Savory and Sweet
I’ve never been big on sweets. I can resist even the most rich, lush looking of chocolate cakes. My weakness is in the savory and salty department. And what better bridge between the worlds of savory and sweet than a sun-dried tomato. Sun-dried tomato cupcake with balsamic frosting is a little sweet with a hint of herbs and the tangy frosting compliments the cake.
What You Need to Make Sun-dried Tomato Cupcake with Balsamic Frosting
- Eggs – What a beautiful batter. Egg yolks give this batter its gorgeous golden hue.
- Sun-dried Tomatoes – How amazing does the rich oil and deep scarlet of the sun-dried tomatoes look? Sun-dried tomatoes are subtly sweet, tangy, and savory. A little will go a long way.
- Baking Basics – No surprise, you’ll need the staple dry ingredients: all purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking powder, and a bit of salt.
- Milk and Coconut Milk – A bit of dairy plus the sweetness and richness of the coconut milk. Plus, coconut milk brings just a little bit of unique flavor, like being on vacation that I really like with the savory.
- Powdered Sugar, Butter, and Balsamic Vinegar – Ingredients for a standard butter frosting, with a bit of zip. I love the tang of the vinegar. Be sure to use a quality balsamic, it will be worth it.
How To Make Sun-dried Tomato Cupcake with Balsamic Frosting
First, sift all the dry ingredients to make sure the lumps are out. I like to sift them together to help combine them. Second and separately, mix all the wet (eggs and milk). Then, combine the wet and the dry and whisk well. Lastly, add the sun-dried tomatoes to the batter and gently combine. Line the cupcake wells with butter or cupcake liners, then fill each well generously.
Sun-dried Tomato Muffin Tops
Sun-dried tomato cupcake with Balsamic frosting recipe makes a baker’s dozen, maybe more if you want to use a bit less batter in each cubby than I recommend. I wanted heaping muffin top domes, so I used 1/4 cup of batter for each cupcake.
Each cupcake well should be greased or use paper cupcake liners to ensure the cupcakes can be easily removed. Cupcake liners make for an easier clean up, but I don’t always have those handy. Flour and butter are my go-to grease method and they’re always available. Make sure the cakes are well cooled before frosting.
Balsamic Vinegar Frosting
I wanted the frosting to follow suit with a non-traditional flavor profile. This frosting is a mellow sweet, anchored with the classic butter and powdered sugar combination but is flavored with balsamic vinegar. A little vinegar goes a long way. If you want a more intense flavor, add vinegar slowly to get the desired pungency.
I also recommend adding honey as well to the frosting for more of a candied taste. Add honey to complement the tomato and vinegar or simply replace the vinegar entirely with honey. Don’t feel like you have to get fancy with frosting either.
I did frost a few with a bag and tip, but honestly, this cupcake seems a little too rustic for anything but old school butter knife application. Whichever method you decide, these sun dried tomato cupcakes are a refreshing change of pace.
Tips, Tricks, & FAQs
- Be Cool. Always allow the cupcakes to cool before frosting. If the cupcakes are warm, the frosting will slide right off.
- How To Store Your Cupcakes. Uneaten cupcakes will last at least a week in an airtight container stored in the refrigerator.
- Substituations. Substitute honey in place of the balsamic vinegar to create a sweet frosting option.
- Basic Cupcakes. While I’m really happy with the way these sun-dried tomato cupcakes with balsamic frosting turned out, this batter is really easy to convert to make a basic vanilla cupcake. Simply add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and substitute the sun-dried with 1/2 cup vegetable oil.
