A Turkish Spin: Pistachio Cream Filled Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

The weekend went by in a cooking blur or at least Saturday did. We started off our day with a run to the Farmer's Market in Troy and rounded it out with an entire afternoon and evening of peeling, chopping, sifting, baking, and cooking. Yes, we were preparing a Turkish Dinner... what other dinner requires so much time and preparation? Thank goodness the eating of a typical Turkish Dinner can last for hours!

Our Turkish Menu:
Tomato Soup
Salad
Lentil Balls
Karniyarik (Stuffed Eggplant with Ground Beef
Pilav (Turkish Rice)
Pistachio Cupcakes

I could not have asked for a better dinner (unless I was in Turkey) or better company. You will never truly understand food, its tastes, textures and smells until you have literally put your hands into the thick of it and that is what Turkish food is all about..it is basically a love affair with food. Getting your hands messy and taking the time to fill each with love.

Tomato Soup with Fried Mint Sauce

Lentil Balls

My favorite! Karniyarik

During all this hard work and preparation, I focused on the cupcakes! I wanted to create a cupcake with a nod towards Turkish food using a fairly basic recipe so if all fails, I could still enjoy a plain Vanilla Cupcake.

All Pistachio based recipes are my own concoction so please if you enjoy them, pass it around but give credit where credit is due. I researched online but was unable to find any recipes for pistachio filling whether it be for Cupcakes, Macoroons, Pies, etc. Enjoy!

Pistachios are used in all things good in Turkey! Baklava, Turkish Delight, Marzipan, etc.

Pistachio Cream Filled Cupcakes with Pistachio Buttercream Frosting

Pistachio Cream (Courtesy of Me)

You will need:
4 tablespoons Whipping Cream
3/4 ounce of shelled pistachios
1/4 cup butter
1/2 pound confectioners sugar
Extra Whipping Cream
Extra shelled pistachios

This is the fun part! To begin you must prepare unsalted pistachios by shelling them, then de-skining them.
1. Shell the pistachios then soak in boiling water for 15 minutes to loosen the skins. While tedious as this may seem, it is necessary to fully appreciate the pistachios.
2. In saucepan, add your 4 tablespoons Whipping Cream and shelled pistachios, bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes until Whipping Cream has reduced (continuously stir to keep from burning)
3. Transfer pistachio mixture to a blender and let cool for a few minutes. Puree. Do not worry if you have still have its and bits of visible pistachios pieces.
4. In a mixing bowl, beat your room temperature butter to a creamy consistency then slowly add your sifted powdered sugar.
5. Add your pureed pistachio mix to frosting and continue to beat with mixer until well blended.

At this point, you should have a Pistachio Buttercream Frosting.

6. Add more whipping cream until you reach the desired consistency for your filling cream. I added 3 tablespoons of Whipping Cream. Add additional chopped pistachios (not pistachio mixture) if you want a stronger pistachio taste and a little crunch.

Yields enough filling for 24 cupcakes at 2 teaspoons each.








Side Note: The difference between the Pistachio Filling and Pistachio Frosting is the consistency and taste. I wanted to top my cupcakes with a Vanilla Buttercream Frosting but the flavor was too sweet so I decided to add a light pistachio flavoring with the slight sweetness of Almond Extract.


Pistachio Buttercream Frosting (courtesy of Me)

You will need:
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 pound confectioner's sugar
1/2 teaspoon Almond Extract
1 ounce Pistachios

1. Blend butter and sifted confectioner's sugar then add 1/2 teaspoon of Almond Extract.
2. In your blender, puree your pistachios until you have fine pieces of Pistachio.
3. Add pistachio pieces to buttercream frosting.

Yields enough frosting for 12 cupcakes.

Vanilla Cupcake Recipe (courtesy of Magnolia Bakery)
Ingredients:

* 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
* 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
* 2 cups sugar
* 4 large eggs, at room temperature
* 1 cup milk
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I did equal parts Almond Extract and Vanilla Extract to equal 1 teaspoon)


Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line 2 (1/2 cup-12 capacity) muffin tins with cupcake papers.

In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

Cool the cupcakes in tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

To Assemble:

Take a small knife and cut out a conical shape from cupcakes. Remove. Fill hole with Pistachio Cream Filling. Cut tops of the piece your removed from the cupcakes off and replace on top of the cupcake (this is to prevent your frosting from caving in in case your filling seeps into the cupcake and creates a void) Frost with Pistachio Buttercream Filling and top with pistachio pieces and Voila!