Italian Pistachio Cream, Crema al Pistacchio

Crema al Pistacchio is the most good Italian Pistachio Cream made with pistachios, white chocolate and milk. Use it as a filling for doughnuts pastries and cakes or spread it on bread or toast. quick and easy!

Crema al Pistacchio is a popular and decadent Italian spread that's sweet, creamy and insanely good.

You can use it pretty much how you would Nutella spread it on toast or bread, fold it into cream to fill desserts, cakes or pastries or grab a spoon and dig in!

Better yet, it's quick and easy to make and will keep well in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. See our full step by step recipe below including photos, tips and video, enjoy!

Ingredients – what you need

See the photo below that shows you everything you need to make this recipe plus some important tips on ingredients!

• Pistachios – make sure you use unsalted pistachios. You can either buy pre-shelled or shell them yourself both work as well.
• Milk – whole milk will give you the best creamy flavour but you can use half fat if that's all you have.
• Butter – use unsalted.
• White chocolate – use a good quality white chocolate for best flavour.
• Powdered sugar – We only use 1 tbsp of powdered sugar (icing sugar) since a lot of sweetness comes from the white chocolate but feel free to add more to taste.

Step by step photos and recipe instructions

Bring a medium-sized pot of water to a boil and add the shelled pistachios. Let them boil for 4 minutes then drain them and place them on a clean kitchen towel (photo 1-3).

Fold the towel over and rub the pistachios in the towel to loosen the skins. Separate the pistachios for the skins and discard them (photo 3 & 4).

Add the pistachios to a food processor with only 1/4 cup (60ml) of the milk and 1 tbsp of powdered sugar. Blitz for around 5 minutes until the pistachios turn into a smooth paste. You'll need to stop the processor 3-4 times to scrape down the sides. You'll notice the pistachio turn into crumbs first then it should form into a ball when it's reached the paste stage (photo 5 & 6).

Put the remaining milk, butter and white chocolate in a clean saucepan and heat on a low heat until melted, set aside (photo 7 & 8).

Transfer the pistachio paste to a blender and pour in the white chocolate mixture. Blitz until extra smooth and creamy (you can adjust the consistency with more milk if desired (there's no need to heat the milk up first) (photos 9-12).

The pistachio cream will keep well in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. See notes for good ways to use it.

Ways to use it

Pistachio cream can be used in so many different ways. Mix it with pastry cream (Crema Pasticcera) and use it to fill Italian doughnuts (Bomboloni) mix it with ricotta and use it to fill homemade cannoli or mix it with mascarpone and use it to fill cakes.

You can also use it to make pistachio ice cream (our absolute favourite flavour), spread it on toast or even eat it by the spoon…it's that good!

Recipe tips and FAQs

• Peel the skins – you'll notice that shelled pistachios have brown skin over all of part of the outside. If you don't peel the pistachios the skins will cause the cream to be slightly gritty with black/brown flecks.
• Boiling the pistachios – boiling makes it easy to remove the skins but also soften the pistachios slightly making it quick and easy to get a smooth consistency.

How long does it last?

It'll keep well (covered) in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. The top will become darker but give it a mix. If it's thickened too much you can add it back to the blender with a splash of milk to loosen.

Why use a food processor and blender?

You can use the food processor if you like but you won't achieve the extra smooth and creamy consistency (unless you have a high power blender). The blender helps with this but it's optional.

Ingredients

Makes 1 heaped cup (300g)

• 1 heaped cup shelled unsalted raw pistachios ((150g))
• 3/4 cup whole milk ((180ml))
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter ((30g))
• 3.5 oz white chocolate ((100g/about 1 cup))
• 1 tbsp powdered sugar ((icing sugar))

Method

1. Bring a medium sized pot of water to a boil and add the shelled pistachios. Let them boil for 4 minutes then drain them and place them on a clean kitchen towel.

2. Fold the towel over and rub the pistachios in the towel to loosen the skins. Separate the pistachios for the skins and discard them.

3. Add the pistachios to a food processor with only 1/4 cup (60ml) of the milk and 1 tbsp of powdered sugar. Blitz for around 5 minutes until the pistachios turn into a smooth paste. You'll need to stop the processor 3-4 times to scrape down the sides. You'll notice the pistachio turn into crumbs first then it should form into a ball when it's reached the paste stage.

4. Put the remaining milk (1/2 cup/120ml), butter and white chocolate in a clean saucepan and heat on a low heat until melted, set aside.

5. Transfer the pistachio paste to a blender and pour in the white chocolate mixture. Blitz until extra smooth and creamy (you can adjust the consistency with more milk if desired (there's no need to heat the milk up first).

6. The pistachio cream will keep well in the fridge for 2 weeks. See notes for delicious ways to use it.

Kitchen notes

• Peel the skins you'll noticed that shelled pistachios have a brown skin over all of part of the outside. If you don't peel the pistachios the skins will cause the cream to be slightly gritty with black/brown flecks.
• How long does it last? It'll keep well (covered) in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. The top will become darker but give it a mix. If it's thickened too much you can add it back to the blender with a splash of milk to loosen.