Description
Silky pistachio buttercream frosting elevates desserts with Mediterranean charm. Rich nutty notes and creamy texture create an irresistible finishing touch you’ll adore on cakes, cupcakes, and pastry delights.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients:
- 3 cups unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
- 4 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 1 cup shelled pistachios, salted or unsalted
Liquid Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Optional Ingredient:
- Green food coloring
Instructions
- Pulverize shelled pistachios in a food processor until achieving an ultra-fine, powdery texture.
- Introduce heavy cream to the ground pistachios and blend until transforming into a smooth, cohesive paste.
- Select room temperature butter and transfer to a stand mixer bowl equipped with a flat beater attachment.
- Whip the butter at medium-high velocity for approximately 8 minutes, creating a voluminous, alabaster mixture while intermittently scraping bowl edges.
- Incorporate pistachio paste and vanilla extract into the whipped butter, thoroughly integrating ingredients through continuous blending.
- Gradually introduce confectioner’s sugar at a low mixing speed, ensuring complete absorption of each addition.
- Elevate mixer speed to high, vigorously beating the mixture for 3-4 minutes until achieving a cloud-like, aerated consistency.
- Optional: Enhance visual appeal by introducing subtle green food coloring to create a delicate, natural hue.
- Should the buttercream appear dense, refrigerate for half an hour, then re-whip until obtaining desired ethereal texture.
- For short-term storage, encase buttercream in plastic wrap and refrigerate up to seven days, allowing it to soften before usage.
- For extended preservation, transfer to a sealed container and freeze for approximately one month, thawing overnight in refrigerator before serving.
Notes
- Transform raw pistachios into a luxurious, creamy paste by pulsing with heavy cream for maximum flavor infusion.
- Achieve cloudlike buttercream by beating butter extensively, ensuring it becomes white and impossibly fluffy before adding other ingredients.
- Monitor mixer speed carefully, starting low when incorporating sugar and ramping up to create an ultra-smooth, airy texture.
- Control color intensity by adding subtle green food coloring drops for a natural, elegant pistachio-inspired hue.
- Extend buttercream’s life by refrigerating up to one week or freezing for a month, always returning to room temperature before use.
- Rescue potentially dense frosting by briefly chilling and re-whipping to restore its light, creamy consistency.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Blending
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 12
- Calories: 389
- Sugar: 39 g
- Sodium: 150 mg
- Fat: 40 g
- Saturated Fat: 25 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 15 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 53 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 92 mg