Ever wonder how to make banana cupcakes? Well, this is the article to read. I’ll tell you how. This baker’s secret will definitely be something worth having in your possession.
I know what you’re thinking: “Banana cupcakes? What economy could be good at that?” Or maybe not. Anyway, this short tutorial shows you how to bake and decorate banana cupcakes.
anana Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
You will love these moist, dense-yet-still-soft homemade banana cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting. To guarantee the best results, use sour cream, buttermilk, and extra ripe bananas– these power ingredients make all the difference in this spiced cupcake recipe.
This banana cupcake recipe is a mix of these banana cupcakes with chocolate peanut butter frosting and this banana cake, which are actually very similar recipes. Both have a super-moist texture, delicious cinnamon spice flavor, a soft yet dense crumb, and wonderful banana flavor. Today’s cupcake recipe is basically 2/3 of the banana cake, only with the same amount of banana. I really wanted to pack as much banana flavor into the cupcakes as I could without compromising the texture. Another change reflected in the recipe below is adding some sour cream, an addition that always promises a more tender crumb.
Tell Me About These Banana Cupcakes
- Texture: These banana cupcakes aren’t as dense as banana muffins, but aren’t really as soft as vanilla cupcakes. Instead, they land somewhere in the middle. You’ll love how moist the crumb is too– we have the butter, buttermilk, sour cream, and all the banana to thank for that.
- Flavor: Each bite includes banana, brown sugar, cinnamon, butter, and vanilla. (Some of the best flavors in baking!) It all pairs so nicely with the tangy cream cheese frosting on top.
- Ease: Besides mashing the bananas, which is even easier if you use your mixer, the entire process is fairly simple. If you make your own buttermilk, there is one extra step. See recipe note below.
- Time: Set aside over 2 hours to complete this recipe which includes prepping, baking, cooling, and decorating times.
Success Tips for Banana Cupcakes
- Easy Mash: My team and I make a lot of banana treats including banana bread, whole wheat banana pancakes, and banana muffins and here’s our best tip: mash the bananas using your mixer. Peel and break apart the bananas, then place inside your mixing bowl and turn the mixer on to medium-high speed. If using a stand mixer, either the paddle or whisk attachment work for this. A blender or food processor works as well. Mashing bananas by hand with a fork works too, but takes arm muscle and a little extra time. Transfer the mashed bananas to a separate bowl – don’t even wash the mixer bowl. Just place the butter/sugars inside and begin creaming as the recipe instructs. Super simple.
- Don’t overfill cupcakes: Fill cupcake liners only 2/3 full to avoid spilling over the sides.
- Room temperature: All refrigerated items should be brought to room temperature so the batter mixes together easily and evenly. If you’re interested, feel free to read more about why room temperature ingredients are important in baking.
Choosing the Right Ingredients for Banana Cupcakes
Here’s an overview of the ingredients you need and why each is important.
- Flour: 2 cups of all-purpose flour serve as the base of these banana cupcakes. Don’t use cake flour because it’s too light.
- Baking Soda: Baking soda helps the cupcakes rise.
- Salt + Cinnamon: Salt and cinnamon add flavor.
- Bananas: You need 1 and 1/2 cups of mashed banana, which is about 3 large bananas. Make sure the bananas are very ripe because more brown spots = sweeter banana flavor.
- Butter: When creamed with sugar, butter adds flavor, moisture, and structure.
- Sugar: We love the mix of both brown sugar and granulated sugar in these cupcakes. Plus, the brown sugar adds more moisture.
- Eggs: Eggs bind everything together.
- Sour Cream: Sour cream creates a moist and tender crumb.
- Vanilla Extract: A splash of pure vanilla extract adds more flavor.
- Buttermilk: For best taste and to ensure proper rising, use buttermilk. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, see the recipe notes.
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
We’ll pair these banana cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting. Cinnamon and banana are a natural pairing and 1/2 teaspoon of the spice is the perfect amount in this frosting recipe. (Not too much, not too little!) It’s crazy how 1 tiny addition to regular cream cheese frosting makes such a flavorful difference. Bonus: this frosting pipes beautifully using a large round tip such as Ateco 808, the same I use for decorating carrot cake cupcakes.
For the optional garnish, we love adding a drizzle of salted caramel and a banana slice (dried or fresh!).
They’re truly perfect banana cupcakes. And if you’re not into banana, you might enjoy these apple spice cupcakes instead.
Quick & Easy Banana Muffins
These banana muffins are soft, buttery, and spiced with cinnamon. They’re wonderful plain, with chopped walnuts, or even chocolate chips. You need 3 ripe bananas and a few basic kitchen ingredients to get started.
Banana bread is wonderful, but muffins are quicker, more convenient, easily portable, and taste just as good. I’ve been searching for the perfect EASY banana muffin recipe since my daughter, Noelle, began eating solids. We always have bananas in the house which means we eventually have spotty bananas ready for baking!
These quick and easy banana muffins bake in 30 minutes, so if you need to be in and out of the kitchen FAST (um, don’t we all?), this recipe is your savior.
