Savory Cupcakes - Fig, Goat Cheese, and Onion

Have you ever thought you were going to drink Sprite, only to find that your server had mistakenly refilled your glass with water?  While water can be satisfying, if caught unaware, the sip can be strange and unnerving.  Likewise, when you hand someone a savory cupcake, you have to warn them to not expect a sugar rush (although with my savory cupcakes, the onion on the top should be a bit of an indicator).  Once savory cupcake tasters have clear expectations, they can settle in and enjoy a unique culinary experience.

My friend Danielle best described these fig, goat cheese, and grilled onion savory cupcakes as follows:

It tastes like dinner.  You know how after you've had a good meal, you are left with a sweet satisfied feeling in your mouth?  That's this cupcake.

The cupcakes were dense and biscuit-like, and while I chose to top them with a light spread of fig and goat cheese frosting, they would also be well received served naked (the cupcakes - not you) during a cocktail party.

Black Bottom Cupcakes With Goat Cheese

Black bottom cupcakes are typically made with cream cheese. However, for a Cupcake Project twist, I made my black bottom cupcakes with goat cheese. I wondered if goat cheese would work well on black bottom cupcakes. Would they be too sour? Would the consistency be right?

The goat cheese worked better than I ever could have dreamed. The consistency and sweetness were perfect and the cupcakes had a slight tang that had me wanting more and more. As for the chocolate cupcake part of the recipe, it's light and fluffy and not overly sweet. This isn't a rich dessert, but it would be a perfect breakfast cupcake - perhaps for a Mother's Day brunch!

The recipe is simple (you don't even need to make frosting) and it is one that I would definitely make again and again (if I weren't always trying new cupcakes).

If these black bottom cupcakes sound good to you, please vote for them in the Ile de France recipe contest. Pretty please with some goat cheese on top? ;) It just takes two seconds - you go to the link and then click five stars (or whatever number of stars you want to give).

Black Bottom Cupcake Recipe

This recipe makes about 18 cupcakes.

For cake:

• 2 C flour
• 1 1/2 t baking powder
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 3/4 C butter, room temperature
• 1 1/3 C sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 C plain yogurt
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1/3 C milk
• 5 oz baking chocolate, melted

For goat cheese topping:

• 8 oz goat cheese (I used Ile de France goat cheese, but any non-flavored goat cheese would work)
  
• 1/3 C sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Whisk flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium-sized bowl.
2. Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in eggs, yogurt, vanilla, and milk until blended.
4. Alternately fold in flour mixture and melted chocolate, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
5. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full.
6. In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients for the goat cheese topping.
7. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the topping onto the center of each cupcake.
8. Bake at 350 F for thirty minutes or until a toothpick comes out dry.

Ile de France Goat Cheese

This Ile de France goat cheese arrived on my doorstep some time last month. The Ile de France goat cheese could have easily been completely devoured like this:

That would be unacceptable. If you send me something, it's going in cupcakes (assuming it's edible)! After snapping the photo (a lengthier project than you might imagine if you've never seen a food photographer at work), Jonathan and I allowed ourselves a few goat cheese smothered crackers before putting the rest of the cheese aside for my black bottom cupcakes.

BTW, Ile de France has a recipe contest going on right now and you would be my bestest friend if you would go vote for my black bottom cupcakes.

Thanks in advance,

Your new BFF (best friend forever)