Sweet Spot: Pistachio Cupcakes with Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Hello friends! Recently I was watching Food Network and they were showing how to make Swiss meringue buttercream. My mom asked me to make it to see what all the fuss is about, so I went on the hunt for the perfect recipe as well as the perfect cupcake to pair with it. I ended up adapting a simple vanilla cake recipe and taking general ideas from many buttercream recipes. Here's what I came up with:

The Lineup (Cupcakes):
     2 1/4 cups AP flour
     2 1/2 tsp baking powder
     1/4 tsp salt
     1 box instant pistachio pudding mix
     8 tbsp. butter, softened
     1 3/4 cups sugar
     2 eggs, room temperature
     Splash vanilla
     1 1/4 cups unsweetened almond milk, room temperature

(Buttercream)
     4 oz. (1/2 cup) egg whites
     1 cup sugar
     16 tbsp. butter, cubed and softened
     Seeds from 1 whole vanilla bean

The Play-by-Play:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line 2 cupcake pans.
2. Mix flour, baking powder, salt, and dry pudding mix in a small bowl and set aside. Add a splash of vanilla to almond milk and set aside.
3. Cream together butter and sugar in a large bowl until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, mixing in between.
4. Alternate adding flour mixture and milk mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Mix until just combined and smooth.
5. Evenly distribute batter between 24 cavities, filling about 2/3 full. Bake 16-18 minutes until springy to the touch. Cool completely.
6. Over a double boiler, combine egg whites and sugar until all granules dissolve and whites reach 160 degrees Fahrenheit on a candy thermometer. Place bowl in an ice bath to bring down to room temperature.
7. Pour egg mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a balloon whisk and beat on medium high for about 10 minutes until soft peaks form. Add vanilla beans.
8. Quickly add butter piece by piece while mixer is still going, mixing until combined and before buttercream starts to break down.
9. Pipe buttercream onto cooled cupcakes. Enjoy!

I wish you all the best,
Erin