In Greek and middle eastern cooking, rose water is used frequently in sweets, but it’s a flavor that is not used very often in the western world, which is a real shame. One must be careful when using it, though, since not all rose water has the same concentration of flavor. I’ve found that the Nielsen Massey rose water packs quite a punch, and that’s the one I’ve used here for this recipe, hence the small dosage (1/4 teaspoon) for the batch of cupcakes. If you’re using a different brand, like a middle eastern or Greek brand from an ethnic grocery store, the flavor may be less concentrated so you could up the dose to 1/2 teaspoon instead. Just be careful not to go overboard, otherwise eating your cupcakes will feel like eating perfume. The rose is meant to be a delightful hint of floral flavor, not something to hit your palette over the head with.
And if you’re wondering about the crazy pink hue of the pistachios here, they’re from my relative’s pistachio farm on Aegina island, Greece. Every few months they ship us a box of raw pistachios, and then my Dad roasts them and distributes them to me and my siblings. Getting them is such a treatātheir flavor is so much more concentrated and less buttery than the California ones, and the color of their papery skins is the most incredible magenta hue. If you can find some, I’d highly recommend them!
Rose Cupcakes with Pistachio Cream and Vanilla Buttercream
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1 3/4 Cups Flour
- 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter softened
- 1 1/2 Cups Sugar
- 3 Eggs
- 3/4 Cup Milk room temperature
- 3/4 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1/4 Teaspoon Rose Water
Pistachio Cream Filling
- 5 ounces roasted shelled pistachios
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (skip if your pistachios are already salted)
Vanilla Buttercream
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter softened
- 3 3/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Garnish
- 3/4 cup chopped pistachios
- 18 individual shelled pistachios
Instructions
Rose Cupcakes
-
Preheat the oven the 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a cupcake pan with cupcake lines and set it aside. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt until combined. Set aside.
-
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, waiting until each is incorporated before adding the next one. Mixing at low speed, alternate between adding the milk and the flour mixture in three rotations until they're all incorporated into the batter. Add the vanilla extract and rose water and stir to combine.
-
Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 full of the batter and place the pan in the oven. Bake until the edges are very faintly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing the cupcakes from the pan and placing them on a wire rack to cool completely. Place the remaining cupcake liners on the cupcake pan and fill with the remaining batter and repeat the baking cycle.
Pistachio Cream
-
Place all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until relatively smooth. Set aside.
Vanilla Buttercream
-
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium high speed until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Reduce the speed, add the powdered sugar, and once it's incorporated, raise the speed back to medium high and beat until fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium, add the milk, one tablespoon at a time, and then the vanilla extract. Set aside.
Assembly
-
Once the cupcakes have cooled. use a small spoon to scoop about 1 tablespoon of cake out of the top center of each cupcake. Fill the hole with the pistachio cream until level. Spread the buttercream on top of the cupcakes, taking care not to press down too hard on the area with the filling otherwise it will squirt out the side and get messy.
-
Spread the chopped pistachios in a low pile on a clean working surface, like a cutting board. Roll the *very* edges of the frosted cupcake in the chopped pistachios to get the nut bits to adhere to the buttercream around the edges of each cupcake. Repeat with all of the remaining cupcakes. Garnish the top center of each cupcake with a shelled pistachio and serve.
THIS POST WAS UPDATED ON 9/2/20. YOU CAN SEE THE ORIGINAL IMAGE BELOW!
No one starts being an expert at anything from the get-go š If you want to learn all about photography, styling, + branding to take your photos from that ā to this ā, check out my online courses!
