Growing up, one of the desserts we would usually buy for our everyday cravings and receive during the holidays was Banana Bread or Banana Cake. Exactly 3 years ago today, I posted this video of my go-to banana bread recipe by Cooking with Mia, which I adapted into banana cupcakes and topped with some sweetness. Although the process was not shown in the video, I made the chocolate peanut butter ganache and honey cinnamon frosting as well. These elements were incorporated to give the cupcakes a more festive feel as I baked them for my mom’s birthday.
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Salted or Unsalted?
Although most cake and cupcake recipes call for unsalted butter, I love using salted butter in creating cakes, cookies, and the like as it just gives this extra lift to the flavor of these tasty treats. In the end, it’s really up to your personal preference in regards to taste and texture. For frosting and buttercream it’s the same thing, they usually indicate to use unsalted butter but I have seen some recipes that say salted or unsalted butter is fine. It’s really up to you. Enjoy what you create!
Sugar, yes please!
Brown or white sugar, you ask? For cakes, cupcakes, muffins, cookies, and the like, again, it is really up to you and how your palate likes it. In the video above, I used white sugar but I found that using brown sugar is best for my taste. It gives me the sweetness I need without it being too much that I feel like I’m back to being a child on a sugar high. Additionally, confectioners’ sugar is apparently the same as powdered sugar and icing sugar, so you can utilize any of these in making your frosting. Caster sugar, however, is the odd one out. It falls in the middle of granulated sugar and powdered sugar. Based on my research, it is alright to make use of powdered sugar in place of caster sugar but not caster sugar as a substitute for confectioners’ sugar. This is because caster sugar is not as finely ground as icing sugar and does not contain any agent to avoid clumping. If you’re okay with your frosting being slightly grainy, you can go ahead and throw in your caster sugar. Just be careful that it doesn’t clump together.
Cake or Cupcake?
You can totally bake this banana bread any way you want. If you are making it bread style, grease your loaf pan with butter and sprinkle brown sugar all around. If you are baking them cupcake or muffin style, butter each cupcake mold in the tin and pat some brown sugar to its sides and bottom. If you do so, you won’t need to line the loaf pan with parchment paper or the cupcake tin with cupcake liners and you’ll be able to taste and enjoy the extra sugar around the yummy treat!
Nailed it!
Netflix has been there for me during this quarantine. I’ve been watching rom-coms, sci-fi, crime dramas, kid shows, and of course food shows. One of the food shows I love is this baking competition called Nailed it!. I actually learn a lot from watching the series. For example, in making buttercream or frosting, beat your butter alone for a few seconds just to soften it enough that it wouldn’t make a huge clump with the other ingredients later on. Once the butter seems soft enough that it can properly blend with the other components, add them in the bowl and beat them together until you get a smooth buttercream or frosting.
Banana Cupcakes
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cups of flour
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Wet Ingredients
- 3 ripe bananas (or 4 if small)
- 5 tablespoons softened butter
- 2 eggs room temperature
Instructions
- PREHEAT oven to 350 *F or 177 *C
- MIX all dry ingredients
- MASH bananas
- MIX all wet ingredients
- COMBINE wet and dry ingredients
- GREASE loaf pan or cupcake mold with butter
- PAT brown sugar on all sides of the greased pan or mold before pouring your batter in
- BAKE for 40-50 minutes ( if loaf pan) or 20-30 minutes (if cupcake or muffin tin) at 350 *F or 177 *C
- COOL for 15 minutes
- MAKE your ganache and frosting while the cupcakes cool
Chocolate Peanut Butter Ganache
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup all – purpose cream
- 1/3 cup peanut butter
- 1 cup (6 ounces) dark chocolate buttons
Instructions
- MICROWAVE in intervals of 30 seconds to 1 minute for 2-3 minutes.
- MIX it during each interval until you get a smooth and glossy mixture.
Honey Cinnamon Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
1. BEAT all ingredients together in a medium bowl using an electric mixer until smooth. This usually takes 4 to 5 minutes. Note: Put butter in first then the confectioners’ sugar, honey, and ground cinnamon.
Topping it off
pun intended 🙂
Elements
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Ganache
- Honey Cinnamon Frosting
- Fresh banana slices or banana chips
Assembly
- POUR your chocolate peanut butter ganache on top of your cake or cupcake with a spoon so it is evenly spread (or you can dip the cupcakes into the ganache).
- PIPE your honey cinnamon frosting on top designed to your desire
- GARNISH your cake or cupcakes with fresh slices of banana or banana chips
Enjoy!
Tag me on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook . I’d love to see your finished products! 🙂
By Marella G 