I also love making a simple syrup (equal quantities sugar and water, heated until the sugar dissolves) flavored with basil. Tonight I made 4 cups of simple syrup and while it was still warm. dropped in all the basil from the box (stems, flowers and all – rinsed well, of course!). Tomorrow I’ll strain out the basil and refrigerate the syrup. I can use it to flavor iced tea, make a frozen ice or sweeten fruit salads. And since it’s not watermelon season yet, I can save my basil syrup and use it to make a modified version of Martha’s margaritas. (It’ll keep at least a month in the refrigerator.) Yum!
Ok – so then Suzanne mentioned basil cake. I found a recipe online for Lemon Basil Cake, calling for Trader Joe’s vanilla cake mix gussied up with the zest of 2 lemons and 1/2 cup chopped basil. And a lemon cake with basil syrup at Epicurious.com. And pound cake with lemon-basil-orange syrup. I can totally see the connection between lemon and basil, but chocolate? There was a chocolate basil cake on the Enlightened Cooking blog. Here’s the recipe. If I hadn’t already put all my basil into sugar syrup, I’d try this tomorrow.
Ingredients:
Cake: 1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup packed fresh basil leaves (plus addition leaves for garnish) 5 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process) 2 large eggs 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup hot water Frosting: 1 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process) 6 tablespoon reduced fat sour cream 1 1-ounce squares unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with nonstick baking spray with flour.
Place the sugar and basil in a food processor. Process until basil is chopped fine and uniformly green in color (it will look slightly wet).
In a large bowl whisk the melted butter, cocoa powder and basil sugar until well-blended. Whisk in the eggs, 1 at a time, until blended and smooth. Stir in the baking soda, vanilla, and salt.
Gradually add flour to bowl, stirring just until blended (do not overstir). Add hot water to mixture, stirring just until blended. four batter into prepared pan.
Bake 22-25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes on a wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cut into squares. Cool completely. Prepare sour cream frosting. Spread over cake and garnish with basil leaves, if desired. Makes 9 servings (serving size: 1 wedge).
Light Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting
In a medium bowl whisk the powdered sugar and cocoa powder; set aside. In a separate medium bowl beat the sour cream and melted chocolate with an electric mixer on low speed until blended. Gradually add sugar mixture to sour cream mixture, beating at low speed until well-blended. Add vanilla and beat well for 1 minute until very smooth and creamy.
Nutrition per Serving (1/9 of frosted cake): Calories 281; Fat 8.9g (poly 2.6g, mono 4.7g, sat 1.1g); Protein 5.3g; Cholesterol 1mg; Carbohydrate 50g.