Chocolate Banana Cupcakes With Peanut Butter Caramel Buttercream Recipes

BANANA CUPCAKES WITH CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER FROSTING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two 12-count muffin pans with 18 cupcake liners. Set aside.
• Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together in a large bowl on medium speed until creamed. About 2-3 minutes. With the mixer running on low speed, add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the mashed bananas and vanilla, beating on low speed for about 1 minute.
• Whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together in a medium bowl. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 3 additions, stirring by hand after each addition. Add the milk and stir until combined. The batter will be lumpy. Fold in the chocolate chips.
• Spoon the batter evenly into 18 cupcake liners. Fill the unused cups one-third full with water to prevent warping. Bake each batch for 17-19 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
• Sift together the confectioners' sugar and cocoa powder to assure there are no lumps. Set aside. With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy - about 2 minutes. Gradually add the sifted sugar/cocoa powder alternately with the heavy cream and vanilla. Beat on low speed after each addition. Once all added, beat on high speed until creamy and combined for at least 2 minutes. Add a pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet.
• With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the peanut butter and butter on medium speed until creamy and completely smooth - about 3 minutes. Add the confectioners' sugar and vanilla. Mix on medium until combined. Add the cream and mix on high until creamy, at least 2 minutes. Add a pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet.
• Frost cooled cupcakes with a knife or with a piping bag/tip. If you'd like to just make 1 kind of frosting and not both, make sure you double the frosting recipe of your choice to make sure there is enough for all cupcakes. To swirl the two frostings like I did, here is how I made the swirl frosting. There may be leftover frosting depending how much you use on each cupcake. Decorate with banana slices and/or more chocolate chips if desired. Store cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days and in the refrigerator up to 5.

CHOCOLATE, PEANUT BUTTER AND BANANA CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place a medium-sized platter in the freezer.
• Line 10 standard (2 3/4-inch wide) muffin cups with paper liners. Set aside.
• To make the cupcakes, in a medium bowl and with an electric mixer, beat the peanut butter, sliced banana, oil and water together on medium speed until mostly smooth or only a few very small pieces of banana are visible. On low speed beat in the egg, cocoa powder and the cake mix. Increase speed to medium-high and beat for 1 minute or until batter is well blended.
• Spoon an equal amount of batter into the lined muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 full. Bake on the center rack for 15 to 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into the center of cakes comes out clean.
• Remove cupcakes from the pan and place on the platter in the freezer. Freeze for 8 minutes to quickly cool the cupcakes.
• While the cakes cool, make the frosting, with an electric mixer beat together the butter and peanut butter until smooth. Gradually beat in the powdered sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons milk until frosting reaches a spreadable consistency. (If needed, add up to an extra 1/2 teaspoon of milk to make frosting smooth.) Frost cupcakes. Sprinkle the tops with an even amount of the chopped peanuts. Garnish the tops of each cake with a dried banana chip.

CHOCOLATE BANANA CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake or muffin pan with 24 regular-size cupcake liners.
• Measure all the ingredients accurately. Bring all the ingredients to room temperature. Place the butter in the mixing bowl. With the paddle attachment, beat the butter slowly until it is smooth and creamy. Add the brown sugar; cream the mixture at moderate speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Add the eggs one at a time. After each addition, beat until the eggs are incorporated before adding more. After the eggs are fully incorporated, mix until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, sift the cake flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and nutmeg together. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure even mixing. Then add one-quarter of the sifted dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Mix just until blended. Mix the milk and banana puree. Add approximately one-third of the liquids. Mix just until blended in. Repeat until all ingredients are incorporated.
• Fill the cupcake liners half full with batter and bake until golden and baked through, about 35 minutes. Cool the cupcakes completely.
• To assemble: Cut the center out of each cupcake and fill with the French Banana Buttercream. Dip the top of the cupcake in the Chocolate Ganache. Generously frost the top of each cupcake with the Italian Meringue Buttercream Frosting.
• Combine the sugar and 1/4 cup water in a saucepan. Dissolve the sugar. Boil until it reaches 240 degrees F.
• While the syrup is boiling, bet the yolks with an electric mixer with a wire whip until thick and light.
• When the syrup reaches temperature, pour it very slowly into the beaten yolks while whipping constantly. Continue to beat until the mixture is completely cool and the yolks are very thick and light.
• Whip in the butter a little at a time, adding it just as fast as it's absorbed by the mixture.
• Beat in the vanilla and banana puree. If the icing is too soft, refrigerate until it is firm enough to spread.
• Put the chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl. In a saucepan, heat the heavy cream to a simmer. Once a simmer is reached, pour over the chocolate chips. Using a whisk, whip until smooth and creamy.
• Combine 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water in a saucepan. Boil to reach 230 degrees F. Leave it alone. Cook over medium heat.
• While the syrup is boiling, using a whip attachment, start beating the egg whites and cream of tartar in a mixing bowl. Once peaks begin to form, add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar to make the peaks stiff.
• When the syrup reaches temperature, slowly pour it into the beaten egg whites while whipping constantly with the mixer on the lowest speed. Beat on high until cool, about 5 minutes.
• Turn down to medium-low speed and add the butter on the sides and scrape. Turn to high and beat until you have a smooth texture. Add the vanilla and chocolate ganache.

BANANA CUPCAKES WITH PEANUT BUTTER FROSTING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
• Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. Mash bananas with a fork in another medium bowl until smooth. Mix sour cream and vanilla extract into bananas.
• Combine sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and egg yolk and beat until well blended. Add flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with banana mixture, beating batter briefly after each addition until just blended. Scoop batter into the prepared muffin cups, adding about a generous 1/4 cup in each.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, sift powdered sugar into a large bowl. Add cream cheese, butter, and peanut butter; beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Spread or pipe frosting onto the cooled cupcakes.