Raspberry Pistachio Blossoms Recipes

RASPBERRY PISTACHIO THUMBPRINTS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325°F. In large bowl, beat butter and 1/2 cup powdered sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until creamy. Stir in flour, salt, vanilla and nuts.
• Shape dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. On ungreased cookie sheet, place balls about 1 inch apart. Press thumb into center of each cookie to make indentation, but do not press all the way to the cookie sheet.
• Bake 15 to 17 minutes or until set but not browned. Quickly remake indentation with end of wooden spoon handle if necessary. Remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack; cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• Fill each thumbprint with about 1 rounded teaspoonful of jam. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons powdered sugar over jam-filled centers.

RASPBERRY-PISTACHIO BLOSSOMS

Steps:

• Spray counter lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Flatten each Texas roll or 2 dinner rolls combined into a 3-inch circle. Place on a large sprayed baking sheet and brush tops of rolls with egg white. Cover with sprayed plastic wrap and let rise until double in size. Place pistachios on a plate. Remove wrap and dip rolls, top side down in pistachios, patting gently to adhere. Return rolls to baking sheet. With scissors or knife, make 5, 3/4-inch deep, cuts evenly around outside edge of each roll to resemble flower petals. With fingertips, make indentation in center of each roll. Spoon 1 tablespoon preserves into each indentation. Bake at 350°F 18-20 minutes. Remove from baking sheet and cool completely on wire rack. Combine all remaining ingredients until smooth and drizzle over cooled rolls.

RASPBERRY AND PISTACHIO SEMIFREDDO

Steps:

• Combine egg yolks with 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon honey in the large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment; beat until volume doubles and mixture is pale and creamy, about 10 minutes.
• Beat heavy cream in a bowl with an electric mixer until firm peaks form, 3 to 4 minutes. Gently fold cream into egg yolk mixture.
• Line a loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on both sides. Pour mixture into the pan, smoothing the top. Cover with plastic wrap.
• Freeze until semifreddo is chilled, about 1 1/2 hour. Remove from freezer and stir in raspberries and pistachio nuts. Freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.
• Let semifreddo soften in the refrigerator before serving, about 15 minutes. Turn out of the pan and cut into slices.

RASPBERRY & PISTACHIO PARFAIT

Steps:

• Grease a 900g loaf tin with oil, then line with baking parchment. To make the purée, blitz the raspberries to a pulp in a blender, then pass through a fine sieve into a saucepan. Gently reduce the purée on a low heat for 30 mins, stirring occasionally, until the colour has intensified and the purée has reduced to about 200ml. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
• While the purée cools, put the egg yolks and sugar in a glass bowl and whisk over a pan of simmering water for 10 mins until the eggs are pale, thick and doubled in volume. Set aside.
• Next, put the sugar for the meringue in a saucepan with 2 tbsp water and heat until the syrup reaches 120C on a thermometer. While the sugar is coming up to temperature, use a mixer or electric whisk, to whisk the egg whites on the lowest setting. Once the sugar has reached 120C, carefully pour onto the egg whites and turn the mixer or electric whisk up, continuing to whisk until the whites are cool.
• Next, in a clean bowl, whisk the cream until it has soft peaks. Add the purée and chopped pistachios, then fold in the yolks. Once combined, fold in half the whites. Add the raspberries with the remaining whites, gently fold together, then pour into the lined loaf tin. Put in the freezer overnight.
• The next day, remove the parfait from the tin. Cover it completely in the blitzed pistachios, then place on a tray, cover in cling film and return it to the freezer. When you're ready to serve, slice the parfait and serve with a few fresh raspberries.

RASPBERRY & PISTACHIO TEA CAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line a 15 x 25cm cake tin. Put the pistachios in a food processor with half the sugar and blitz until the nuts are finely chopped. Tip into a bowl, add the remaining sugar and the butter and beat with an electric whisk until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, then beat in the flour and yogurt until smooth, adding some milk if it's too thick.
• Spoon the batter into the tin, level and bake for 50-55 mins, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 15 mins, then turn the cake out onto a board. Remove and discard the baking parchment, then leave to cool completely. Cut into neat squares.
• To make the icing, put the raspberries in a pan with 2 tbsp water and cook briefly until soft and juicy. Push the mixture through a sieve and discard any pips. Whisk in the sugar until you have a smooth pink icing.
• Pour the icing over the cooled cake, then decorate with the sugar flowers, pearl sugar or sprinkles, if you like. Leave to set before serving.

