It’s Trevor’s fault. He mentioned Banana Cupcakes and I just had to make them, too. It’s what friends do.
Fortunately, Trevor made them a few days back and decreed the chocolate ganache he topped them with was a bit much for the rather delicate cake. I probably would have topped them with chocolate, myself – chocolate and banana is a natural flavor combination.
Instead… I went for rum! (Meyer’s Rum, to be precise. I bought it before the Jaimaca boycott was announced and won’t buy any more – but I’m also not dumping it down the drain!) But I digress…
The cupcake proved to be everything I hoped for – and more! A really light, delicate texture and great flavor. Perfect. I was actually a bit mystified by how they would come out, because I have baked forever and almost always, one starts a recipe by creaming the butter with the sugar, adding the eggs, and then alternating the flour and the liquids. This is totally different. And it totally worked!
Banana Cupcakes
Recipe adapted from Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes
(Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes)
- 2 1/4 cups of cake flour
- 1 1/3 cups of sugar
- 1 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder
- 1 1/4 teaspoons of baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1 stick of unsalted butter
- 1 cup of mashed ripe bananas
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 cup of milk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and have your cupcake liners ready.
2. Mix the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt for about 1 minute.
3. Add the mashed bananas and butter. Beat until well blended on medium for about 3 minutes.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, and vanilla together. Slowly add this mixture to the batter.
5. Scoop the batter into your cupcake liners and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
6. Cool and garnish with caramel, chocolate ganache, whipped cream, or sliced bananas.Notes: chocolate too heavy for light banana cake. Try cream cheese or just a light powdered sugar glaze which would make these into a nice breakfast bread.
I followed exactly. Did I mention perfect?!?
Rum Icing
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 8oz container mascarpone cheese (or cream cheese – I had mascarpone in the house.)
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
- 1 tbsp Meyer’s Rum
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3-4 cups powdered sugar
Cream butter and nmascarpone together. Add heavy cream, then rum and vanilla. Add powdered sugar a cup at a time until icing reaches desired consistency.
This is definitely a keeper!