Banana Cupcakes with Whipped Brown Sugar Buttercream

BANANA CUPCAKES! 

WHIPPED BROWN SUGAR BUTTERCREAM! 

Sorry for text shouting but I want you all to be as excited about this recipe as I am! 

Last weekend, Matt and I were craving something sweet and I had some bananas that were on their last breath.  I went on a quest to find something to lend them to that didn't include banana bread. So this is how I spent my wild and crazy Saturday night.  Baking banana cupcakes and topping them with the most delightful frosting known to man.  

And you know what, I am so glad that I did because they were awesome. 

Apologies for not having my usual progress pictures.  I tried to get some shots in, but since these were made at night and I am the worst at low-lighting photos, I gave up and just decided to share the end result which I photographed the next day.  

The recipe made about a dozen cupcakes and I boldly mentioned that we would probably have to give the leftovers to neighbors or bring them into work.  But after that first bite, we weren't sharing these with anyone.  We finished them all.  By Monday.  Shhhh...don't tell anyone.  

I think I only had three... or four.  Which means that my husband easily took down 8 or 9 cupcakes in less than two days.  And I hope that shows you how good they are because he only likes chocolate desserts.  

I guess you could say we went bananas for these cupcakes {pun absolutely intended}!  

Banana Cupcakes

1 ½  cups cake flour { I used half white and half whole wheat but all-purpose will work just fine}

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

¾ cup sugar

½ cup butter, softened

2 bananas, mashed

4 large eggs, separated

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice and whisk together.  Set aside. 

Crack eggs and separate the yolks from the whites.  Be sure not to get any yolk in the white or they will not beat properly.  

In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.  Remove from mixing bowl and place in another bowl for later.  To the mixing bowl, add the sugar, butter and egg yolks.  Beat for about 3 minutes until light and creamy.  Add the mashed bananas and vanilla and mix until incorporated.  

Fold in the egg whites, being careful not to deflate them.  Next, gradually fold in the dry ingredients until batter is formed.   

Using an ice cream scoop, divide batter into lined cupcake tins.  Bake for 12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Remove from oven and completely cool before frosting.  

Whipped Brown Sugar Buttercream

7 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 ¼ cups milk

1 ½ tablespoons pure vanilla extract

1 ½ cups salted butter, at room temperature

1 ½ cups brown sugar, packed

¼ teaspoon salt

In a small sauce pan, add flour, milk and vanilla, whisking until smooth. Turn on heat and continuously mix over medium heat until a thick paste forms.  It will take about 3-5 minutes.  Do not walk away and keep whisking to ensure a smooth mixture.  Once mixture thickens, remove from heat and let cook completely, whisking every few minutes to let heat escape.  

 Add butter to mixing bowl fitted with the whisk attachment.  Whip until butter is smooth, about 2 minutes.  Gradually add in the brown sugar 1/2 cup at a time.  Finally add salt and beat the mixture for about 4 minutes until light and fluffy. 

Once flour  mixture has completely cooled, add to the sugar/butter mixture and beat until smooth.  You want the buttercream to be completely smooth, free of any sugar granules.  Keep beating for about 4-6 minutes until you get a light, smooth and fluffy consistency.

Frost the cooled cupcakes and garnish with banana slices (if eating right away), banana chips or sprinkles of brown sugar or walnuts.  

recipes adapted from emma the joy and i heart eating