Pistachio Cupcakes with Vanilla Honey Buttercream Frosting

Oh My Gosh. These cupcakes were to die for, in my opinion. The frosting was HEAVENly! So delicious, I could of put the frosting in a bowl and eaten it alone. It was a bit involved, but I will be adjusting the flavoring of this base frosting recipe for many cupcakes to come! Found the recipe on www.kitchentrialanderror.blogspot.com as a three layer cake, but decided to make individual treats and went with the cupcake form.


Pistachio Cupcakes with Vanilla Honey Buttercream Frosting

1 cup shelled pistachios

2 1/2 cups cake flour

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups ice cold water

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 large egg

3 large egg whites, room temperature

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1. preheat your oven to 325F. line cupcake tin with paper liners.
2. in the bowl of a food processor, pulse the pistachios until they are coarsely chopped. remove about two tablespoons worth of the pistachios to a large bowl and set aside. process the rest of the pistachios until they are very fine. stir the finely chopped pistachios into the rough chopped pistachios.
3. in a measuring cup, make 1 1/2 cups ice water. set aside.
4. sift the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together over the pistachios. whisk to combine. set aside.
5. in a separate bowl, cream the butter and shortening together. add the sugar and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy, about three minutes. add the whole egg and mix until blended.
6. with the mixer on low, alternate adding the flour and ice water to the butter and sugar mixture, about a half cup at a time. scrape down the sides as needed.
7. in a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. use a rubber spatula to fold the egg whites into the batter.
8. divide the batter among the cups and bake for 25-28 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. (40-45 minutes if you are making a layer cake)
   
9. transfer the cakes to a wire rack and cool completely before icing.

2. make the vanilla honey buttercream

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/3 cup flour

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, soft but cool, cut into small pieces

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons honey

1. in a medium heavy bottom saucepan, whisk the flour and sugar together. add the milk and cream and cook over medium heat, whisking regularly. cook until the mixture comes to a boil and is thickened, about 12 minutes.
2. transfer the sugar cream mixture to a bowl and beat on high speed until cool, about 10 minutes.
3. turn the mixer down to low and add the butter a little bit at a time. because the butter is cool, it may look like it won't blend in and you'll be stuck with chunks of butter. just keep mixing and it will smooth out. when it's all mixed in, increase the speed to medium high and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
4. mix in the honey and vanilla.

Ice your cupcakes and sprinkle with a bit of crushed pistachios if desired.