I can’t recover from the flavour in these gentle and fluffy banana cupcakes! They’re made with freshly mashed bananas and a touch of tangy buttermilk, topped with swirls of creamy peanut butter frosting and chocolate.
For those who love the flavour mixture in these banana cupcakes with peanut butter frosting, attempt my peanut butter banana bread, too! And for an additional straightforward cupcake recipe, attempt these strawberry cupcakes.
Why I Love This Banana Cupcakes Recipe
I’ve by no means met a cupcake that I didn’t like, however I’m undecided I’ve met a cupcake I LOVE greater than these ridiculously scrumptious banana cupcakes! I taste these buttery banana cupcakes with recent ripe bananas and a splash of buttermilk, and so they style identical to my favourite home made buttermilk banana bread. The feel is far softer, nonetheless, like banana cake, topped with massive swirls of peanut butter frosting. Right here’s why I really like them:
Huge banana taste. Actual bananas fill these cupcakes with sweetness, whereas buttermilk provides slightly tang. The components are easy however there’s loads of taste to go round.
The most effective texture. These banana cupcakes are tremendous moist and so scrumptious! Fluffy, and tender… they’re inconceivable to withstand. I sneak one (or two) even earlier than I add the frosting!
Fast to make. When I’ve restricted time for baking, there’s no simpler cupcake recipe. The batter is prepared in minutes and the cupcakes bake simply as rapidly.
Deliciously embellished. I couldn’t resist frosting my banana cupcakes with peanut butter frosting and ending them off with Reese’s peanut butter cups and chocolate. The mixture is NEXT LEVEL. Embellish them any manner you want for birthdays, events, or simply as a result of.
Cupcake Substances
I’ve included a couple of ingredient notes for these banana cupcakes right here. You’ll discover a printable recipe card beneath the publish with a full checklist and recipe particulars.
Shortening – Shortening is my secret to a flaky and tender crumb in these banana cupcakes. It makes the feel lighter and cake-like, and fewer like a muffin or banana bread.
Sugar – I exploit granulated sugar however gentle brown sugar additionally works.
Eggs and Vanilla – Let the eggs come to room temperature and remember to use actual vanilla extract.
Bananas – You’ll wish to use recent, ripe bananas. As with most baking recipes, it’s greatest if the bananas are a bit overripe, as they’ll have extra taste. These cupcakes are my excuse to make use of up any brown, spotty bananas in the home!
Buttermilk – Buttermilk is one other essential ingredient that makes these banana cupcakes additional moist and tender, with loads of taste. I like to recommend bringing the buttermilk to room temperature. For those who don’t have any readily available, you may make a homemade buttermilk substitute with complete milk and vinegar (or lemon juice).
Flour – All-purpose is the only option for these cupcakes.
Baking Powder, Baking Soda, and Salt – Examine the dates in your leavening components to verify they’re as recent as doable. In case your baking soda and baking powder are expired, the cupcakes gained’t rise.
For the Frosting
Butter – Dropped at room temperature.
Creamy Peanut Butter – Make certain it’s the shelf-stable form. Pure peanut butter (the sort you’ll must stir) comprises an excessive amount of oil and tends to separate.
Powdered Sugar – Sifted to interrupt up any lumps.
Milk – This may be complete milk, 2% milk, or any milk you will have within the fridge. For a fair creamier frosting, use heavy cream or half-and-half.
Easy methods to Make Banana Cupcakes
These banana cupcakes are very fast and easy to make. It’s a 3-step course of! Observe alongside beneath and scroll to the recipe card for printable directions.
Combine the cupcake batter. Begin by creaming the sugar and shortening collectively, then beat within the eggs, vanilla, buttermilk, and bananas. Lastly, slowly combine within the flour, leavening, and salt.
Fill the pan. Scoop the batter out into lined muffin pans. I often fill every liner about ⅔ of the way in which full, so the cupcakes have room to rise with out overflowing.
Bake. Bake these banana cupcakes at 350ºF for 15-20 minutes till they’re set. Afterward, let the cupcakes cool utterly earlier than frosting.
Simple Peanut Butter Frosting
This may be the best frosting to ever grace my kitchen. It’s a variation of classic vanilla buttercream flavored with creamy peanut butter. Once I say it melts in your mouth, I’m not kidding! It’s tremendous creamy, fluffy, and pipable. Right here’s make it:
Cream butter and peanut butter collectively. Add the butter and peanut butter to a bowl and provides {that a} good whip on medium pace till it’s good and clean.
Add powdered sugar and milk. Subsequent, steadily beat within the powdered sugar, then the milk, till you attain a pipeable consistency. It’s possible you’ll want so as to add slightly extra of 1 or the opposite to skinny out or thicken the frosting as wanted.
Whip. Beat the peanut butter frosting totally till it’s gentle and fluffy. Afterward, fill a piping bag. I exploit an open-star piping tip to create the buttercream swirls you see within the pictures.
