Iron Cupcake:Earth Basil Challenge

Basil is this month's Iron Cupcake Challenge. Basil makes me think of tomatoes. Tomatoes remind me of an incredible tomato and peach gazpacho I sampled which was prepared by our Lake Austin Spa chef. I don’t even like gazpacho, but his concoction was something I’ve never forgotten. So for this challenge I created Peach Gazpacho Cupcakes.

The cake is based on the old tomato soup cake recipe. I couldn’t satisfy myself that Campbell’s condensed version is vegan, so I improvised with soygurt and tomato paste. I adapted a Sarah Kramer recipe from Veg Family. The peach part of the recipe is merely peach preserves, to which I added the basil. The basil flavor is very subtle, so if you want more, double the amount I used. And because of my aversion to buttercream frosting, I topped my cuppers with one of my favorite soup garnishes – popcorn, cinnamon flavored for this recipe.

Peach Gazpacho Cupcakes

Makes 1 dozen

The cake is slightly spicy and light in texture. These cupcakes are super quick and easy to make.

Ingredients:
8 ounces plain soygurt
2 T. low sodium tomato paste
2 T. canola oil
2 t. vanilla
¾ cup sugar
1-1/2 cups flour
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. freshly grated nutmeg
1 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
pinch of salt

12 t. (1/4 cup) peach preserves mixed with 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil.

1 cup popped popcorn sprinkled liberally with cinnamon

Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cupcake tin with paper liners.

For the cake: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the soygurt and tomato paste. Whisk in the oil, vanilla, and sugar. Sift in the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir until combined.

Spoon into cupcake pan. Smooth tops and add 1 t. peach preserves to the top of each cupcake. Bake for about 22 minutes.

When cupcakes are done, remove them to a wire rack. The tops will be just sticky enough for you to stick on the popcorn topping.

This was another fun challenge and rendered some very tasty cupcakes. You can view all the entries in the Iron Cupcake flickr pool and you can join this monthly challenge at any time - find out how at http://ironcupcake.blogspot.com.

I know my lowly vegan blog and loath of buttercream will never beat out the mainstream competition; nonetheless, to participate I must post the voting time and prizes awarded to the winner.

Voting will begin on Sunday, September 27 at 12 noon at NO ONE PUTS CUPCAKE IN A CORNER, and will be open through Tuesday, September 30 at 12 noon.

Prizes this month are provided by:

ETSY artist METAL SUGAR, HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS, HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, JESSIE STEELE APRONS, CUPCAKE COURIER, and TASTE OF HOME.

Thanks for visiting!