Its mango season ! And like always , i am super excited.. you can expect to see some bakes and treats with my favourite favourite fruit in the coming weeks. Well hopefully at least, because I am not exactly famous for carrying on with my plans. But i ll try. I always try !
Speaking of plans , I saw a dessert on Masterchef eons ago that had a mango dessert with basil and since then , I planned to try the flavour pairing myself. I am always wary ( like everybody else i guess ) of trying something so out of the box. And finally mustered up the culinary courage this past weekend.
The eggless mango cupcakes are easy to make- I used the recipe by Anvitha) but a couple of pointers here – Making any batter with fresh fruit is never completely fool proof as the content of water varies from fruit to fruit. And with all the different kinds of mangoes you get in India ( phew !) , the equation becomes slightly more tricky. I would suggest to use the sweetest and ripest mangoes you can and be sure to strain the puree. Also , once you add the dry ingredients , mix only as much as required to mix in the flour or your cupcakes WILL get dense. They ll still be as delicious but just not as light !
For the basil buttercream , I used this technique by Tatyana’s everyday food where the basil leaves are ground along with the sugar and then used. You can also infuse one of the ingredients ( milk , cream , butter etc ) with basil , strain and then make a buttercream as usual. With the grinding of the leaves , there are two upsides – 1. More flavour 2. More colour. So thats the way I went.
The eggless mango cupcakes are sweet and moist , and the basil buttercream is unique to say the least. Refreshing , almost savoury . Ofcourse , if basil buttercream seems too much , you can go with a vanilla or a mango one or really no frosting at all .
Eggless mango cupcakes with basil buttercream
Ingredients
For the mango cupcakes
- 180 ml or 2/3 cup mango puree
- 120 ml or 1/2 cup yoghurt or curd
- 60 ml or 1/4 cup oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 200 grams or 1 cup granulated or castor sugar
- 190 grams or 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For the basil buttercream
- 15 grams or 1 scant cup (not packed) fresh basil leaves
- 112 grams or 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 150 grams or 1 1/2 cups icing or powdered sugar
- Pinch of salt skip if using salted butter
Instructions
To make the mango cupcakes
- Preheat your oven to 180 C / 350 F. Line a 12 cavity muffin tray (or individual silicon cupcake moulds) with paper liners or grease and flour well
- If using fresh mango , chop and puree them , then strain out 2/3 cup of puree into a large bowl
- Add in the yoghurt , vanilla and oil. Whisk or stir until smooth
- Add the sugar and whisk well
- Sift in the flour , baking powder , baking soda and salt.
- Fold with a spatula or whisk just until smooth or no flour / lumps are seen. Try not to over mix!
- Fill the batter into the prepared muffin tray , filling each cavity about 2/3 rds full
- Immediately, transfer to oven and bake at 180 c / 350 F for 18 to 20 minutes . A toothpick inserted in the centre of a cupcake , should come out clean.
- Remove from oven and let cool 5 mins for a wire rack
- Gently remove each cupcake from tray and cool completely before frosting.
To make the basil buttercream :
- Clean and dry the basil leaves well.
- In a grinder/ mixer or food processor , pulse together the basil leaves with half of the icing sugar until a green paste is formed.
- In a bowl , beat the butter until smooth , add about half of the remaining sugar and beat until smooth (not grainy )
- Add the rest of the sugar and beat until smooth
- Add the basil paste and the salt and beat until desired consistency is achieved
- Frost cupcakes as desired !
Notes
This buttercream may not be everyone’s cup of tea, you may like it or hate it. Give it a go if you are someone who wants to try new flavours. But the basil and mango go well together and if you are looking for another cake to pair it with , I hear ( rather read) that chocolate and basil go together fabulously as well. Will need to try that out !
Meanwhile , you can check out some of my favourite mango sweet treats :