After one bite, one of my friends turned to me and said “This is the best cupcake I have ever had” and then he continued to finish it off and completely ignore me. This delicious banana cake is topped with a rich chocolate frosting to make one of my favorite flavor combos!
The Story:
Ahhh… I feel like there’s a big sigh of relief after Valentine’s Day is over. I don’t have to answer questions about my love life hourly and I get to take a break from red velvet in the kitchen (I’m allergic).
The next holiday? St. Patrick’s Day, where we get to pinch everyone and claim we didn’t see their green shirt…. “Oh I’m sorry, is that green? I was thinking it was more of a turquoise.”
Chocolate Banana Cupcakes
Ingredients
Banana Cake:
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 C. oil
- 1 C. mashed bananas about 2 small bananas
- 1/2 C. sour cream or plain yogurt
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
Chocolate Frosting:
- 1 C. butter softened
- 1/2 C. unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 C. milk or sour cream
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 3-4 C. powdered sugar
Banana slices and sprinkles for decoration
Instructions
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1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line pans with cupcake liners.
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2. Sift cake mix into a small bowl to remove any lumps and set aside.
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3. In a large bowl, combine eggs, oil, mashed bananas, sour cream and vanilla extract.
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4. Stir in cake mix. (You can add 1 cup mini chocolate chips here if you want!)
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5. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for 15-20 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean.
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6. Let cool.
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7. Chocolate Frosting: Beat butter for 2 minutes. Add cocoa powder and beat again. Add milk, vanilla and slowly add in powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency.
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8. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes and top with sprinkles and fresh banana slices. Top with the sliced just before serving so they don't turn brown.
If you want to see how the photos are taken…. Simple props, beautiful cupcakes, and a reflecting board to bounce some light back on the cakes.
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Jst wanted to ask if u used wilton 1M to pipe the frosting. Thanks
This was a 2D tip, though I did use a butter knife to spread the spokes apart just a little extra!
Which do you use in the frosting, milk or sour cream & why? I’d love to try this frosting with sour cream!:)
I like using sour cream because it’s a little tangy, so it keeps the frosting from being too sweet from all the powered sugar 🙂
Perfect! I have 2 bananas, and I need to use them up:) thanks! Can u half a recipe with cake mix and 3 eggs?
I do! I just estimate half the mix and use 2 eggs! The extra yellow cake mix is great in vanilla frostings to make it into “cake batter” frosting 🙂
Girl! You need to get new friends! A real friend would NOT eat your cupcake and then ignore you afterwards. Just saying…….
I love the colors in this one! I know that sounds weird, because.. like, chocolate is always brown, right? But seriously, I feel like you captured such perfect coloring for these! GORGEOUS! And of course, one of the best flavor combos ever.
I’ve been looking for a simple chocolate/banana cupcake! Thanks for reading my mind! 🙂
mmmmm chocolate and banana are wonderful together. I am definitely going to try these soon! I have never made frosting, but you make it sound easy enough 🙂
these look SO good. and the decorations are perfect
My frosting never comes out fluffy, i don’t understand!
Are you using real butter? Make sure it’s never been melted as well!
I love your recipe!!!