Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

I often feel like I am on the constant search for new and exciting recipes that involve bananas.  Bananas that are in need of being used in a baked good seem to always appear in my presence. I'm a lucky girl!

  I love banana bread don't get me wrong.  I have in the past year discovered that the best way to make banana bread is to have a recipe that includes either sour cream or yogurt in it.  Sour cream or yogurt always gives me a nice moist and tasty result to my banana bread.  I am realizing now that I have actually yet to share on my blog my most favorite banana bread recipe.  Gosh, I've got to get my bum in gear in do so! ;-)

In my most recent search for a "new" banana recipe I came upon Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting.  A fun, easy and delightful recipe! The cupcakes were moist with a delicate but perfect banana flavor and the frosting was well, sinfully delish.  I think you will like this recipe as much as I did (and those that I shared the cupcakes with too).

Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

(recipe from TK member, thesweetandsalty)

Cupcake Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 stick butter, unsalted - at room temperature

2 whole eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cup flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk - I like to make my buttermilk but adding a tsp of lemon juice or vinegar to my measured milk

1 1/4 cup mashed banana - about 3 ripe bananas

Frosting Ingredients:

2 cups powdered sugar

1 stick butter, unsalted - at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup creamy peanut butter

3 Tbsp milk or 1/2 and 1/2

Cupcake Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line regular (mini or jumbo size is fun too if you wish) size muffin tins with cupcake liners.

2. Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add in eggs and vanilla extract.  Mix well all together until smooth

3. In a separate medium size bowl combine all dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

4. Alternate adding in the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the butter/egg mixture. Mix until well combined.

5. Gently fold in mashed bananas into mixture.

6. Scoop batter into lined muffin tins.  You want to fill the cups about 2/3's of the way full. 

7. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cool completely before frosting.

Peanut Butter Frosting Directions:

1. Combine softened butter and peanut butter - beat until light and fluffy.

2. Add in vanilla extract and then powdered sugar.  Once well combined add in milk.  Beat until smooth and spreadable.  Add in more small amounts milk if needed.

3. Spread onto cooled cupcakes as desired.  I just used a butter knife to do so.  I dream of being able to frost cupcakes with a frosting tip and bag.  I have been watching videos on other blogs and gathering the right tools in hopes that soon I will be able to teach myself how to do this. :-)

Enjoy!

Happy Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting Baking!

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Friday Favorites @ Simply Sweet Home

Pinkalicious Princess Cupcakes with Pink Marshmellow Fluff Icing

                                       

I made these cupcakes for Jolie's 4th Birthday party (with family and a few close friends)....not only were they a HUGE hit to the Birthday Girl but also for the adults.  They came out moist, delicate and yummy!  I was even able to make them pretty with the pink icing and pink sprinkles on top (although I'm looking for more practice and advise as to how to perfect the skill of decorating cupcakes using frosting in a pastry bag with a tip....please send your words of wisdom my way if you have any tips!).

The recipe for the cupcakes and frosting comes directly from a little gem of a cook-book called, Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey - Treats for Kids.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE this cook-book.  It has fabulously scrumptious recipes (can you tell from the title?!?) that are easy to follow and most often are accompanied by a beautiful picture or two.  Go ahead take my advice and treat yourself to this cook-book....you won't regret it! ;-)

Here are the "members"/ingredients that make up the cupcakes... 

....Cake Flour (love this stuff!), Baking Powder, Sugar, Salt, Unsalted Butter, Whole Milk,  Egg Whites, Vanilla Extract and lastly, Pink or Red Food Coloring (I used Pink Gel Food Coloring but will next time use Red Food Coloring because I don't think the Pink Gel gave me enough color).

Pinkalicious Princess Cupcakes

(recipe from the Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey - Treats for Kids cook-book)

Makes 18 cupcakes

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups Cake Flour

1 tbsp Baking Powder

1 1/2 cups Sugar

1 tsp Salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) Unsalted Butter - at room temperature, cut into 8 pieces

1 cup Whole Milk - at room temperature

4 LARGE Egg Whites - at room temperature

1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Pink Gel Food Coloring or liquid Red Food Coloring

Directions for Cupcakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line muffin tins with eighteen paper liners - I used PINK paper liners to go along with the whole "pink" theme. ;-)

2. Sift together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt - put into a large bowl.  Add the butter pieces to the flour mixture and beat together on low speed.....

 While you are beating the flour mixture with the butter pieces slowly add in the milk....a little at a time....

  Continue beating the batter for 2 minutes.

3. Slowly add in the egg whites.....

 and vanilla extract into the batter.  Beat on high speed for about 1-2 minutes...scraping the bowl occasionally.  While beating the batter add in food coloring to achieve your desired shade of pink....

 

4. Fill the lined muffin cups about 2/3's of the way full.  I found that by using 1 heaping scoop of batter from an ice scoop perfectly filled my cupcake liners.

5. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cupcake comes out clean.  Cool cupcakes while you make the frosting.

Pink Marshmallow Fluff Icing

(recipe from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey Treats for Kids)

*Double this recipe if you wish...I only made a 1/2 of the original  recipe and was easily able to frost all 18 cupcakes with frosting left over....these are the ingredients and amounts that I made for this recipe amount...

Ingredients:

1 jar (7.5 oz) of Marshmallow Fluff

1 cup (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter - at room temperature, each stick cut into 4 pieces

3 cups Powdered Sugar, sifted

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Pinch of Salt

Pink Gel Food Coloring (this worked great to tink the frosting a light pink color)

Directions:

1. Spoon Fluff into a large bowl and beat on medium speed.  Add in the butter pieces one at a time, beating well between each addition.  When the butter is completely incorporated, and the mixture is light and fluffy, beat in the 3 cups of SIFTED pwdered sugar, the vanilla extract and the salt.

2. Add in food coloring as you are beating the icing, 1-2 drop at a time, until your desired level of "pinkness" is achieved. Decorate your (completely cooled) cupcakes with either a knife or a pastry bag and tip of your choice.  If you don't use the frosting immediately, cover and refrigerate.  When ready to use bring to room temp before using.

Here are some pic's of Jolie blowing out her 4 candles on her Pinkalicious Princess Cupcakes with Pink Marshmallow Fluff Icing.....notice the pretty tarts in the background?  My mommy made those.  She is the Queen of Tarts I tell ya! 

And....there she goes!

Jolie is pretty proud of herself...wouldn't you say?!?

Make yourself (and others) some Pinkalicious Princess Cupcakes with Pink Marshmallow Fluff Icing....you won't regret it! And plus it's so much fun to say such a title of a cupcake fast!

Happy Baking!