Chocolate Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate Banana Truffle Frosting

  • Chocolate Banana Buttermilk Cupcakes w. Truffle Frosting

    Yes, this dessert happened.  And there’s no turning back.  My life will never be the same and now yours will never be either.

    On the ‘How Incredible Are These, Really?’ scale, I think I have to give them a ‘Really Freaking Incredible’ rating (nearing the territory of ‘Total and Utter Perfection’, only awarded to the Decadent Deep-Dish Pecan Pie and the Classic Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting in my dessert-obsessed opinion).  These cupcakes verge on perfection.  Impossibly soft and moist, they remind me of the texture and smell that really only comes from a cake made from a boxed mix (true story: I took a cake decorating class years back and learned that many bakers use Duncan Heinz or Betty Crocker mixes for their elaborate and snooty-special wedding cakes, because brides-and-grooms-to-be pick them time and time again in their Let’s Taste Test What Kind of Cake We’ll Spend Hundreds of Dollars On At Our Wedding sessions.  I have done cake tastings too, and sheepishly admit that people have picked Duncan.  But not after this recipe.  This cake has a leg up.).

    On the ‘How Hard Are These To Make, Really?’ scale, these are a solid ‘Not That Hard’.  The cupcakes themselves are a breeze (no mixer! bonus!), and if it weren’t for the Chocolate Banana Truffle recipe you need to make the frosting, they’d be in the ‘You Can Make These Even If You Have an Unfortunate IQ’ category.  Yes, the truffle frosting presents a mildly annoying step (only because it takes time to make AND requires you to use a food processor AND mixer), but is really worth it.  You do trust me by now, don’t you?  I was the one that brought you the Astonishing Chocolate Bar Cake after all.

    So make the truffle goo today, let it sit in the fridge for a few hours to set (or overnight), and get cracking on the easy-peasy cupcakes.  Don’t let another day go by without at least two of these inside of you.

    Adapted from Joy of Baking’s cupcake recipe and my Dark Chocolate Banana Truffle recipe…

    CUPCAKES:

    1 cup sugar

    1 cup all-purpose flour

    1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (regular or Dutch-processed)

    3/4 teaspoons baking powder

    3/4 teaspoon baking soda

    1/4 teaspoon salt

    1 egg

    1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 1 medium sized banana)

    1/2 cup warm water

    1/4 cup buttermilk

    1/4 cup vegetable oil

    3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

    TRUFFLE FROSTING:

    1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or 6 oz chopped from a hunk of chocolate)

    1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

    1/2 banana, very ripe

    1/8 teaspoon vanilla

    1 – 2 tablespoons buttermilk

    2 cups confectioners’ sugar

    1. Preheat oven to 350° and grease 12 regular-sized muffin cups with silicone baking cups* or paper liners (use a vegetable oil/ canola oil nonstick spray, especially if you need this recipe to be vegan/dairy-free).
    2. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
    3. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the egg, mashed banana, water, milk, oil, and vanilla extract.  Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until well combined.  Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups (about 3/4 full), and bake for about 20 minutes (or until a cake tester inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean).
    4. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.  Frost when completely cooled.
    5. TRUFFLE BANANA FROSTING:
      1. In a medium bowl, melt chopped chocolate (or chips) with sweetened condensed milk in microwave for 1 minute, stirring, then microwaving for 20-second increments until melted and smooth.  Stir in vanilla.
      2. Scrape melted chocolate mixture into food processor and add banana; process until well combined and totally smooth (45 seconds or so).
      3. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or up to a day.  Beat in buttermilk and confectioners’ sugar until smooth, scraping sides of bowl frequently.  Add more buttermilk or sugar until you reach the consistency of your preference.  Frost cupcakes and indulge.

    Tips:

    • No vegetable oil?  You can use canola or corn oil, no problem.
    • You will end up with extra batter, which is an excellent issue to deal with.  Pour the rest into a mini loaf pan, or make 3 more cupcakes.  Or pour it into an 8″ cake pan for a really thin cake (kind of like a pancake).  Bake until just set in the center, so maybe only 12 minutes or so.  Yummy.
    • I tried silicone baking cups, and I have officially been converted.  You might recall my previous silicone disasters- like this one (the cake gone wrong) and this one (where I mutilated many a gingerbread man).  Rizzi from The New York Baking Company was kind enough to send me a dozen cupcake/muffin baking cups to review, and I’m sold!  (Well, I wasn’t technically sold since I didn’t pay for the cute colorful little liners, but you get my point).  These cupcakes popped out of the silicone molds without any effort or swearing on my behalf.  Score.  BPA-free, which is key, and they are only $9.99.  If you’d like, you can order here.
    • It’s annoying to have to make truffle frosting which is why I save some of the truffle goo when I make the recipe and keep it in the freezer.  I basically just thinned it out with buttermilk and whipped it up until it was the right texture to spread on the cupcakes.  If you have extra frosting after adapting the truffles for this recipe, you can freeze that too.
    • Want this recipe to be dairy free or vegan?   Use almond milk instead of buttermilk, and skip the truffle frosting.  You could just combine a cup of confectioners’ sugar, a tablespoon of cocoa powder and a splash of almond milk- with maybe a drop or two of vanilla- and drizzle over the cupcakes.
    • Enjoy!

     

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    January 22nd, 2014 | More Sweets Please | No Comments | Tags: , , ,

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