Alright I’m going to be real honest with you all here…
These Pistachio Raspberry Tortes were one of those recipes that started with an idea, a base concept if you will, and I had a beautiful picture in my mind of what it would be when it was complete.
Spoiler alert: It came out nothing like it.
HAPPY ACCIDENT THOUGH: It came out as something even better.
I was so concerned when I pulled them from the oven, I really didn’t put 100% of my effort into photographing them. I was thinking “honestly, these are probably a very laborious beautiful snack for me to sit and eat as I re-write the recipe I actually wanted to make”. Well who is laughing now? Not me, because now I need to remake them and rephotograph the end product as well as a few steps in the recipe process. Oh well, c’est la vie. Now I get to eat even more.
A few important things about this recipe:
These mini tortes are very unique in their flavor, their texture, and their appearance. They are a very beautiful addition to your breakfast, brunch, lunch, afternoon tea, or dessert repertoire.
Flavor: Delicate pistachio, almond, and bright raspberry
Texture: A thick (but somehow not dense) cross between a flourless cake, the cookie portion of a french macaron, and marzipan.
Appearance: I made these mini cakes in french canelé pans. Why? Because they’re beautiful, need no further decoration, and I love them. Fair enough? You could use mini muffin tins, mini fluted tart pans, or whatever you’d like! Just adjust the bake time and watch so they don’t over bake!
Pistachio Raspberry Tortes
Equipment
- Food processor
- Mini molds (cupcake, canele, tart)
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw shelled pistachios
- 2 tbs water
- 1.5 cups almond flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 pinch kosher salt
- 4 egg whites large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbs unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 pint fresh raspberries
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, add the shelled pistachios and turn off the heat. Let sit for 1 minute, and drain.
- Once the pistachios are drained, rub the pistachios in a clean kitchen towel to remove the brown paper-ish portion- leaving you with bright green pistachios!
- Once the pistachios are all cleaned and cooled, place into a food processor and run for about 2 minutes or until it is finely ground. Add in the water and run until you are left with a pistachio paste similar to the consistency of marzipan.
- Heat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit
- In a large bowl combine the almond flour, sugar, all purpose flour, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, mix the egg whites with both of the extracts, the soft butter, and your fresh pistachio paste!
- Whisk the egg white pistachio mixture into the almond flour and mix until combined.
- If you are using silicone molds, you do not need to butter the pan. If you are using cupcake tins or tart tins, go ahead a use a bit of soft butter to coat the molds.
- Place a raspberry at the bottom of each mold(if flipping over to serve. If you will leave them with the top side up, place on top of the batter) and fill the containers until roughly 3/4 filled.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the tops of the pastries are slightly mounded and light brown. Keep an eye on this timeframe if your molds are very thin, a little taller, or if you know your oven runs warmer/cooler.
- Cool the cakes for 5 minutes before turning onto a cooling rack to finish cooling completely. These tortes will be very moist! They should not feel dry or crumbly.
Notes
No frosting. No piped flowers from sugary buttercream. No neon food coloring.
This is one of those beautifully simple recipes that highlights the ingredients inside. It is utterly pistachio and raspberry. If you are a fan of the very popular french macaron, with their soft yet somehow dare I say- thick?- cookies, these mini tortes might just be your new favorite sweet.