Jesus, is it already the end of March? I swear time is flying out the window. Well, we’re here together now, so let’s make the most of it with another vegan recipe. From me to you.
Using my vanilla cake recipe, I made its cocoa counterpart and folded in 2/3 cups melted chocolate chips. A cake this decadent deserves an equally sinful frosting. And nothing says “Oh. My. God.” like chocolate and pistachios. Don’t believe me? Make a pistachio marzipan sometime and coat it in chocolate. We’ll talk after you change your drawers.
Pistachio buttercream frosting atop double chocolate cupcakes
This frosting is no easy feat as compared to opening a store-bought can of frosting (clutch the pearls) or making something with powdered sugar, shortening, soy milk, and extracts. There are steps. Oh, how there are steps to making this frosting! Hand to God, set aside at least 4 hours. You won’t be spending your entire time preparing the frosting but give yourself the afternoon off to focus on this.
In a food processor (or blender) (but you’ll want to use the food processor) blend ¾ cup vanilla (or unsweetened) soy milk and 1 Tbsp lemon juice for a couple minutes. While this is blending, mix 1 cup of sunflower oil (or ¼ almond and ¾ sunflower oil) with ½ tsp vanilla extract and 1 Tbsp maple syrup. Add this mixture very slowly, in one thin stream, while still blending on high, and keep blending until it gets really thick. Voilà! You just made a vegan crème fraîche. Kind of.
- 1¼ cups vegan crème fraîche
- ¾ cup unsalted pistachio nuts
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup silken (not firm) tofu
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup (2 sticks) vegan butter – I prefer Earth Balance – at room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- green food dye (optional)
Bring vegan crème fraîche and pistachios to boil in heavy small saucepan. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 1 hour. Whisk sugar, silken tofu and flour in medium bowl to blend. Bring vegan crème fraîche mixture to a simmer; gradually whisk into silken tofu mixture. Return to same saucepan; stir over medium heat until mixture bubbles thickly, about 5 minutes. Mix in vanilla. Transfer to processor; blend until nuts are very finely chopped. Transfer pistachio pastry cream to bowl. Cover and cool to room temperature, about 2 hours.
Using electric mixer, beat vegan butter in large bowl until fluffy. Add pastry cream by ¼ cupfuls, beating well after each addition. Slowly add food coloring until you reach whatever shade of green you find most fetching. This frosting can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate when you finish, but bring to room temperature before using. Seriously, it will work so much easier in a piping bag if you bring the frosting to room temperature.
If you studied the ingredients for the buttercream frosting, you will no doubt notice that this shit can stop a heart. Or at least clog your arteries well into your golden years. Moderation is key for this dessert, yo.