Sun-dried Tomato Cupcake with Balsamic Vinegar
Equipment
- butter knife or piping bag and tip to apply frosting
- can opener
- cupcake liners (alternative)
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- mixer
- Mixing bowls
- muffin pan
- paper towel (alternative)
- spatula
- spoons
- strainer
- whisk
Ingredients
Cupcake Batter
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk in can
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup julienne cut sun-dried tomatoes in oil with herbs (including 3-4 teaspoons of oil)*
- *If tomatoes are not available with herbs, add 1 teaspoon mix of dried basil and oregano
Options to Grease Cupcake Wells
- 2 tablespoons butter (for greasing pan)
- 1/4 cup flour (for greasing pan)
- 12-16 paper cupcake liners
Frosting
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick) room temp
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1/2 tablespoon good quality balsamic vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat. Preheat oven to 350 °F.
- Tomatoes. If the oil in your sun-dried tomatoes is liquid, refrigerate the tomatoes until the oil solidifies. This will make less of a mess when chopping.1 cup julienne cut sun-dried tomatoes in oil with herbs (including 3-4 teaspoons of oil)*
Cupcake Batter
- Flour. Place a strainer over large mixing bowl. Measure flour, making sure the cup is leveled off and place in the strainer to sift out all lumps directly into the mixing bowl.2 cups flour
- Dry Ingredients. Measure and sift the sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the mixing bowl with the flour.1 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon sea salt
- Whisk. Whisk together all dry ingredients and set aside.
- Eggs. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs.3 eggs
- Liquids. Into the egg mixture, whisk in the milk and coconut milk until completely incorporated. About 1 minute.1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk in can, 1/2 cup whole milk
- Combine. Pour the milk/egg mix into the dry and whisk until combined. Scrape the bottom to be sure the dry mix is completely mixed with the wet.
- Tomatoes. Measure sun-dried tomatoes onto a cutting board (I recommend a colored plastic board for this to avoid staining). Rough chop the tomatoes further. Fold the sun-dried tomatoes into the batter.
Prepare the Cupcake Pan
- Options. There are two methods I recommend.
- Liners. One is to use paper cupcake liners. This is the best of the two options and makes cleanup a breeze. However, I don't always have them on hand.12-16 paper cupcake liners
- Butter. The other is to use a paper towel to spread butter on the bottoms and sides of each cupcake well. Then, sprinkle a bit of flour in the bottom of each well. Tap the pan to shake the flour so that if covers the bottoms entirely. Next, (over the sink) turn the pan on its side, and rotate the whole pan, tapping as needed, to move the flour until all sides of the wells are covered in flour. Tap out any excess flour.2 tablespoons butter (for greasing pan), 1/4 cup flour (for greasing pan)
- Fill. Fill each well ¾ of the way full with batter. This is about ¼ cup. I fill a measuring cup and use a spoon to get the batter out of the measuring cup and into the well. If you are using paper liners, be sure to pour into the center to avoid pulling the liner in and getting wonky.
- Bake. Bake for 20 minutes. Put a toothpick in the middle of a cupcake. It should come out nearly clean, a few crumbs sticking is ok. Wet batter sticking is not. If this happens, bake for 1-2 minutes more, and check again.
- Cool. I recommend removing the cupcakes from the pan and let them cool on a wire rack. The pan is hot, and it will take longer for the cupcakes to cool if they remain in the pan.
- Really Cool The cupcakes should be completely cooled before frosting. If they are hot/warm, the frosting will melt right off. Yikes.
Frosting
- Butter. Using a mixer, blend the butter for about 1 minute. Make sure the butter is room temp before starting.1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick) room temp
- Sugar and Milk. Turning off the mixer. Add the powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon of milk. Blend for ~1 minute. The butter mix will probably clump, keep mixing. As you add the next round of sugar and milk, the frosting will begin to smooth. Continue with the remaining sugar and milk, 1 cup + 1 tablespoon at a time.3 cups powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons milk
- Vinegar. The frosting should be light. Add 1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar and blend again for ~1 minute.1/2 tablespoon good quality balsamic vinegar
- Frost. Frost cooled cupcakes with a knife or pipping bag.
- Enjoy! Serve immediately. Store leftovers in a well-sealed container.
Other Recipes You Might Like!
Tomato Cucumber Mozzarella Salad with Balsamic Vinegar
