Basil Cream and Mint Cream Filled Cupcakes with Raspberry Mousse Frosting
I have been very tempted to try a basil flavored cupcake. I made basil simple syrup a couple of weekends ago and picked up a selection of fruits to taste it with. My favorite match was most definitely basil and raspberry.
I finally got around to the cupcakes this weekend. I made a basic vanilla cupcakes, light and fresh raspberry mousse frosting, basil cream, and mint cream. I decided it would be easy enough to prepare fillings with basil and mint then see what combination I preferred.
The cupcakes turned out great, really fruity and fresh. I suggest serving them with some extra fruit... I wanted a raspberry with every bite. As it turns out, I prefer the mint. The taste was still herby like the basil, but not as distinct or distracting. It's not that I didn't like the basil. I did. I just feel like I would need to do something more, like find a third flavor to balance the two.
On a final note, I am looking forward to making a basil martini tonight with the left over syrup and some high quality vodka. Should be tasty...
Vanilla Cupcakes from The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook
12 regular cupcakes / 350 degree oven
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1. Beat butter on high until soft, about 30 seconds.
2. Add sugar. Beat on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
3. Add eggs one at a time, beat for 30 seconds between each.
4. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a bowl.
5. Measure out milk and vanilla together.
6. Add about a fourth of the flour to the butter/sugar mixture and beat to combine.
7. Add about one third the milk/vanilla mixture and beat until combined.
8. Repeat above, alternating flour and milk and ending with the flour mixture.
9. Scoop into cupcake papers about half to three-quarters full (depending on whether you want flat or domed cupcakes).
10. Bake for 20-22 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean.
baked cupcakes
Basil or Mint Cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
5 ounces basil or mint
1 cup heavy cream
1. Bring sugar and water to a boil, stir until sugar dissolves.
2. Chop basil or mint and add to the mixture.
3. Boil for 3 minutes.
4. Cool to room temperature.
5. Beat heavy cream on high until stiff peaks form add the five to six tablespoons of syrup to taste and beat until combined.
fresh basil
Raspberry Mousse Frosting
2 cups fresh raspberries, rinsed
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin
2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1. Combine raspberries and sugar in a saucepan and cook over medium heat.
2. Stir mixture until it is basically a liquid.
3. Stir in gelatin, continue to cook until dissolved.
4. Remove from heat and transfer to a medium sized bowl. Refrigerate overnight.
5. Beat heavy cream on high until stiff peaks form. Add the three tablespoons of sugar and beat until combined.
6. Mix about a third of the whipped cream into raspberry mixture until well combined.
7. Fold in remaining whipped cream.
Assemble
1. Using a small knife, cut off the top of the cupcake in the shape of a cone. Flip the top over and cut off the cone.
2. Fill the cavity with a teaspoon of basil or mint cream.
3. Replace the top of the cone.
4. Pipe on the raspberry mousse and decorate with fresh herb and/or raspberries.
posted by chockylit | 4:42 PM
19 Comments:
wow..stunning as always chockylit! I adore basil..you should let us know how the basil cockatil turns out. :o) Give that boston a squeeze for me. ;)
Wow. These sound so fantastic and unique, and they look absolutely amazing.
There is nothing cuter than a raspberry-topped cupcake. Beautiful!
Oh yums! I swear I love your site and your cupcakes. It really really makes me wish I could bake!
I was lucky enough to taste the most amazing basil ice cream on the weekend. It was so good I wanted to lick the bowl. It was made with ground macadamia and heavenly!
These look fabulous. Wish I could bake & present like you!
How about lime to go with the basil? I've had lime-basil juice and lime-basil ice cream and they were both fantastic. I think it would go very well with the rasberries too.
By the way, your cupcakes are gorgeous. Congrats!
Wow, i always wanted to make cupcakes. You blog really full of great cupcake recipes! Can't wait to buy a new oven and try it. Great blog!
Fantastic!
I acquired some of the souffle cups. Are yours the "48" size? That's what I got. Anyway... are your recipes/cooktimes for regular sized cupcakes or the souffle cups?
Hey, Alicat, the basil cocktail was pretty good. Somewhat odd at first, but it grew on me. I gave the boston a squeeze and he kind of growled a little, he doesn't like to be bothered during nap time...
I am definitely going to try adding lime in this recipe the next time I make it. Great suggestion, whoever you are!
Jordyn, not sure if my cups are size "48", they are 3.25 ounces is all I know. Bake times are the same for the souffle cups and regular cupcakes, as I scoop the same amount of batter in them regardless (I use a 2 ounce scoop).
Happy one year anniversary! I see you have been blogging your baking adventures for 12 whole months. The rasberry mousse looks lovely. I bought a cookbook last week called, "Paris Sweets", which includes a recipe for Chocolate Thyme cake. I guess that using herbs traditionally included in savory foods to season sweets is a very European approach.
Jennifer, thanks for noticing. It is indeed the 1 year anniversary of this blog. I am going to celebrate with two different recipes this weekend.
This sounds so interesting and different. Sound very fresh tasting. I can't wait to try it out.
Your pictures are lovely, and I love your commentary. I'll definitely want to try your coffee one. What do you think of putting semi-finely ground dark-roast espresso beans in the filling? (I put that in my homemade ice cream and it's killer!) Keep up the beautiful work!
The mousse piped on looks so elegant and tea party worthy. What type of tip did you use for the mousse. Have you any pointers with piping mousse (before I cover my kitchen in mousse...)
Also I have been looking at your site for awhile and your photos do your work so much justice. Who takes the photos? What sort of camera do you use?
Kim
I made these cupcakes yesterday and while i was generally pleased with the cupcake itself and the mint cream, I had a lot of trouble with the raspberry mousse... unsurprisingly, when I mixed the gelatin in and refrigerated it it became hard and gelatinous which made for a lot of trouble when mixing it with the whipped cream... logic would dictate that it would be hard and gelatinous, but from the pictures it seems a lot smoother, i ended up with a few chunks in my frosting (sort of gross). I imagine there's something I could have done differently, like stuck it in a blender, if I wanted to make sure it was smooth, but I was trying to follow the instructions. Is there something I did wrong?
Hi, Blair. Baking isn't easy, or straightforward - that's for sure. There are so many variables that can impact the outcome. The best tips I (or anyone) can give is on how to recover from things that could go wrong. There are lots of things one can do, many I learned from experimenting myself, through classes, or even from food TV. In this case, if I noticed that the mixture was too stiff, I would warm it slightly over a water bath before folding in the whip cream.
H
Thanks, I appreciate the advice. Makes sense to try to warm it up a little - should have thought of that. I was just so intent on following the recipe and it made sense to me that the raspberry mixture turned gelatinous - what, if not that, does gelatin do? so I assumed I was on the right track...
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