Tablespoons & Teaparties

Hi there! My name is Shirlee, and this is my debut post (eeee!). I’m nervous and sweating and anxious about posting to a blog, so the only thing I can do to fix all that is… bake something delicious and sweet and filled with butter!

Food. Cures. All.

Quick intro on me – I’ve been a fan of baking (and cooking in general) for as long as I can remember, but baking turned into a real hobby when my fiancé gifted me my dream toy this past holiday season… my very own, majestic yellow KitchenAid Stand. Mixer.

Her name is Little Debbie and I love her. Prepare to see her featured on here often cause she’s rapidly becoming one of my best friends. Don’t worry though, she can never replace my favorites who are the other beauties behind this blog 😉

Anywho, last week I had some overripe bananas laying about and was trying to think of something different to do with them other than banana bread (will save that for a future post). My mom’s birthday was coming up, so I went on the hunt for Pinterest and found this amazing recipe from Just So Tasty (TY!). It had everything I look for in a recipe – simple directions, most of the ingredients I already had on hand, and looked delish!

Baking for me is my way to unwind. So to make it as stress-free as possible, I prep all my ingredients ahead of time so I’m not running around my kitchen scrambling while baking. Make sure to read any recipe thoroughly before you get started and see if there’s anything special you need to do to prep your ingredients (like having room temp butter, super ripe bananas, etc.)

Also, try not to overstress if something goes wrong! I was creaming my butter and sugar for these, and something felt off. It wasn’t until RIGHT as I was about to pour into the tins that I realized… I never added the brown sugar! Woops! Dumped it in right then, gave Debbie a few spins, and voila – no one knew otherwise!

Besides that little snafu, these babies are pretty straightforward. These were a huge hit, and the perfect end to a sweet birthday celebration. Did these turn out the prettiest? Absolutely not. Are they all identical? NOPE! But we’re working on all of that, so it’ll be a work in progress 😉 Get ready to join along for the ride!

These cupcakes in particular definitely have all the flavors you love of a classic banana bread, but the texture was fluffier and more cupcake like. The cream cheese frosting takes them to another level though, and made them much of an after dinner snack vs a breakfast treat. Deeeelicious.

If you give these a try, let me know in the comments!

xo,

Shir

Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Prep Time: 45 mins

Cook Time: 16 mins

Total Time: 1 hr 1 min

Servings: 14 -16 cupcakes

Ingredients

For the Cupcakes

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3/4 cup mashed bananas , about 2-3 very ripe, small bananas
• 1/3 cup milk , room temperature (buttermilk preferred)*
• 1 and 1/2 cups cake flour**
• 1 and 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, to taste

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 4 oz block-style cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3-4 cups icing sugar, sifted
• 1 tablespoon cream or milk

Instructions

For the Banana Cupcakes

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line two muffin tins with muffin papers.

2. In a large bowl beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs and vanilla and continue mixing until combined.

3. Turn down the mixer to low and mix in the mashed bananas.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

5. Gently mix the flour mixture into the banana mixture. Then beat in the milk.

6. Fill each muffin cavity about 2/3 to 3/4 full.

7. Bake in your preheated oven for about 15-18 minutes until an inserted tooth pick comes out clean.

For The Cream Cheese Frosting

1. In large bowl beat together the cream cheese & butter with an electric mixer until combined.

2. Turn down the mixer to low speed and add in the powdered sugar about 1/2 cup at a time until the desired sweetness level is reached.

3. If the icing is too thick, add a tablespoon or two of cream. Then turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and beat for 15 seconds.

4. Frost the cupcakes either using a piping bag or smearing the icing with a knife. Optionally, decorate with dried banana chips.

Recipe Notes

**1 and 1/2 cups of cake flour can be made by measuring 1 and 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour into a bowl. Remove 3 tablespoons of flour. Then add 3 tablespoons of cornstarch and whisk to combine