Pistachio Buttercream Frosting

This pistachio buttercream is made with real pistachios for a delicious nutty flavour and a naturally pale green colour. You blend pistachios into a paste and beat that straight into the buttercream.

You can use this pistachio buttercream as a cake filling, pipe it onto cupcakes or use it to frost a cake. I used it for my Chocolate Pistachio Cake with chocolate ganache, crunchy chocolate kataifi and homemade chocolate truffles. I took a tray of slices to school pickup to share and they were gone before I made it to the school building!

How to Make Pistachio Paste

Put the pistachios into a food processor and blend until very finely ground. They'll look like this:

Add a small amount of water and continue blending until the pistachios turn into a thick paste. Stop occasionally to scrape down the sides of the food processor so everything blends evenly. When the paste pulls away from the sides of the bowl, it's ready:

Do You Need to Peel Pistachios for Pistachio Buttercream Frosting?

No! You can peel the skins off your pistachios before blending them and this will give your pistachio buttercream a brighter, greener colour.

I didn't do that because, quite honestly, I'm not patient enough!

Leaving the skins on gives the buttercream a more muted, natural pistachio colour. I loved the colour of mine exactly as it was, so I didn't add any food colouring either.

If you want brighter green pistachio buttercream without peeling every pistachio, you can add a drop or two of leaf green gel food colouring instead.

Use Room Temperature Butter

The temperature of your butter makes a big difference to the texture of your buttercream.

It should be soft before you start. I take mine out of the fridge the night before I make buttercream, but a few hours at room temperature should be enough for it to soften.

If your butter is still cold and firm, it won't mix as smoothly with the rest of the pistachio buttercream frosting ingredients.

How to Make Pistachio Buttercream Frosting

Put the room-temperature butter into the bowl of a mixer and beat until smooth. If you don't have a stand mixer you can use a handheld mixer instead.

Add the pistachio paste and mix until it's evenly incorporated into the butter.

Gradually add the powdered sugar and the salt, mixing on a low speed so that it doesn't fly out of the bowl.

Check the consistency of your buttercream. Add milk to soften it so that it's easy to spread, smooth, and pipe.

At this point, you can add a drop of leaf green food colouring if you want a brighter green. Or leave it exactly as it is for a natural pistachio colour, which looks like this:

Using Pistachio Buttercream as a Cake Filling

Pistachio buttercream makes a delicious filling on its own, but it also pairs really well with chocolate.

For my Chocolate Pistachio Cake I used both chocolate ganache and pistachio buttercream between the cake layers. The chocolate adds richness while the pistachio buttercream gives every slice that distinctive pistachio flavour.

Using Pistachio Buttercream to Frost a Cake

You can also use this buttercream to crumb coat and frost a cake. Spread a thin layer over the assembled cake to trap any crumbs, chill the cake until the crumb coat is firm and then add your final layer of pistachio buttercream. Smooth the sides and top with a cake scraper while the buttercream is still soft.

Pistachio Buttercream Frosting

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• Author: Emily
• Yield: 6 cups 1x

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Description

This nutty pistachio buttercream has a gorgeous green colour and pairs perfectly with both chocolate and vanilla cake. This recipe makes 6 cups of buttercream, which is enough to fill and frost a 3 layer 8 inch cake.

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 1/2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature*
• 1 1/2 cups pistachios
• 1/2 tablespoon water
• 2 lb powdered sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt*
• 1 tablespoon milk

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Instructions

1. In a food processor, blend pistachios until fine. Add water and continue blending to make a paste.
2. In a mixer or using a handheld mixer, beat butter at low speed for a minute until smooth.
3. Add pistachio paste and mix in until combined.
4. Sift sugar to remove any lumps and then add with salt to the mixing bowl and mix at low speed until combined. Scrape down to the bottom of the mixing bowl to loosen any ingredients stuck there.
5. Add milk to loosen the buttercream. It should be smooth and easy to stir.

Notes

*If you use salted butter, skip the salt in the recipe.

What Flavours Go With Pistachio Buttercream?

Chocolate and pistachio are a delicious combination, but this buttercream doesn't have to be used with chocolate cake.

Try pairing pistachio buttercream with vanilla cake for a lighter flavour, or use it as a filling between chocolate or vanilla cake layers. You can also pipe it onto cupcakes or use it anywhere you'd normally use vanilla buttercream.

The real pistachio paste gives it plenty of flavour without needing pistachio extract, and whether you leave it naturally green or make it brighter with food colouring, it's an easy way to turn a simple cake into something a little different.

How to Store Pistachio Buttercream Frosting

This buttercream can be kept at room temperature for 3 days or in the fridge for 3 weeks. You can even freeze it for up to 3 months! At any temperature, buttercream will dry out and crust if it's not in a sealed, airtight container. You can cover your mixing bowl tightly with plastic wrap if you're leaving it out on the counter and this will keep the buttercream soft. For the fridge or freezer use a tupperware or a large ziplock bag to store it in. Take it out the night before you want to use it to let it come to room temperature and give it a good stir before using.

I hope you love this recipe as much as I do! Please rate the recipe above and leave a comment below to tell me what you think!