Makin' Banana Cupcakes

I knew that I wanted to bake this weekend, but I wasn't sure which recipe I wanted to tackle.  Should I stay in my comfort zone and go for my classic brownie recipe?  Would today be a good day for my good old chocolate cake recipe?  Decisions, decisions. Luckily, something inside me said that it was time to try something new. 

Ok, no problem.  I have accumulated a nice stack of Bon Appétit, Food and Wine and other food-related magazines and books over the years - this should be easy.  After thumbing through my collection for at least an hour (I didn't even get through a third of these publications), I finally found the winner. 

Something drew me to the dog-earred page in the April 2010 issue of Bon Appétit.  Perhaps it was the little girl in me, but the thought of a banana cupcake with peanut butter frosting sounded AMAZING!  :)  Not exactly a healthy recipe, but I knew that if I could get my little chef/dietitian paws on it, I could at least make it...what are the words...yes...not as detrimental to the waistline.  (See my revisions in light purple)

FYI - these are delicious!  Seriously, so good.  I am always happy when things turn out, and these did.  The cupcakes are good all by their little delicious selves, but go ahead and add a touch of icing...a little goes a long way. 

The perfect drink pairing for this dessert???  Glad you asked, I recommend enjoying with a tall glass of skim milk.  :)

Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting Bon Appétit | April 2010

by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito

Yield: Makes 12 servings

Ingredients

Cupcakes:
1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
2 very ripe large bananas, peeled
½ cup sour cream (I used light sour cream)
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
¾ cup sugar
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature (I used 4 Tbs butter and 2 Tb applesauce instead)

1 large egg
1 large egg yolk

Frosting:
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature (used light cream cheese)

½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature (didn't even use this)
½ cup smooth peanut butter (do not use old-fashioned or freshly ground) (totally used natural PB)

Chopped lightly salted roasted peanuts (optional) (not optional in my opinion, use these!)

Preparation

For cupcakes:

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Line 12 standard (1/3-cup) muffin cups with paper liners. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Mash bananas with fork in another medium bowl until smooth. Mix sour cream and vanilla into bananas.

Getting it all together

Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and egg yolk and beat until well blended. (If you used the applesauce, you can add it here) Add flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with banana-sour cream mixture in 2 additions, beginning and ending with flour mixture and beating just until blended after each addition. Divide batter among prepared muffin cups (generous 1/4 cup for each). (Holy cow, these seemed so full to me.  You could probably get 14-15 cupcakes out of this recipe)

Ready, set bake!

Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center of each comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to rack and let cool completely.

For frosting:

Sift powdered sugar into large bowl. Add cream cheese, butter, and peanut butter. Using electric mixer, beat mixture until smooth. Spread frosting over top of cupcakes, dividing equally. Sprinkle lightly with chopped peanuts, if desired. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

Mmmmmm, so good!