Fluffy orange dough, filled with orange mascarpone and orange marmalade, topped with buttery streusel and pistachios, these Pistachio Orange Pastries are a combo of my two favorite pastries!
What are Streuseltaler?
Streuseltaler, are traditional German pastries topped with fruit and streusel or just streusel and finished off with either a vanilla or lemon glaze. Donโt be discouraged by the number of steps! These pastries are straight forward and well worth the effort!
Can these be made in advance?
These are definitely best fresh because the dough is best freshly baked. As long as they are stored in an airtight container, keep them at room temperature as it will prevent the yeasted dough from going stale as quickly.
What flavors pair well with pistachios?
Citrus is one of the top flavors to pair with pistachios! For this recipe I used orange zest but any citrus will work! If you want you can also top the pastries with a drizzle of honey instead of powdered sugar which is also a classic pairing with pistachios.
What can I use instead of Mascarpone cheese?
Mascarpone can be replaced with crรจme fraรฎche or cream cheese in this recipe. Usually 5% fat greek yogurt works too but I tested it and without the addition of starch, it splits while baking.
Tips for making Pistachio Pastries
- As with most yeasted doughs, be sure to knead to dough until it is smooth. For me this took about 20-25 minutes on low speed.
- When shaping the dough into the individual ball portions, do your best to create a taught ball of dough with a smooth surface – this will create stronger and smoother pastries!
- Be sure to cover the surface of the dough during all of the resting times to make sure that it doesn’t dry out.
- The filling ingredients will come together best if all are room temperature but you can also microwave the mascarpone briefly to make it more “stirrable”.
- Use unsalted roasted plain pistachios for the best flavor.
Additional Pastries to try!
- Custard Pastry | Quarkteilchen
- Lemon Blueberry Streuseltaler
- Himbeer Schnecken | German Raspberry Rolls
Ingredients for Streusel Pastries
- All Purpose Flour: Any all purpose flour will work for these! I have not yet tried any other flours with this recipe.
- Sugar: This recipe uses granulated sugar in the dough as well as in the filling and the streusel. The pastries can be optionally dusted with powdered sugar.
- Milk: The pastry uses milk as the liquid in the dough; however, it will also work with non-dairy milks such as almond or light coconut milk.
- Butter: Kerrygold butter is the best and I use the unsalted butter to add moisture to the dough and as the base of the streusel.
- Eggs: I use standard large eggs from the store. There is one whole egg in the dough and one egg yolk in the filling.
- Yeast: In this recipe, instant yeast is used – just be sure it is still active.
- Vanilla Extract: Vanilla extract adds flavor to the dough and the custard filling.
- Orange Zest: Orange zest adds flavor to the dough and the filling.
- Mascarpone: As mentioned above, crรจme fraรฎche or cream cheese will work too but I love using mascarpone for the filling. Trader joe’s has a great one that’s very affordable.
- Salt: Fine sea salt is added to all the elements to enhance flavors.
- Pistachios: Unsalted, roasted pistachios are best for this recipe.
- Orange Marmalade: Other jams will work too but the combo of the orange marmalade with the orange filling and pistachios is delicious. Here is my recipe for homemade orange marmalade.
- *Not pictured* Heavy Cream: brush the edges of the pastries with heavy cream. An egg wash made of one egg with 2 tablespoons of water will work too!
How to make Pistachio Orange Pastries?
Dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer add in sugar and orange zest. Rub the zest and sugar between your fingers until the sugar starts to clump and turns orange. Then add in the flour and yeast, and whisk to combine.
- Pour in the warm milk, butter, egg, salt, and vanilla. Use the dough hook attachment to knead the dough on medium low speed until smooth and the sides of the mixing bowl are clean. This took about 20-25 minutes.
- Shape the dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl (can be the same mixing bowl). Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic and place somewhere warm to rise for 45 minutes or an hour until doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and place a rack in the center.
Streusel
- In a medium mixing bowl, add in the soft butter, vanilla, sugar, and salt. Use a fork to combine.
- Pour in the flour and use the fork to rub the flour into the butter mixture.
- Set aside.
Orange Mascarpone Filling
- In a medium mixing bowl, add in the mascarpone, egg yolk, sugar, orange zest, vanilla and salt.
- Stir to combine and set aside.
Shape
- Line one baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Once doubled in size, lightly sprinkle the dough with flour and punch out the air from the dough.
- Use a bench scraper or knife to divide the dough into 6 equal portions.
- Shape each portion into a ball by gently flattening it out, and then tucking the edges under to create a taught surface. Roll the ball of dough in a clockwise direction under the palm of your hand on a clean work surface.
- Starting with the first portion that you shaped, roll the ball of dough out on a lightly floured surface to 3″ in diameter.
- Continue rolling out each portion of dough and then place 5, evenly spaced, onto the lined baking sheets.
- Lay a kitchen towel over top of both baking sheets and leave them to proof for about 15 -30 minutes, somewhere warm.
- They don’t need to double in size, just become a little puffy.
- When ready, press a well into the center of each portion of dough that is about 2″ in diameter so that a 1/2″ border is created around each pastry.
