Sun-Dried Tomato, Basil & Gorgonzola Cupcakes

My friend Jen hosted a spring themed dinner party at her apartment this past Saturday night and asked each of us to bring an appetizer to share with all of the guests. Since I'm not much of a cook {I pretty much only make mac & cheese!} and everyone associates me with cupcakes, I thought making a savory cupcake could be really fun! They turned out even better than I expected and were sooo delicious - I wanted to eat them all before I even left for the party!! You absolutely can't skip the "frosting" on these because they totally make the cupcake, trust me!

Sun-Dried Tomato, Basil & Gorgonzola cupcakes

makes 17 cupcakes

loosely adapted from Sweet Artichoke

For the cupcakes...

• 1 1/2 cup tomato (about 3 1/2 medium tomatoes)
• 6 eggs
• 6 tablespoons plain yogurt
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper 
• 2 pinches of salt
• 1/2 pound gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
• 24 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line muffin tins with 17 liners and set aside.
2. Put the regular tomatoes in a bowl filled with hot water for 2 minutes. (This will make them easier to peel.) Then peel them all and puree them in your food processor or a blender. Measure out 1 1/2 cups of tomato juice and set aside.
3. Whisk the eggs in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
4. Add the yogurt and olive oil and whisk well.
5. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, pepper and salt. 
6. Pour the dry mixture into the egg mixture and whisk until well combined with no lumps.
7. Pour in the pureed tomatoes.
8. Stir in the gorgonzola and sun-dried tomatoes until evenly distributed.
9. Fill each liner almost to the top and bake cupcakes for 15 minutes.
10. Let cool on a wire rack.

For the frosting...

• one 8 oz package of cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• pinch of salt
• 4 tablespoons of chopped basil leaves, plus more for garnish

1. In the bowl of your standing mixer, beat the cream cheese on high with the whisk attachment until light.
2. Add in the basil , salt and pepper and mix until combined.
3. Fill up a piping bag with a large star tip and squeeze a small dollop of frosting onto each cooled cupcake.
4. Garnish with small pieces of basil.
5. Devour!!!