Banana Butterscotch Cupcakes
Why I Love This Recipe
The cupcake craze. Seriously, I don't think they will ever go away. And, why should they? Who doesn't love individual, hand held goodness?
Okay, I know there are cynic's out there. Not into the whole cupcake debacle. I feel you, there is a part of me that does understand. There seems to be a million cupcake shops and every one touts that they have the best. However, in my mind, there is nothing like homemade.
Back in 2007, when the craze was at full throttle, my sister-in-law gave me The Cupcake Deck. It was a small deck of cards where each card represented a cupcake recipe. Each one looked delicious and everyone that I made was.
This past year for my birthday (knowing my obsession) she gifted me with Martha Stewart's Cupcakes. She knows me all too well. Although I have been thumbing through my recent gift, there is still my go to stand alone favorite little deck. So, when I saw that I had a few bananas that needed salvation due to their time almost being up, I decided to jump. I mean, who doesn't love bananas and butterscotch? Together? Delectable. Enjoy!
Ingredients You'll Need
Cupcakes:
1 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 medium bananas, broken into 1-inch pieces
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup butterscotch chips
Frosting:
1/4 cup half and half
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
Position the rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 muffin tin cups with paper cupcake liners.
Make the Cupcakes:
Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar until well blended and creamy, about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Add the banana pieces, mixing until they are blended into the mixture; you will still see some small pieces of banana. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until each is blended. Add the vanilla and beat for one minute. On low speed, add half of the flour mixture, mixing just to incorporate it. Mix in the buttermilk. Mix in the remaining flour mixture until the batter looks smooth. Stir in the butterscotch chips.
Fill each paper liner with a scant 1/3 cup of batter, to about 1/4 inch below the top of the liner. Bake just until the top feels firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool the cupcakes for 10 minutes in the pan on a wire rack. Remove the cupcakes from the pan onto a wire rack and let cool completely.
Make the Frosting:
In a medium saucepan, heat the half-and-half and brown sugar over low heat, stirring often, until the brown sugar begins to melt. Increase the heat to medium-high, bring to a boil, and boil for one minute, stirring often. Pour into a small bowl and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes.
In a large bowl, beat the butter and powdered sugar with an electric mixer on low speed until smoothly blended, about 2 minutes. At first the mixture will look crumbly, but then it will form a smooth mass. Add the vanilla and brown sugar mixture and beat on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute.
Use a small spatula to spread about 1 1/2 tablespoons of frosting on top of each cupcake.
