set aside.
Split the buttercream 2/5 and 3/5 into 2 bowls. Sift the finest crumbs of the pistachios into the smaller quantity of buttercream and set the chunkier pieces aside. Mix the fine pistachio crumbs and a little green food colouring (if using) through. Transfer both buttercreams to separate piping bags.
Pipe (or spread) a flat disk of green buttercream onto the top of each cupcake (I do a circle around the outside and then fill it. Now pipe a large dollop of the white buttercream on top.
Scatter over the remaining pistachio crumbs and top with a fresh cherry.
Notes
I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (equiv 4 teaspoons worldwide.
Why the corn flour / cornstarch? I add cornstarch to much of my baking as cake flour is less readily available in Australia. Feel free to use cake flour in place of both the all purpose flour and the cornstarch.
For best results you should always weigh ingredients like flour and sugar. Kitchen scales are relatively cheap but if you can’t weigh the ingredients, use the spoon and level method (don’t scoop).
TOOLS USED IN THIS RECIPE
These are the silicone muffin trays I use for all my cupcakes
Silicone spatulas are my best friend whenever I'm making batters
A simple handheld beater or stand mixer
A medium ice cream scoop is perfect for portioning out the batter
A cupcake corer makes it easy to cut a hole in the centre to fill
Calories: 548kcal
Author: Marie Roffey
Course: Afternoon Tea, Dessert, Snack, Sweets
Cuisine: Various
Have you tried this recipe?Don't forget to leave a rating and comment below and let me know how it was! I love hearing from you. Nutrition information is approximate and derived from an online calculator. The brands you use may cause variations.