The Pistachio Cupcake Effect

The Pistachio Effect

Refers to all phenomena where foods tastes better because they require some type of work to actually consume. Examples include, but are not limited to, bone in chicken wings, crab legs, sunflower seeds, clam, lobster, assorted fruits i.e. kiwifruit and pomegranates. The name comes from the pistachio nut because it is traditionally sold in its shell and requires a nutcracker or hand wrenching to release the nut. This effect has no connection to the 2009 short film with the same name.

The above notation is taken from Wikipedia and it seems appropriate to add for this week's cupcake since it was a labor intensive process opening each pistachio by hand and hopefully it makes the cupcake taste better.  

The cupcake is a pistachio cupcake topped with a buttercream icing.  The top of the cupcake browned a little and has a little bit of a crunch to it almost cookie-like.  The pistachio is not overwhelming and not a very strong taste overall.  It is a difficult flavor to have come through strong and the first time we worked with it.  Overall the cupcake turned out delicious but again the pistachio flavor isn't very strong.  This cupcake did take a while to make and the labor of love that went into makes it all the more delicious when eating.  

Yields appox. 24 regular cupcakes and 12 minis.  Preheat the oven to 350 and line your cupcake tins.

Vegan Pistachio Cupcake

3 cups of flour (still using self rising)

2 packages of pistachio flavored jello pudding (yes it's vegan and who knew)

1 cup of shelled pistachios (this is the labor of love - you can buy shelled pistachios for a lot more money by why take away the fun of shelling them)

1 cup of butter (earth balance)

1 1/2 cup of sugar 

1/3 cup of oil (canola)

2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cup of soy milk

2 tsp of apple cider vinegar

Shell the pistachios and finely chop using a food processor.  Mix together the soy and vinegar and set aside.  Sift together the flour and the pudding mix and also set aside.  Mix together the butter and sugar and add the oil a little bit at a time until well mixed and then add the vanilla.  Add the dry ingredients a little bit at a time while adding the milk mixture in between until it is all mixed together.  

The batter is going to seem really thick but trust when we say it's gonna be good.  Fill your muffin tins about 1/2 to 3/4 full and bake for approx. 15-18 minutes or until your toothpick comes out batter free.

Buttercream Frostin'

1 cup of butter (earth balance)

1 cup of vegetable shortening

3 tsp of vanilla

4 1/2 cups of confectioner sugar

1 tablespoon of soy milk

Mix together butter and sugar add in confectioner sugar a little at a time.  At the end mix in the soy milk and vanilla. 

Top your cupcakes with a few crushed pistachios.  You will need the pistachios, a baggie and something to smash them with.

It's a subtle pistachio flavor with a sweet creamy icing.  It's yum yum yum delicious.  

We were going to also top this cupcake with fresh raspberries but unfortunately the store did not have them.  Just a suggestion though as it seems that this cupcake would be good with a bit of raspberry on top. 

Tip of the day:  say hi to a stranger at least once a day.

Until next time sugar kisses and cupcake dreams.