- This is super important because it will help the filling stay inside. The center should be bigger than in the photo – this is one of those do as I say and not as I do kinda situations.
Assemble and Bake
- Shell and chop the pistachios.
- Brush the edges of the pastries with heavy cream.
- Use a spoon to scoop about 3 tablespoons of the orange mascarpone filling into the well in each pastry. Top with 2 tablespoons of orange marmalade.
- Sprinkle the top of each pastry with the streusel. Then sprinkle the tops with half of the chopped pistachios.
- Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes.
- Rotate the baking sheet 180 degrees and bake for another 12-15 minutes until the edges are golden brown. Once baked remove the baking sheets from the oven and place on wire racks to cool.
- Leave to cool for at least 5 minutes and then dust with powdered sugar or drizzle with honey. Then sprinkle with the remaining pistachios.
Pistachio Orange Pastries
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
- Baking Sheet
Ingredients
Dough
- 100 grams granulated sugar
- 1 orange zested
- 350 grams all purpose flour
- 12 grams instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 125 milliliters milk luke warm
- 1 egg large, room temperature
- 65 grams butter softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Streusel
- 60 grams butter softened
- 60 grams granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 90 grams all purpose flour
Orange Mascarpone filling
- 120 grams mascarpone room temperature
- 1 orange zested
- 75 grams granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
Toppings
- 140 grams orange marmalade
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 100 grams pistachios roasted, unsalted, weight is with shells still on
- 30 grams powdered sugar or honey for drizzling
Instructions
Dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer add in sugar and orange zest. Rub the zest and sugar between your fingers until the sugar starts to clump and turns orange. Then add in the flour and yeast, and whisk to combine.
- Pour in the warm milk, butter, egg, salt, and vanilla. Use the dough hook attachment to knead the dough on medium low speed until smooth and the sides of the mixing bowl are clean. This took about 20-25 minutes.
- Shape the dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl (can be the same mixing bowl). Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic and place somewhere warm to rise for 45 minutes or an hour until doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and place a rack in the center.
Streusel
- In a medium mixing bowl, add in the soft butter, vanilla, sugar, and salt. Use a fork to combine.
- Pour in the flour and use the fork to rub the flour into the butter mixture.
- Set aside.
Orange Mascarpone Filling
- In a medium mixing bowl, add in the mascarpone, egg yolk, sugar, orange zest, vanilla and salt.
- Stir to combine and set aside.
Shape
- Line one baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Once doubled in size, lightly sprinkle the dough with flour and punch out the air from the dough.
- Use a bench scraper or knife to divide the dough into 6 equal portions.
- Shape each portion into a ball by gently flattening it out, and then tucking the edges under to create a taught surface. Roll the ball of dough in a clockwise direction under the palm of your hand on a clean work surface.
- Starting with the first portion that you shaped, roll the ball of dough out on a lightly floured surface to 3.5" to 4" in diameter. (a bit larger than in the photo)
- Continue rolling out each portion of dough and then place 5, evenly spaced, onto the lined baking sheets.
- Lay a kitchen towel over top of both baking sheets and leave them to proof for about 15 -30 minutes, somewhere warm.
- They don't need to double in size, just become a little puffy.
- When ready, press a well into the center of each portion of dough that is about 2.5" in diameter so that a 1/2" border is created around each pastry.
- This is super important because it will help the filling stay inside. The center should be bigger than in the photo – this is one of those do as I say and not as I do kinda situations.
Assemble and Bake
- Shell and chop the pistachios.
- Brush the edges of the pastries with heavy cream.
- Use a spoon to scoop about 3 tablespoons of the orange mascarpone filling into the well in each pastry. Top with 2 tablespoons of orange marmalade.
- Sprinkle the top of each pastry with the streusel. Then sprinkle the tops with half of the chopped pistachios.
- Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes.
- Rotate the baking sheet 180 degrees and bake for another 12-15 minutes until the edges are golden brown. Once baked remove the baking sheets from the oven and place on wire racks to cool.
- Leave to cool for at least 5 minutes and then dust with powdered sugar or drizzle with honey. Then sprinkle with the remaining pistachios.
Notes
- As with most yeasted doughs, be sure to knead to dough until it is smooth. For me this took about 20-25 minutes on low speed.
- When shaping the dough into the individual ball portions, do your best to create a taught ball of dough with a smooth surface – this will create stronger and smoother pastries!
- Be sure to cover the surface of the dough during all of the resting times to make sure that it doesn’t dry out.
- The filling ingredients will come together best if all are room temperature but you can also microwave the mascarpone briefly to make it more “stirrable”.
- Use unsalted roasted plain pistachios for the best flavor.
- Mascarpone can be replaced with crรจme fraรฎche or cream cheese in this recipe. Usually 5% fat greek yogurt works too but I tested it and without the addition of starch, it splits while baking.
Nutrition
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If I wanted to make this recipe into 12 pastries in a muffin pan, is there a way you would recommend?
I make refreshments for after a church service, and people like small bites that they can just pick up
and walk away with. I would love to make muffin size cheesecakes as well. I love your cheesecake!