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Pistachio Madeleine Christmas Tree

Recipe

Makes 75 individual Madeleines    |   Prep time: 1 hour | Cooking time: 1 hour 20 minutues

Dessert |  Vegetarian

  

Ingredients

For the Pistachio Cream

  • 125g Pistachios, shelled, boiled, skins removed and dried
  • 2 tbsp Butter
  • 160ml Whole Milk
  • 120g White Chocolate, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp Icing Sugar

For the Madeleines and Star

  • 450g Butter, melted and cooled slightly
  • 9 Large Eggs
  • 450g Caster Sugar
  • 3 tsp Pistachio Cream
  • 540g Self Raising Flour
  • 100g Pistachios, finely chopped
  • ½ tsp Vanilla Extract

To garnish

  • 300g White Chocolate
  • 1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
  • 80g Pistachios, finely chopped
  • 1tbsp Icing Sugar

You will need at least 2x 12-hole Madeleine tins, 1 cupcake case, a polystyrene cone, tin foil and lots of cocktail sticks.  

  

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 210oC/190oC Fan/Gas Mark 6½.
  2. Place the pistachios in a food processor and pulse for a couple of minutes until the nuts create a fine crumb
  3. Heat 90ml of milk in a saucepan, add the butter and white chocolate, stir until melted
  4. Add this to a blender along with the sugar and pulse gradually, adding a little milk at a time until the cream has the desired consistency. You may need to scrape the sides down several times to achieve a smooth pistachio cream.  
  5. Beat the eggs and sugar together until pale, fluffy and tripled in volume
  6. Mix the butter, vanilla and pistachio cream together, pour this into the whisked egg, adding the flour a little at a time and fold in using a wooden spoon until combined
  7. Spoon or pipe the mixture into the buttered Madeleine tins filling to just over half-way
  8. Bake for 6-8 minutes until puffed up and golden, then turn out onto a cooling rack.  
  9. Continue baking the Madeleines in batches and once you are nearing the last batch, add 2 spoonfuls of batter to a cupcake case for the star and bake alongside the Madeleines
  10. Allow everything to cool.  
  11. Melt the chocolate in 30-second bursts in the microwave. Add the oil and dip each Madeleine in the chocolate, scallop-side down, then sprinkle with some chopped pistachios and place on a tray to set.
  12. Cut the cupcake into a star about 2.5cm thick, then dip this into the chocolate and sprinkle with pistachios.
  13. To assemble the tree, cover the cone in tin foil.
  14. Take each Madeleine and place scallop-side down around the tree, starting at the base and working your way up until the entire cone is covered
  15. Secure each Madeleine and the star with half a cocktail stick
  16. Finally, sprinkle with icing sugar to resemble snow