I am devoting an entire post to this cream because it is worthy of a post all of its own – I originally made this when I made these tartes au citron last week, and it was the perfect paring with the lemon curd. Ha yes, last time I tricked you and only showed you the dish 75% done! Sometimes I can be sneaky like that. But I had my reasons, and the reason was to give the proper homage to this delicious cream. I was worried about the tartes possibly being a little too tart, and so I wanted to make a sweet little something to complement them. I love lemons and pistachios together, it’s such a bright blend of flavors. Well, actually I love pistachios in just about any way, but that’s beside the point. In the end the tartes were just fine, but I decided to add this on anyways, haha. I really just sort of threw this together, and now that I had an entire container of it in my fridge I keep coming up with ideas for how to use it – well provided my husband doesn’t eat it all first!
There is one change I really think needs to happen from my original go at the pistachio cream, and I am going to put it directly in the instructions – that is to blanch the pistachios first, to help soften them up. The cream was rich and flavorful and sweet, but really too gritty in the way that I did this. Blanching the pistachios will allow you to get closer to a true purée, making for a much smoother texture. So don’t skip that step. It’s not the end of the world if you do, because this was really quite something to behold, but it will help immensely. Mouthfeel is just as important as taste, and should be treated with equal consideration.
I did my best to form pretty little quenelles of cream on top of these tartes, but think I need some more practice – they didn’t quite come out as pretty as they should…
A little goes a long way with this cream, so you only need a small amount!
Jenn Cuisine
Ingredients:
300 g pistachios
20 g butter
200 g powdered sugar
100 g heavy cream
50 g sour cream
Directions:
1. Shell the pistachios. Blanch them for a couple minutes in boiling water, and then drain and cool.
2. Pulse the pistachios in a food processor until it resembles a smooth butter. Add in the butter and pulse again until smooth and incorporated. Add in and combine in the processor the powdered sugar, just a little bit at a time. It will be soft and fine.
3. In a bowl, take a whisk and whip the cream. I find this actually easier by hand, because I can control more precisely how whipped I want the cream to be. It doesn’t take that long, maybe about 10 minutes. When you get soft peaks, fold in the sour cream, and whip again with the whisk until you are able to form stiff peaks.
4. Pour a couple of spoonfuls of the pistachios mixture onto the cream, and fold with a spatula. Continue to do so, gently, until all of the pistachio has been incorporated. Cover and set in the fridge for at least an hour before use so it will be firm and easier to work with. Enjoy!
Also submitted to – Gluten Free Wednesdays and Friday Foodie Fix
{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
You think this would work with greek yogurt instead of the sour cream? And how about with hazelnuts? I have about 3/4lb that I need to use up
Sounds good to me, I love pistachios. I bet this would be good on chocolate cake too.
@ariane – I’m definitely sure you could use hazelnuts or whatever type of nuts you want – with hazelnuts I would definitely blanch them and then rub off the skins – as to the Greek Yogurt, I’ve never tried it, but if you do I’d be curious as to how it comes out!
@bob – yes it definitely goes well with chocolate too! ha this made much more than the few spoonfuls I needed to garnish the tartes, so last week I experimented with it on other desserts that we had – it goes great on chocolate anything!
Wow my Mum loves pistachios, this sounds wonderful as an ingredient for my mothers day tart, thanks!
This sounds excellent! I’ve never thought to pair lemon with pistachio in a dessert, even though I have a recurring addiction to sea salt and lemon pistachios – but npw that you’ve mentioned it, it sounds like such an obvious match!
Wow! Just gorgeous … and I love the ingredients.
Shirley
Wow! I can’t believe, it only takes 5 simple ingredients to make a great dessert! Congratulations for making on the Top 9!!
Just beautiful! I adore pistachios… A perfect combination with the tarte aux citrons.
@Lauren – if you end up making it I’ll be curious as to how it comes out for you!
@ Valérie – Yes until I made this I had not thought of pairing pistachios and lemon together either – in fact when I was making this I was deciding between using almonds or pistachios….but I decided the pistachios would add a bit more character to the flavor combo on top of the tartes.
@Shirley @Mhe-Lhanee @Viviane – Thanks so much!!
That looks great, I would never think of using pistachio that way. Maybe as a topping. Thank you for sharing.
Jenn — this looks flawless and sounds delicious!
Beautiful photo,and the Pistachio Cream looks delicious ~ and I love lemons so it was a good marriage, I am sure they complemented each other well….RaeDi
Oh my Jenn. This is just awesome. I want some asap =D.
This looks wonderful. I’ll have to come up with an excuse to try it soon. Thanks for participating in Gluten-Free Wednesdays.
Looks delish and nice shot….
I’ve never tried to make a cream like this. It sounds really good. Thanks for the idea.
i love pistaccio so your dessert is mine !! cheers Pierre
Holy COW that’s a good idea. I think I need to make these. Immediately.
Thanks – For the Pistachio cream.. I had a idea in my head and it wouldn’t let me get to sleep. I think its the low carb diet my PT put me on lol. But Here goes.. A Vanilla and Rosewater Cheesecake (unbaked) with a layer of pistachio cream – may need to add gelatin to help it set, a layer of a rich but not too heavy chocolate custard topped with a thin raspberry glaze topped with fresh ripe raspberries and a butterscotch biscuit base. Probably over the top but i have a sweet tooth hehe.
Jenn, I know this is an older post, but this looks AMAZING! I love using pistachios! I use them in salads, my pesto sauce, and so many other savory dishes! Never thought to use them for something like this! Great idea!!!
Is this cream thick enough to go into macaroons? Sounds delicious!
I dont think so, unless you kept it very chilled…
I ended up trying it anyway. However, cut down the amount to 1/4 of your original recipe as i didn’t need so much. Maybe that changed the consistency. But it was perfect and pasty. Perfect to spread on the macarons. And tasted amazing! Thanks for the recipe!