Enjoy these decadent chocolate pistachio brownies filled with caramelized pistachios and topped with Baileys Irish cream whipped cream. They look lovely and taste delicious - just as perfect cake-like brownies should be.
With St. Patrick's day in mind, I am so delighted to share this perfect dessert for the upcoming celebration.
This classic chocolate brownie recipe customized by adding pistachios will become your new favorite to serve at birthday parties as well as these Birthday Brownies.
And if you are a brownie lover, you will surely want to try Cashew Brownies packed with lots of caramelized cashews.
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Pistachio brownies recipe
This pistachio brownie recipe is based on a traditional dark chocolate brownie recipe.
But I baked brownies individually and added chopped caramelized pistachios to the dough.
I also sprinkled brownies with chopped raw pistachios and decorated them with Irish cream whipped cream.
I truly believe that there always is a way to upgrade a simple pistachio recipe to a celebration one.
Why you should try this recipe
- This is a classic brownie recipe to make brownies from scratch. Decorate brownies or leave them plain: either way, they are delicious.
- Replacing pistachios with other kinds of nuts brings different nutty flavors.
- Decoration of brownies with cream adds a festive touch and tempers their sweetness.
- Sprinkling the dessert with ground pistachios brings texture and green color to the sweet, which is a way to serve the treat on green holidays.
Ingredients
Here is a quick overview of what ingredients you will need. Follow the full recipe below for exact amounts and instructions. I recommend making the recipe as written for the best results.
Whipping cream: use your favorite brand of whipped cream with at least 30% fat content.
White chocolate: use Lindt white chocolate or Callebaut white chocolate.
Baileys Irish Cream: it brings milky, somewhat unique chocolate notes to the whipped cream. To make brownies kids friendly, omit this ingredient.
Pistachios: you will need to caramelize pistachios to add to the dough and ground raw pistachios for decoration.
To save time, use chopped raw pistachios instead of caramelized ones. You can always switch pistachios with other nuts if desired.
Icing sugar: make it at home with a coffee grinder or use store-bought powdered sugar.
Butter: the recipe calls for unsalted butter.
Dark chocolate: high-quality dark chocolate with at least no less than 70% cacao is the best to make these dark chocolate brownies. Please, choose to use:
- Lindt dark chocolate 70% cacao, or
- Moser Roth dark chocolate 70% cacao, or
- Scharffen Berger dark chocolate, or
- Valrhona dark chocolate.
You can surely experiment with milk chocolate, the kids' favorite one.
Brown sugar: use golden brown sugar or replace it with dark brown sugar.
Eggs: use whole large-sized eggs at room temperature.
Flour: the recipe calls for all-purpose flour.
Cocoa powder: good quality cocoa powder is the key to making chocolate desserts. Use unsweetened cocoa powder to make this recipe.
Apricot preserves: use the thickest apricot preserves to apply onto brownie squares. Replace it with peach or other fruit preserves.
How to make chocolate pistachio brownies
To make Irish cream whipped cream, break the white chocolate into small pieces. Bring whipping cream to a boil, then pass it through a mini-strainer.
Pour warm whipping cream over chocolate, add Baileys Irish Cream, and mix with a hand whisk (photo 1).
Cover the cream with a plastic film on contact and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, whisk the cream with an electric mixer until firm peaks (photo 2).
To caramelize pistachios, place nuts and powdered (icing) sugar in a non-stick frying pan (photo 3).
Heat the pan over medium heat and mix with a wooden spatula until the sugar is caramelized.
Transfer pistachios on parchment paper and let cool (photo 4). Chop pistachios into medium-sized pieces.
To make the brownies, preheat the oven to 340 F/170 C. Butter each cavity of a brownie pan and set aside.
Break the dark chocolate into pieces and melt with butter in a microwave for a few seconds.
Place brown sugar and eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk for about 2 minutes (photo 5).
Add the chocolate mixture, sifted flour, cacao powder, salt, and mix to blend thoroughly. Add the caramelized pistachios (photo 6)...
and fold 2.8 oz (80 g) of nuts into the batter (photo 7). Spoon about 2.4 oz (70 g) of the batter into 12 brownie cavities, filling them up to half (photo 8).
Bake for 20 minutes. Cool in the pan for about 30 minutes (photo 9); invert onto a wooden board lined with parchment paper.
To decorate brownies, crush raw pistachios in a food processor (photo 10).
Even the top of each brownie with a serrated knife if necessary. Brush edges of squares with the syrup of apricot preserves and sprinkle with ground pistachios (photo 11).
Whisk the cream with an electric mixer until firm peaks. Place the cream in a pastry bag with the piping tip Wilton 6B and decorate the top of brownies (photo 12).
Expert tips
- Replace caramelized nuts with raw pistachios or other kinds of nuts.
- To get the pure green-colored ground pistachios, use raw pistachios (not toasted ones).
- Use different pastry tips to pipe the cream on top of brownies.
