I haven’t made cupcakes in a while, so I thought I would rectify that. Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Pistachio Frosting, Pistachio Linzer Cookies with Red Currant and Passion Fruit Jam, all packed up in egg cartons for Easter.
Ingredients
for the Pistachio Cookies
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pistachio extract
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup honey
colored sugars or small sprinkles
1/4 cup passion fruit jam
1/4 cup red currant jam
For the cookies, you will need a mini-flower shaped cookie cutter and a mini-circular cookie cutter to cut out the centers.
for the Chocolate Mini-Cupcakes
4 1/2 ounces high-quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
9 tablespoons (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
6 large eggs, separated, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
For the Chocolate Pistachio Buttercream
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pistachio extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup very finely chopped pistachios
Directions
First, make your linzer cookies. These can actually be made up to a week ahead of time and stored in an airtight container. In the mixing bowl of your stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and pistachio extract. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
Preheat oven to 400F. Prepare cookie sheets with silpat or parchment paper. Roll each portion to a 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface; cut with a mini flower shaped cutter (mine is about 1 1/2 inches). Cut centers out of half of cookies with a round cutter (mine is about 1/2 inch). Make sure that you have an even number of solid and cut out cookies. Bake for 8-10 minutes; cool on wire racks. Using a food-safe paint brush, brush the cookies with the hole in the middle with a tiny bit of honey and then sprinkle with the colored sugars. Let set for a little while. Spread solid cookies with jam and then sandwich with the ones with the hole and colored sugar cookie.
Next, make your cupcakes. Preheat oven to 400F. Prepare a mini muffin pan with liners (I used green to signify “dirt” (the chocolate) in “grass” (the liners).
In the top part of a double boiler over very hot, but not simmering, water, or in a microwave at medium power, melt the chocolate. Remove from the heat or the oven, and let stand, stirring often, until cool. Beat the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle blade on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. On low speed, beat in the confectioners’ sugar. Return the speed to medium-high and beat until light in color and texture, about 2 minutes.
Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the chocolate and vanilla. Beat the egg whites and granulated sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed just until they form soft, shiny peaks. Do not overbeat. Stir about one fourth of the beaten whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, then fold in the remaining whites, leaving a few visible wisps of whites. Sift half of the flour over the chocolate mixture, and fold in with a rubber spatula. Repeat with the remaining flour.
Fill the lined muffin cups three-quarters full, being careful not to overfill (this is only a couple of tablespoons per liner). Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean, about 20-22 minutes. Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the frosting, in the work bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, salt pistachio extract until light and fluffy. Mix in the cocoa and then the confectioners sugar a little bit at a time. The frosting may be a little loose, so add a bit more powdered sugar as necessary. Refrigerate to set for 20-30 minutes.
Finally, assemble your flower cupcakes. Using a piping bag with a small tip, frost cupcakes and sprinkle with finely chopped pistachios. Place a flower cookie on top of each. Chill for at least 30 minutes to firm up the frosting.
