Savoury “Caprese” mini cupcakes

I finally decided to make some savory cupcakes. To me a cupcake is linked to sweet and the thought of making and eating savory one, never had much appeal.

But the ones I found on Laura’s Bakery looked very tempting, so I went for it. And I was not disappointed. Still found it strange to put sugar in the batter, and you did taste the sweetness, but the melted mozzarella had the upperhand.

Since the urge came rather suddenly, I had to make the pesto for the topping.

Ingredients for 24 mini cupcakes 

100 g flour
3 g baking powder 
25 g sugar
Pinch of salt
1 egg
110 ml milk
40 ml olive oil
50 g mozzarella, cut into small pieces 
25g pine nuts

Ingredients for the topping
100 grams unsalted butter
100 grams of cream cheese
1- 2 tablespoons green pesto
A few leaves of fresh basil
Salt and pepper

Preparation cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 180°. Line your mini-cupcake pan with paper liners.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Wisk and add the sugar and the salt. In another bowl, mix the eggs, the milk and the olive oil. Add the two mixtures together and mix until smooth. 

Add the chopped mozzarella and the pine nuts. Scoop the batter in the paper liners (three quarters full) and bake for approximately 12 minutes until tender and golden brown. 

Preparation topping

While the cupcakes are in the oven you can make the topping. Place the softened butter in a bowl and beat it lightly. When the butter is light add the cream cheese in portions and mix well. Add the pesto and some chopped fresh basil  Season to your liking with salt and pepper. 

You can either pipe or spoon the topping unto your cooled minicupcakes. Garnish with basil leaves and half a little cherry tomato. 

Pes­to ge­n­o­ve­se

Ingredients

2 tbsp pine nuts
25 g Parmesan cheese
1 clove of garlic
around 40 g of basil leaves
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil + extra for storage

Preparation

Toast the pine nuts in a frying pan without oil or butter for 3 minutes until golden. Cool completely on a plate, otherwise the pesto too oily. 

Grind the pine nuts, cheese and garlic in a food fine.

Add the basil and oil and grind briefly to pesto. Add salt and pepper. 

Put the pesto, if not using directly into a lean jar with a thin layer of oil. Unopened it will keep upto two months. Opened, make sure you finish it within a week.

Recipe Allerhande