Orange Pistachio Olive Oil Cupcakes with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Yield: 12 cupcakes
 
ingredients:
Orange Pistachio Olive Oil Cupcakes
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼ teasoon salt
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • ⅔ cup Olivari extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons orange zest
  • 3 large eggs
  • ½ cup orange juice
  • ¾ cup shelled pistachio nuts, finely chopped
White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
  • 2 ounces good quality white chocolate, chopped, melted and slightly cooled
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 3 teaspoons milk or cream
  • Approximately 2-3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
directions:
Make the Cupcakes
  1. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Set aside. Line a 12 well muffin or cupcake tin with cupcake liners or grease and flour each well.
  2. In a mixing bowl, combine sugar and orange zest and rub together with your fingers to extract the oil from the zest. Add olive oil to zest-sugar mixture and mix on high speed until completely combined. Use the whisk attachment to do this if you're using a stand mixture.
  3. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating until each egg is completely incorporated.
  4. Stir in ⅓ of the flour mixture set aside in step 1, and mix on low speed, then add in half of the orange juice, and continue mixing.
  5. Stir another ⅓ of the flour mixture, followed by the rest of the orange juice and the remaining flour mixture, beating until combined for each addition. Stir in the chopped pistachios.
  6. Fill cupcake liners ¾ full with batter and bake at 350 F for 25 minutes or until they bounce back when touched or a skewer inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Let cool 5 minutes in pan, then release them onto a wire rack and let cool fully before frosting them.
Make the Frosting
  1. In a large mixing bowl, cream together cream cheese, and melted white chocolate.
  2. Beat in vanilla and milk or cream, then add in the confectioners’ sugar, gradually, until the frosting reaches your desired consistency. Make it a bit stiffer if you wish to pipe it onto the cupcakes instead of spreading it with a knife.
  3. Spread frosting onto cupcakes with an offset spatula or knife, or transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a wide tip and pipe onto cooled cupcakes.
Recipe by parsley sage sweet at https://parsleysagesweet.com/2010/12/11/enticing-cupcakes-and-two-giveaways/