Banana Peanut Butter Cupcakes

I’m not sure if you’re aware of this already or not, but I happen to know for a fact that moms really love cupcakes. So since Mother’s Day is right around the corner, I think these Banana Peanut Butter Cupcakes are a great way to show your mom (or all the moms in your life) just how much you care for them. If they’re anything like my mamma—who literally has kept every single craft and gift my sisters and I have given her throughout the years—then I can guarantee you that they definitely love something homemade. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again and I’ll probably say it for the rest of my life, nothing says I Love You more than something you make yourself, because a gift from the heart means so much more than a gift you can buy at any store….unless it’s like a car or a house because I know my mamma would NEVER say no to a Jaguar or a mansion. Am I right or am I right? So until you can buy your mother that car or house they’ve always wanted, because no one deserves it more, why don’t you get in the kitchen and bake her these cupcakes in the mean time. They’re just as amazing as a car or house, and that’s no joke. Happy Mother’s Day to all the mammas out there, especially mine because she is truly one of a kind. 

Let’s talk about bananas for a second. Listen, I’m not always good at leaving bananas out on the counter to ripen, mainly because I don’t always have that kind of patience but also because of fruit flies. I hate them and I feel like ripe bananas intensify them. So if you’re like me and don’t have ripe bananas around, you can ripen yellow bananas in the oven. Place them on a baking sheet and bake in 300 degrees F for about 40 minute. They’ll turn black and get soft and sweet. Mash them in a bowl with fresh lemon juice. 

In a medium bowl, whisk or sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set the bowl of dry ingredients off to the side. 

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Then add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract and the mashed bananas. 

**Note: After you mix in the mashed bananas, the mixture will separate and appear to be curdled, that’s okay. It’s supposed to look that way.**

Add the dry ingredients to the mixture, alternating with the buttermilk, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Make sure to only mix until just combined after each addition. 

So you want to add dry ingredients, then buttermilk, then dry, then buttermilk, and lastly the rest of the dry ingredients. This ensures a moist (sorry) and perfect texture to the cake. 

**Tip: Another tip for moist (sorry again) cake is to use buttermilk instead of whole milk. It really does make a HUGE difference! I can’t recommend it enough!**

Toss the peanut butter chips with a bit of all-purpose and add it to the batter. Fold gently with a rubber spatula until evenly incorporated. 

**Tip: Tossing the chips with a tiny bit of flour ensures that the chips don’t sink all the way to the bottom of the cupcakes.**

Use a standard ice cream scoop to portion out the batter into lined cupcake pans. You want to fill them up about 3/4 of the way up. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before frosting. 

To make the peanut butter frosting, beat together butter, peanut butter, powdered sugar, salt and vanilla until smooth. Then whisk in the heavy cream and beat until fluffy and light. Transfer to a piping bag and frost each of the cooled cupcakes. 

**Tip: If you don’t have piping bags and tops, you can use a large gallon-sized zip top bag or you can frost them with a knife or offset spatula.**

Before the frosting sets, sprinkle with chopped salted roasted peanuts and a sweetened dried banana chip. This way everything will know exactly what the cupcakes are. Banana Peanut Butter Cupcakes. 

You can eat the cupcakes right away, but if you have any leftovers you can place them in the fridge for up to 3 days. For the best flavor and experience though, let them come down to room temperature about 10 to 15 minutes before eating. 

Sometimes peanut butter chips are a little hard to find in grocery stores so if you can’t get a hold of them, you can omit them from the recipe or you can also just use chocolate chips because peanut butter and banana and chocolate are ingredients made in heaven.

 
Whenever you bake with peanut butter, I recommend you use good old fashioned regular peanut butter. The all-natural organic kind is just too watery to bake with and doesn’t do well in batters or cookies. So in this case, just use regular peanut butter. 

Because I like to give you options and because I like to make sure you get all of my ideas, you can easily turn these cupcakes into Elvis cupcakes by adding bacon to the mix. Don’t tell me that doesn’t sound great because it does! 

You can either stir cooked chopped bacon into the batter along with the peanut butter chips, or you can sprinkle chopped bacon on top after they’ve been frosted. It’ll take them over the top and people will lose their cool over them! 

So if you’re a last minute planner, or just don’t have anything for your mom at this point, don’t worry because these cupcakes are here to save you. I can tell you 100% that mother’s love cupcakes and if you make these for your mother you’d win child of the year award. Get it together, get your life together. 

Banana Peanut Butter Cupcakes

These Banana Peanut Butter Cupcakes are made up of homemade banana cake topped with fluffy peanut butter frosting, banana chips and chopped salted peanuts!

Servings 2 1/2 dozen cupcakes

Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas about 3 large
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 1 1/2 cups peanut butter chips

Frosting

• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
• 2 cups creamy peanut butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup banana chips for topping
• 1/4 cup roasted salted peanuts chopped, for topping

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two 12-cavity cupcake tins with paper liners, and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, mash together the bananas and lemon juice until as smooth as possible. Set aside.In a separate large bowl, whisk or sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside as well.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes on high. Add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract and mashed banana mixture. Add the dry ingredients, alternating with the buttermilk, making sure to start and end with the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated after each addition. Fold in the peanut butter chips. Using a large ice cream scoop, portion out the batter into the prepared cupcake pans. Bake until puffed up, golden brown, and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 15 to 18 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.
• To make the frosting, cream the butter and peanut butter until light and fluffy, using the whisk attachment. Stir in the powdered sugar, salt and vanilla and mix until combined. Add in the heavy cream and whisk on high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Do not over beat the or the cream will turn to butter.
• Transfer the frosting to a piping bag and frost the cooled cupcakes or use a knife or offset spatula. Garnish each cupcake with banana chips and chopped peanuts. Leftover cupcakes can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. Enjoy!

Notes

Frosting adapted from Ina Garten

Author: The Candid Appetite