Raspberry Pistachio Teacakes

I like the name teacakes...it makes me think of something more restrained and elegant than a cupcake and yet more delicate and stately than a muffin. It is a cake and yet it can be eaten in the afternoon for tea, or even on the run if need be.
These teacakes, from Martha Stewart, cupcakes are made of ground pistachios in a tender cake batter that has fresh or frozen raspberries pressed into the batter before being sprinkled with more chopped pistachios. They bake into sweet little cakes with bits of raspberry peeking out from underneath the chopped pistachios. While still warm, the raspberries taste like a gooey jam filling and the cake is crumbly with bits of pistachio.

These are sweet nutty, salty, velvety cakes bursting with warm raspberry goodness. The batter takes minutes to make and makes a minimal mess because its all done in the food processor.

These also look so dainty and simple that they would fit right in at any afternoon tea party. They can be made as mini or regular sized cakes and look absolutely beautiful on a fancy tiered or glass serving plate.

Pistachio Raspberry Teacakes

Makes 12-15 standard muffins or about 36 mini

• 1 cup unsalted shelled pistachios
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1-2 containers fresh raspberries (I used frozen, the cakes took longer to cook)
• ¼ cup slivered pistachios, for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line standard or mini muffin tins with paper liners. In a food processor, finely grind shelled pistachios with the sugar and salt. Add butter, vanilla and eggs; process until smooth. Add flour; pulse until just moistened and combined (do no overmix).
2. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each ¾ s full. Drop raspberries into batter (4-6 per standard teacake; 2 per mini) and sprinkle with slivered pistachios. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden brown, about 28 minutes for standard cakes or 15 for minis. Transfer tins to wire rack to cool. Serve warm or room temperature. Cakes can be stored up to 2 days at room temperature in airtight container.

Adapted from:

Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes