Chocolate Basil Cupcakes

This time of year my basil crop is always out of control and unmanageable. Fresh pasta sauces is usually my go-to to help cull the herb... but the other day I came across the most wonderful of ideas. Chocolate Basil cake. That's right, combine it with the sugary, chocolatey goodness and it's sure to be a delight. I've become rather smitten with baked goods that incorporate unconventional herbs as in these Blueberry Rosemary Scones.

But this time... I can't say I'm nearly as delighted. The cake turned out a bit... chewy, more like brownies and I'm not sure I'm completely sold on the additional basil flavor. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I tried it out, I'm just not sure it will become a go-to recipe in my house. Those precious summer basil leaves may be better saved for a delicious pesto.

Chocolate Basil Buttercream Cake Recipe
I made a double-batch, which produced 30 cupcakes. I only used 1 cup of packed basil leaves, which I felt was sufficient.

Basil Buttercream Frosting
I was going to use this recipe, but when I saw that it required boiling the basil leaves in milk and then throwing them out, I decided that sounded completely unnecessary, highfalutin, and time-consuming. I went the lazy route and made up this recipe for a bit more basil-punch:

1/2 c butter
1/2 c margarine
4 c powdered sugar
2 Tbsp Almond milk
1/8 c fresh basil leaves

Cream butter and basil in a food processor until basil is thoroughly chopped. Add remaining ingredients slowly.

Fun Fact: Basil, like any other unprocessed, plant-based foods have a high amounts of minerals and nutrients. Throwing away and cooking the basil leaves takes out much of those nutrients. I would say this option is much healthier (ha!).