These zesty Lemon Pistachio Muffins are as delightful and elegant as cupcakes are, but they come together as quickly as muffins do. They’re a sweet treat for any and all occasions, from weekend brunches to birthday parties!
Recently, someone told me after tasting a dessert I’d just made, “You like using nuts in desserts a lot, don’t you?” She was the second person to remark on that within a short period of time. Yes, I love using nuts in desserts. An entire shelf of my fridge is dedicated to bulk-sized bags of nuts! I like the texture, flavor, and nutritional value they add. Nuts are so versatile, too: I’ve yet to encounter a dessert where nuts are not a welcome addition.
It was only natural, then, that as I was flipping through Fanny Lam’s gorgeous new dessert cookbook, Oh Sweet Day!, I’d be attracted to recipes that put nuts front and center. Among the recipes I bookmarked, there’s an Orange Almond Cake with Crème Fraîche I can imagine serving as a sweet ending to a holiday brunch; a Chocolate Cream Hazelnut Tart, which I need to make ASAP because chocolate and hazelnut is one of the sweetest flavor couples of the dessert world; and Lemon Pistachio Muffins, which combine ingredients I love to use the most in baking: citrus fruits and nuts. It had my name written all over it.
Fanny called these cupcakes Lemon Pistachio “Muffins” and I love that, because it gives you permission to serve them anytime, from breakfast to dessert. It also means that the treat is as fast to prepare as muffins are: simply mix the dry and wet ingredients in separate bowls, fold together, and you’re done. But let’s be honest and name them what they are: these sweet treats are a delightful dessert.
If you know someone who says they don’t like cupcakes because they’re boring (I live with someone who likes to repeat that cupcakes are just “frosting stands”), you’ve got to serve them these Lemon Pistachio Cupcakes. They have a light, tender, cake-like crumb bursting with lemon flavor, thanks to a generous addition of lemon juice and zest, and they’re dotted with pistachios, which add a fun crunch and a pop of color.
Fanny serves her Lemon Pistachio Muffins drizzled with a smart and elegant lemon glaze, but I wanted to assert the muffins’ dessert status, so I piped them with a fluffy lemon cream cheese buttercream. The buttercream and sprinkle of crushed pistachios make the muffins so festive, don’t you think? I’d serve them at a birthday party in a heartbeat.
I remember when I started following Fanny Lam on Instagram. I was obsessed with the perfection of her shortbread tartlets and cookies. She regularly shares pictures of these lovely treats, which she sells along with cakes and other sweet treats through her online shop and at farmers’ markets in Vancouver. She’s undoubtedly a shortbread expert: she’s said to roll out over ten thousand shortbread cookies every holiday season.
It had been gnawing at me to ask for her recipes, but I figured maybe she wanted to keep them secret. But lucky me! She has now shared her tips to make her picture-perfect tartlets and cookies in her cookbook, Oh Sweet Day! A Celebration Cookbook of Edible Gifts, Party Treats, Festive Desserts. I can’t wait to put those recipes to the test. I predict they’ll regularly grace my table for months, even years, to come.
Fanny’s collection of sweets makes me smile at every page. You’ll surely find new favorites among the wide range of cakes, breads, breakfast treats, pies, tarts, cookies, donuts, and bars she has included in her cookbook. The recipes are creative and colorful, and the instructions straightforward and helpful. She even included step-by-step photos for trickier techniques, such as lattice pie. If you love baking, get your hands on a copy of Oh Sweet Day!—or, better yet, gift it to someone you love. Maybe, just maybe, they’ll bake you something sweet to say thank you.
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Disclosure notice: I was offered a copy of Oh Sweet Day! A Celebration Cookbook of Edible Gifts, Party Treats, Festive Desserts for review purposes. As always, companies never dictate the content I create, or the opinions I express. I only use products I genuinely believe in or feature books I truly love.
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Author: Marie Asselin
Thank you, Marie, for this lovely post! I’m so happy that I shared this new baby of mine with you! Now until we meet in person… :)