Banana Muffin Ingredients – each is important!
This banana muffin recipe requires a handful of basics like flour, sugar, and milk. That’s what I love about baking– it’s the same ingredients for basically everything.
- Flour: I tested the recipe with both all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour and LOVED both variations. See recipe note below.
- Melted Butter: We’ll use melted butter as the fat, though melted coconut oil works too. I love using melted butter in baked goods and though I was afraid these banana muffins would taste too dense without creaming softened butter (which incorporates air), that’s not the case at all.
- Bananas, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg: These guys lend most of the flavor.
- Egg: 1 egg gives the muffins structure.
- Milk: Provides necessary moisture. Dry muffins… the worst.
- Sugar: Sweetens. When I make these for my daughter, I use half brown sugar and half coconut sugar. You can use all brown sugar, all coconut sugar, or a mixture of the two. Keep in mind that coconut sugar isn’t quite as sweet as brown sugar, so the flavor will change. See my recipe note. 🙂
Do these banana muffins taste like banana bread? Yes, totally! But they have a lighter, softer, and more buttery texture. You’ll love it.
How to Make Banana Muffins Moist
There’s a fine line between a moist banana muffin and a dry banana muffin, aka sandpaper in a cupcake wrapper. To make banana muffins moist, make sure you’re using a solid ratio of dry to wet ingredients. I found the muffins to be dry without the addition of liquid, but a couple Tablespoons of milk solved the problem. Use a little fat (butter), brown sugar, and plenty of bananas for lots of moisture and flavor.
How to Mash Bananas
So I started doing this last year and it’s been a total game changer whenever I make banana cake, these breakfast cookies, or banana bread. Just use your mixer to mash bananas! Peel and break them into chunks, place in your mixer, and beat until mashed. Beat the rest of the wet ingredients right into this bowl, then beat in the dry ingredients. So easy.
This banana muffin recipe is perfect if you:
- have 3 spotty bananas
- love banana bread
- need a quick homemade breakfast, snack, etc
- don’t feel like creaming butter and sugar together
- don’t feel like dirtying 100 pans
And, to turn these into a scrumptious treat, you could dip the tops of the cooled muffins into chocolate ganache and add sprinkles. (Affiliate link– I love these naturally colored sprinkles.)
banana cupcakes
Deliciously soft and fluffy Banana Cupcakes made from scratch. Filled with warm spices and topped with homemade cream cheese frosting, these cupcakes are sure to be fall favourite.
Perfect Banana Cupcakes ❤️
Soft and fluffy cakes made with real bananas, topped with luscious homemade cream cheese frosting. These cupcakes are perfect for parties, birthdays or just when you need that cream cheese fix. Coconut CakePlay Video
If you’ve got overripe bananas sitting in your fruit bowl, these Banana Cupcakes are for you.
I think I won my husband’s heart with Banana Cupcakes. Granted it was over ten years ago, and I’m sure they were from a packet mix, but there is something special about banana cake with cream cheese frosting
And I know you’ll love them because you’ve been going mad for my Banana Cake. So I thought, why not take all that deliciousness and turn it into mini form? After all, cupcakes are such a party staple.
These cakes are light and soft, flavoured with banana, vanilla and a little cinnamon. And when they’re paired with a seriously creamy cream cheese frosting and a scattering of toasted walnuts, they’re downright delicious.
how to make banana cupcakes
- These cupcakes are quick and easy to make. You will need an electric mixer.
- Start with room temperature butter. We want the butter to be softened, but not melty. You should be able to press your thumb into the butter and it will leave an indent. The temperature of your butter is important to make sure your cakes are lovely and light.
- Begin by mixing together your butter and sugars using an electric mixer. We have chosen to use both brown sugar and caster sugar in this recipe. Both sugars add sweetness and moisture, but brown sugar also adds caramel-like flavour due to its molasses content. If you don’t have access to caster sugar, you can use granulated sugar instead. Read more about caster sugar here.
- After a few minutes, your butter and sugar should turn pale and creamy. Add a dash of vanilla extract for extra flavour and an egg to help bind the mixture. It’s important that your egg is also at room temperature so the ingredients easily combine. Mix just briefly to combine the ingredients, scrape down the sides of bowl as needed.
- In a separate bowl, peel and mash your bananas REALLY well with a fork. If you don’t, you may end up with gooey chunks of banana in your cakes which doesn’t taste as good as it sounds.
- In a separate bowl, add your plain flour (or all purpose flour), baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Give it a little whisk just to combine the dry ingredients.
- Add your mashed banana, dry ingredients and buttermilk to your creamed butter mixture. Gently mix until just combined but try not to over mix. You can either do this part by hand, folding gently using a spatula or turn your mixer to a low speed. The batter will be thick and creamy.
- Transfer batter to a 12-hole muffin pan and bake for approximately 18-20 minutes. Cupcakes will spring back lightly to the touch when they’re ready. Leave to cool completely before frosting.