Line a 12-cup cupcake pan with liners and preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

Rub the lemon zest into the granulated sugar until the mixture looks like wet sand.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together cake flour, lemon-scented sugar, chopped pistachios, baking powder, and salt.

Mix in cubed butter on low speed for 3 minutes until resembling coarse sand.

In a separate bowl, whisk together sour cream, milk, oil, egg, vanilla extract, and lemon juice until smooth.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until just combined.

Scoop batter into the liners, filling each roughly 3/4 full.

Bake for 15–20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the filling, cook raspberries, 1/4 cup sugar, and 2 teaspoons lemon juice over medium heat until bubbling, about 10–12 minutes.

Whisk cornstarch and water, add to the raspberry mixture, and cook until thickened.

For the buttercream, cream butter until smooth, add powdered sugar, and then mix in heavy cream, lemon juice, and lemon zest until fluffy.

Core the center of each cupcake and spoon in the raspberry compote.

Pipe lemon buttercream around the core and add more compote into the center.

Garnish with chopped pistachios and fresh raspberries.