Olive Oil Cupcakes with Lemon, Thyme, and a Balsamic Vinegar Whipped Cream

One of my favorite things to bake here at home is cupcakes. I'm always looking for new and different cupcake ideas, and when I came across this one at cupcakeproject.com, I knew I had to try them out. I present to you, Olive Oil Cupcakes with Lemon and Thyme and a Balsamic Vinegar Whipped Cream!
Okay, so I know the picture isn't great but my refrigerator had the best lighting. And I know the idea of cupcakes made without butter and with savory ingredients sounds gross but...get over it because these cupcakes are amazing! You won't regret trying them. Moving on!
To make these cupcakes you need everything mentioned in the title (olive oil, lemon zest and juice, fresh thyme, balsamic vinegar, heavy whipping cream) along with sugar, flower, a pinch of salt, baking powder, and eggs.
It's not a very hard cupcake to make, and I managed to do it without a hand mixer which decided to die on me as I started to combine the ingredients. Making the whipped cream by hand was a bit tiring but in no way impossible to do. I also didn't have a piping bag so I put the icing bag using a fold-over sandwich bag. Not the prettiest, but I made it work.
Some foodies might insist on using a very high quality olive oil for this recipe since you are using such a large amount (2/3 of a cup), but I used Kroger brand olive oil and they were still delicious in the end.
Now, a lot of my friends were wary to try these, and the first bite is off-putting, but by the time you're done you only want more!
To see the full recipe be sure to visit http://www.cupcakeproject.com/2008/05/olive-oil-cupcakes-with-lemon-thyme-and.html