Begin within the middle of the cupcake.Swirl the frosting outwards.
Pipe a frosting swirl. Beginning within the middle of the cupcake, pipe the frosting after which slowly transfer the piping tip outward and upward to create a swirl (see pictures). Repeat with the remainder of the cupcakes.
Ripen bananas rapidly. For those who solely have underripe bananas readily available however have a hankering for banana cupcakes (comprehensible), a simple option to ripen them rapidly is to position the bananas on a baking sheet and bake them at 300ºF for about 20 minutes, till the peels are blackened. Let the bananas cool off absolutely earlier than you peel and mash them.
Use room temperature components. Any fridge-cold components like eggs and buttermilk needs to be taken out half-hour or so forward of time in order that they’ll come to room temperature. This manner, they’ll combine extra simply into the batter.
Don’t overmeasure. Overmeasuring components like flour will result in dense, dry cupcakes. For those who don’t have a kitchen scale to precisely measure, use the spoon and sweep methodology: spoon the flour from the bag into the measuring cup and sweep the surplus away to stage it off. By no means scoop instantly from the bag!
Keep away from overmixing the batter. Overmixing is the main explanation for dense, powerful banana cupcakes. Solely combine the flour into the batter till it’s simply mixed.
Bake in batches. Relying on what number of muffin pans you will have, and the scale of your oven, it’s higher to bake in batches than danger overcrowding. For those who solely have one pan, simply cool the baked cupcakes for a couple of minutes earlier than transferring them to a wire rack, and reusing the pan for the subsequent batch.
Easy methods to Embellish These Banana Cupcakes
There’s no mistaken option to beautify a cupcake! I garnish my frosted banana cupcakes with chopped Reese’s cups and a drizzle of Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup. These are another concepts:
Sprinkles. For those who’re making these as birthday cupcakes, they want sprinkles! Use rainbow sprinkles, jimmies, nonpareils, or colourful sanding sugar so as to add slightly brightness and further sparkle.
Chocolate chips. Prime these cupcakes with semi-sweet, darkish, or white chocolate chips. You can too use peanut butter chips or butterscotch morsels. For one more straightforward variation, combine mini chocolate chips proper into the cupcake batter to make chocolate chip banana cupcakes.
Caramel sauce. Drizzle over home made caramel sauce as a substitute of chocolate syrup.
Coconut. For a tropical twist, frost these banana cupcakes with vanilla buttercream or cream cheese frosting and mud the tops with toasted shredded coconut.
Fruit. Prime every cupcake with a recent banana slice earlier than serving (like my bananas foster cupcakes), or add a maraschino cherry.
These cupcakes are nice to bake forward of time, and you’ll cowl and refrigerate them till the next day once you’re able to frost them.
I additionally wish to make the peanut butter frosting a day forward because it shops nicely within the fridge. I’ll preserve it refrigerated hermetic and produce it again to room temperature earlier than I exploit it. I like to recommend giving the frosting a fast whip, too, earlier than you fill your piping bag.
Easy methods to Retailer
Refrigerate. The frosted cupcakes are positive to remain at room temperature for a couple of hours, however after that, I like to recommend preserving them within the fridge. Retailer them in an hermetic container, like a cake service or comparable, in order that they don’t get squished. They’ll final for 2-3 days within the fridge.
Freeze. The unfrosted cupcakes freeze nice! Let the cupcakes cool utterly, after which retailer them in a freezer-safe bag or container. Freeze for as much as 2 months and thaw the cupcakes within the fridge earlier than frosting.
These gentle and fluffy banana cupcakes are made with recent bananas and a splash of tangy buttermilk, topped with swirls of peanut butter frosting and chocolate.
Cupcakes:
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 giant eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
Frosting:
1/2 cup butter, room temp (1 stick)
1 cup creamy peanut butter
3 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk (you possibly can add extra when you want a creamier frosting)
Garnish *non-compulsory
Chocolate syrup for drizzle (I used Hershey’s)
Reese’s Peanut Butter cups, chopped
Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Combine collectively the shortening and sugar in a mixing bowl fitted together with your paddle attachment.
Add within the eggs, vanilla, buttermilk and bananas, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.. Combine till mixed totally, scraping the edges of the bowl as crucial.
Flip the mixer pace to low and add within the flour, mixing till simply mixed.
Line two muffin pans and fill every liner 2/3 full with batter.
Bake for 15-20 minutes till the cupcakes are set and a toothpick comes out clear.
Take away the cupcakes to a wire rack and allow them to cool utterly earlier than frosting.
Frosting:
Within the clear bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine the butter and peanut butter and on medium pace till mixed.
Slowly add the powdered sugar mixing till included.
Add milk slowly till the specified consistency is reached.
Pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes. Garnish with chocolate syrup and chopped-up Reese’s Cups (if desired).
Notes
Retailer hermetic at room temperature for as much as 3 days. Or retailer hermetic within the fridge for as much as 5 days.