Savory Cupcakes

Don’t think I’m crazy before you hear me out on this one. These cupcakes were delicious, although they were not your typical sweet cupcakes. I made two varieties, each with the same icing: tomato-basil and sweet corn with pesto cream cheese icing. I brought two dozen to my friends at our church small group and came home with only two! The recipe is from the book 500 Cupcakes by Fergal Connolly.

For the tomato-basil cupcakes:

Ingredients
2 T chopped fresh basil (but not chopped too much)
2 3/4 c all-purpose flour (I used wheat)
2 T baking powder
Pinch of salt
4 lightly beaten eggs
1/2 c olive oil
10 3/4 oz can of condensed tomato soup
3 T sun-dried tomatoes

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 and grease a 12-cup muffin pan. In a medium bowl, mix the basil, flour, baking powder, and salt with a spoon. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, olive oil, soup, and sun-dried tomatoes with an electric mixer until just combined. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes. Remove pan from the oven and cool for 5 minutes then remove the muffins and cool on a rack.

For the sweet corn cupcakes:

Ingredients
3/4 c yellow cornmeal
1 c all-purpose flour (I used wheat)
2 t baking powder
3 T sugar
Pinch of salt
2 eggs
1 c milk
4 T melted butter

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 and place 12 paper baking cups into a muffin pan. In a medium bowl, stir the dry ingredients. Beat the eggs, milk, and butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until combined, then add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and stir until just combined. Spoon the batter into the cups and bake for 20 minutes. Remove pan and cool for 5 minutes then remove the cupcakes and cool on a rack.

For the pesto cream cheese icing:

Ingredients
1/2 c basil pesto
1 1/2 c cream cheese, softened
12 cherry tomatoes

Directions
Beat the pesto and cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Smear the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes and top with the cherry tomatoes.

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