What birthday treat do you make for a friend who doesn't have a sweet tooth? Savory cupcakes of course! Are these just really fancy cornbread muffins? Perhaps. Are they incredibly delicious? Definitely.
Savory cupcakes are really simple to make, and there is so much room for creativity.
For the cupcakes, choose your favorite savory cornbread or corn muffin recipe and bake them. That's it. I use Cornbread That Ain't Sweet from the amazing Lazarus Lynch.
While the cupcakes cool, prepare your toppings. Here's what I love, but feel free to mix it up according to your tastes!
Crispy Bacon
Cook a few strips of bacon on super low heat until crispy. Do not turn your stove above low. Do not. It will take a long time, but it will also take your cupcakes a while to cool so you have plenty of time to kill. Once the bacon is crispy, pat it dry on a paper towel and crumble it up into small pieces.
Savory Adobo Cream Cheese Frosting
Add 1 brick of cream cheese to your mixer and whip it until it starts to get a little fluffy. Add 2-4 tablespoons of the adobo sauce that comes in a can of chipotles in adobo. Season to taste with a generous pinch of salt, MSG, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.
Fresh Herbs
Chop up scallions, parsley, chives, and/or cilantro when you are ready to begin decorating your cupcakes.
Once the cupcakes are cool, fill a piping bag with the savory cream cheese frosting and add a swirl to the top of each cupcake. Sprinkle the bacon pieces and fresh herbs onto the frosting.
Just as regular cupcakes can come in millions of flavor combinations, you can mix up the flavors in savory cupcakes too. Here are a few other ideas:
Breakfast style: Use maple syrup instead of honey in the corn bread recipe and drizzle a little bit over the top of each cupcake. Substitute a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce to use on eggs for the adobo sauce in the frosting. Brown some breakfast sausage and crumble it on top. For bonus points, make salt-cured egg yolks and grate them over the top.
Buffalo style: Add ranch dressing seasoning instead of the adobo sauce and other spices to the frosting. Drizzle with buffalo sauce and garnish with thinly sliced celery. For bonus points, add an actual buffalo wing to the top.
Caprese style: Add basil pesto to the cream cheese frosting instead of the adobo sauce and spices. Prop a thin slice of fresh tomato up on top of the frosting and drizzle with balsamic reduction. Sprinkle some Maldon salt and black pepper on the tomato slice.