Strawberry Cupcakes with Basil Cream Cheese Frosting

I love cupcakes. They're small, adorable and ever so yummy! There's just something satisfying about peeling off the liner and taking a big bite out of the cake.

The inspiration behind this cupcake was a strawberry basil sorbet I had once - the perfect combination of sweet and savory. I've been thinking about this one for awhile - about how yummy it would be to turn this flavor profile into a cupcake!

There was a minor issue with the garnish - I had thought a candied basil leaf would look pretty on top of the basil frosting, only my basil leaves didn't really agree to being dunked in sugar syrup. I ended up garnishing with a sliced strawberry, which was equally pretty with the color contrast.

Ingredients
-1cup pureed strawberries
-1.5 cup flour
-1 cup sugar
-1 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/4 cup milk
-1/2 tsp vanilla
-2 eggs at room temperature
-1 stick butter at room temperature
-1/2 package (4oz) cream cheese at room temperature
-powdered sugar
-2 big handfuls of basil, pureed

Instructions
-Preheat oven to 350.
-In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, mix the strawberry puree, milk and vanila.
-In the bowl of your stand mixer (I love my Kitchenaid - I tell my husband frequently that it's the best gift he's ever gotten for me), cream together the butter and sugar. Scrape down the sides and add in the eggs. Mix until well combine. Scrape down the sides again.
-Add in the flour and strawberry mixtures and mix carefully until combined.
-Pour the batter into a prepared muffin tin (I made 12 cupcakes from this recipe) and bake for 20-25 minutes (the cupcakes are done when a toothpick come out clean).
-Let cool before icing.
-For the frosting, whisk the cream cheese, basil puree and powdered sugar using the stand mixer until the desired consistency is reached. Notice how I didn't specify the amount of powdered sugar? This is really up to you and what consistency you want in your frosting.
-Frost and enjoy!