- Serve cake brownies with pistachio ice cream (instead of decorating them with whipped cream), which would balance the brownies' sweetness.
Frequently asked questions
Store undecorated pistachio brownies in an air-tight container for up to 3 days. Topped with whipped cream, keep brownies in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
Yes, you can freeze brownies for up to 3 months. Let them cool completely, wrap them with plastic, then again with double foil and freeze. To thaw, unwrap brownies from the foil and plastic film and let them stay at room temperature for 3 to 4 hours. Then decorate brownies if desired.
Love pistachio desserts? Try these next!
- Pistachio Financiers
- Pistachio Cupcakes With Chocolate Glaze
- Raspberry Pistachio Roulade
- Browse all the Cake Recipes
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Recipe card
Chocolate Pistachio Brownies
Enjoy these decadent chocolate pistachio brownies filled with caramelized pistachios and topped with Baileys Irish cream whipped cream. They look lovely and taste delicious - just as perfect cake-like brownies should be.
- Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes (plus cooling time)
- Yield: 12 brownies 1x
- Category: Brownies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
For Irish cream whipped cream:
- 1 ½ cup + 4 tablespoons (400 g) whipping cream
- 7 oz. (240 g) white chocolate
- 2 tablespoons Baileys Irish Cream
For caramelized pistachios:
- 3.7 oz. (105 g) raw pistachios
- 5 tablespoons (40 g) powdered (icing) sugar
For the brownies:
- 6.9 oz. (195 g) butter
- 4 oz. (112 g) dark chocolate (70%)
- 1 cup + 3 tablespoons (240 g) brown sugar
- ⅔ cup + ½ tablespoon (170 g) eggs (see note #1)
- ⅔ cup + 2 ½ teaspoons (90 g) flour
- 1 ½ tablespoon (11 g) cocoa powder
- 2.8 oz. (80 g) caramelized pistachios
For the decoration:
- 1.7 oz. (50 g) apricot preserves
- 3.5 oz. (100 g) chopped raw pistachios
* If needed, please refer to Baking Conversion Charts.
Instructions
-
To make Irish cream whipped cream, break the white chocolate into small pieces. Bring whipping cream to a boil, then pass it through a mini-strainer. Pour warm whipping cream over chocolate, add Baileys Irish Cream, and mix with a hand whisk. Cover the cream with a plastic film on contact and refrigerate overnight.
-
To caramelize pistachios, place nuts and powdered (icing) sugar in a non-stick frying pan. Heat the pan over medium heat and mix with a wooden spatula * until the sugar is caramelized. Transfer pistachios on parchment paper * and let cool. Chop pistachios into medium-sized pieces.
-
To make the brownies, preheat the oven to 340 F/170 C. Butter each cavity of a brownie pan and set aside.
Break the dark chocolate into pieces and melt with butter in a microwave for a few seconds. Place brown sugar and eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk for about 2 minutes. Add the chocolate mixture, sifted flour, cacao powder, salt, and mix to blend thoroughly. Fold 2.8 oz (80 g) of caramelized pistachios into the batter. Spoon about 2.4 oz (70 g) of the batter into 12 brownie cavities, filling them up to half.
Bake for 20 minutes. Cool in the pan for about 30 minutes; invert onto a wooden board lined with parchment paper.
-
To decorate brownies, crush raw pistachios in a food processor. Even the top of each brownie with a serrated knife if necessary. Brush edges of squares with the syrup of apricot preserves and sprinkle with ground pistachios. Whisk the cream with an electric mixer until firm peaks. Place the cream in a pastry bag with the piping tip Wilton 6B and decorate the brownies' top.
Notes
- 170 g eggs approximately equal 3 whole extra-large chicken eggs (eggshell removed).
- Replace caramelized nuts with raw pistachios or other kinds of nuts.
- To get the pure green-colored ground pistachios, use raw pistachios (not toasted ones).
- Use different pastry tips to pipe the cream on top of brownies.
- Serve cake brownies with pistachio ice cream (instead of decorating them with whipped cream), which would balance the brownies' sweetness.
Nutrition
- Calories: 604
- Sugar: 43.1 g
- Sodium: 136 mg
- Fat: 41.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 21.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 56 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 8.9 g
- Cholesterol: 128 mg
Keywords: pistachio brownies, chocolate pistachio brownies, chocolate and pistachio brownies, pistachio brownie recipe
The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee.
The recipe was adapted from the book of Christophe Michalak, “L’ultim cake book.” It was originally published on March 13, 2020. It has been revised to include improved content and photos. All the posted pictures are mine.
Kelly Anthony says
These chocolate cake brownies will make the most perfect St. Patrick's Day treat. I love the color from the pistachios and the flavor of Baileys Irish cream in the whipped topping.
★★★★★
Irina says
Thank you, Kelly. Yes, this dessert is perfect to serve for St. Patrick's Day.