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Brown butter pistachio tea cakes are flavored with brown butter, toasted pistachios, and cinnamon. These cakes are quick to bake up and easy to share! Recipe yields 3 mini cakes.
In May, I took a French pastry baking class at Sur La Table. We were welcome with a platter of pistachio and brown butter financiers upon arrival. Fragrant with pistachio and seemingly light and tender with crisp edges, I was instantly smitten.
Those little French cakes are the inspiration behind these plush and golden brown butter pistachio tea cakes!
Flavored with nutty brown butter, toasted pistachios, and warming cinnamon, each slice is lovely with tea (and makes a fine breakfast, too!). Topped with a cinnamon-brown butter drizzle, it’s no wonder I fell for these flavors at first bite.
Brown Butter Pistachio Tea Cakes
- Yield: 3 mini cakes, 6 servings per loaf
Description
Brown butter pistachio tea cakes are flavored with brown butter, toasted pistachios, and cinnamon. These cakes are quick to bake up and easy to share!
Ingredients
Cake
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup shelled pistachios, toasted
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- pinch of nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk, at room temperature
- 2 Tbsp honey
Glaze
- 1 Tbsp brown butter (reserved from above)
- 1/8 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 Tbsp milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and place a baking sheet in oven; spray 3 mini (5 3/4″ x 3 3/4″) loaf pans with nonstick spray. Cook butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until it foams, turns clear, and then turns a deep brown, about 6 minutes. Pour brown butter into a glass measuring cup and let cool slightly.
- Pulse pistachios in a food processor until finely ground, then whisk together ground pistachios, flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the mixture. Set aside 1 tablespoon brown butter for the glaze; pour remaining brown butter into a medium bowl and whisk in eggs, buttermilk, and honey. Add to flour mixture and fold in until combined.
- Divide batter evenly between loaf pans and smooth with an offset spatula; tap pans sharply to reduce air bubbles. Place pans on preheated baking sheet and bake for 32 to 33 minutes, until edges are golden, cakes spring back to the touch, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached.
- Remove cakes from oven and cool in pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes; remove cakes from pans and cool completely. For the glaze, melt reserved brown butter in a small glass bowl. Whisk in cinnamon, salt, powdered sugar, and milk until smooth. Drizzle over cooled cakes and let set before serving. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.
