Banana custard eclairs
Give these afternoon tea classics a fruity makeover with a creamy banana custard filling - perfect for a sophisticated spread
Little pistachio cakes
- Preparation and cooking time
- Prep:
- Cook:
- plus cooling
- Easy
- Makes 12
Skip to ingredients
Ingredients
- 175g lightly salted butter, really soft, plus extra for greasing
- 75g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 140g pistachios, plus a few, chopped, for scattering
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 175g golden caster sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp milk
For the icing
- 290g tub full-fat cream cheese
- 50g lightly salted butter, softened
- 100g icing sugar
Method
- STEP 1
Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and grease a 12-hole silicone muffin or friand mould, then dust with a little flour, and tip out the excess (a metal tray will work too, but line with muffin cases, as the mixture may stick). Put the pistachios in a food processor and blitz until finely chopped but not greasy. Add the remaining cake ingredients and blend again into a creamy mixture. Use 2 spoons to fill each hole of your tray 2/3 full, place on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 15 mins or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Leave to cool in the mould for 10 mins, then run a knife around the edge of each cake and turn out onto a wire rack.
- STEP 2
Meanwhile, make the icing. Using an electric hand whisk, blend 3 tbsp of the cream cheese with the butter until smooth, then add the remaining cream cheese and icing sugar. Whizz again until creamy, transfer to a piping bag fitted with a small round nozzle, and chill until ready to use.
- STEP 3
When the cakes are cool, pipe spikes of icing on top of each one, then sprinkle with chopped pistachios. Can be made ahead – store the un-iced cakes in a sealed container for up to 3 days and chill the icing for 2 days.
