There was a sale on bulk spices earlier this week (the same kind of sale that lead me to buy cocoa nibs that lead to these red velvet cupcakes) and I stocked up. The only really *new* thing I bought during the sale was garam masala. Garam masala is actually just the name of a sort of style of spice mix–it can be any combination of a number of different spices. The kind I bought, however, has a combination of cloves, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, cardamom, and pepper, and maybe a few other things I’m not 100% sure on.
Though I know some people have declared that savory flavors in cupcakes is weird, I like it, and I like it as much as I like sour flavors in cupcakes. I feel like the savory/sweet and sour/sweet combinations work well because of the contrast, playing counterpoint to each other.
Um. I don’t suspect anyone really cares to hear me ramble about flavor combinations much longer, so into the recipe we go! (more…)