RASPBERRY-PISTACHIO BLOSSOMS

Steps:

• Spray counter lightly with non-stick cooking spray.
• Flatten each Texas roll or 2 dinner rolls combined into a 3-inch circle.
• Place on a large sprayed baking sheet and brush tops of rolls with egg white.
• Cover with sprayed plastic wrap and let rise until double in size.
• Place pistachios on a plate.
• Remove wrap and dip rolls, top side down in pistachios, patting gently to adhere.
• Return rolls to baking sheet.
• With scissors or knife, make 5, 3/4-inch deep, cuts evenly around outside edge of each roll to resemble flower petals.
• With fingertips, make indentation in center of each roll.
• Spoon 1 tablespoon preserves into each indentation.
• Bake at 350°F 18-20 minutes.
• Remove from baking sheet and cool completely on wire rack.
• Combine all remaining ingredients until smooth and drizzle over cooled rolls.

PISTACHIO AND RASPBERRY TART

Steps:

• Make the pastry: Place flour, sugar, salt, lemon zest and butter in a food processor and blitz for about 15 seconds, until it reaches the consistency of fine bread crumbs. With the machine running, add vinegar and then add water slowly, 1 tablespoon at a time, until mixture comes together (you may not need all the water). Form dough into a ball, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to form a circle about 13 inches/33 centimeters wide and 1/8 inch/2 millimeters thick. Carefully transfer the dough (wrap it around a rolling pin, if that helps you) to a 9-inch/26-centimeter round fluted tart pan with 1-inch/3-centimeter-high sides. Press the dough securely into the corners of the pan and trim the crust 1/4 inch/1/2 centimeter above the rim of the pan, then refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit/200 degrees Celsius.
• Line the dough with a large piece of baking parchment and fill the tart with dried beans or pie weights. Bake for 25 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown around the edges. Remove beans and paper and continue to bake the pastry for 8 minutes until the base is golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside.
• Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit/170 degrees Celsius.
• Make the filling: Spread pistachios out on a baking sheet and roast for 8 minutes, until they are hot but haven't taken on any color. Remove from oven and carefully transfer 3/4 cup/100 grams nuts to a cutting board and set aside. Immediately blitz remaining nuts in a food processor while they are still hot. Keep the machine going for 6 to 8 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl a few times when the nuts stop moving, until you get a thick smooth paste and the nuts begin to ball up in the bowl. Add melted butter, lemon zest, juice, vanilla extract, almond extract and salt and pulse a few times until combined. Roughly chop the reserved pistachios.
• Place eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on high speed for 3 to 4 minutes, until soft peaks form. Reduce speed to medium and slowly add the sugar until incorporated. Add flour, pistachio paste and chopped pistachios and mix on low until combined. (You may need to scrape the pistachio paste off the bottom of the bowl.) Pour the mixture into the tart shell, spreading it out evenly. Sprinkle raspberries over the filling and bake for about 35 minutes, until golden-brown around the edges, pale golden in the center and set.
• Remove from oven and let cool completely in the pan. Once cool, the tart can be lifted out of the pan and transferred to a platter to slice and serve. The filling should be soft, but still hold its shape when sliced.

LEMON & RASPBERRY MOUSSE WITH PISTACHIO & GINGER SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 4. For the shortbread, butter a 20cm shallow cake or tart tin. Whisk the butter and sugar together until pale and well-combined, then fold in both gingers, the pistachios and a pinch of salt. Sift in the flour and knead to a soft dough in the bowl. Tip into the tin and press the mixture into the base in an even layer.
• Bake for 25-30 mins until pale golden and dry-looking. Cut the shortbread into slices or wedges while hot, then leave to cool in the tin - it will firm up as it cools. Sprinkle with the ½ tbsp caster sugar.
• To make the mousse, whip the double cream, lemon zest, lemon curd and yogurt in a bowl with an electric whisk until soft peaks form. Spoon into small serving glasses or ramekins and chill.
• Mash half the raspberries with the icing sugar using a fork, or purée in a small blender along with any defrosting juices to make a coulis. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
• To serve, spoon the coulis over the mousses, garnish with the remaining raspberries and serve with the shortbread wedges alongside.