Banana Cupcakes (Cream Cheese Frosting)

Banana Cupcakes: These moist and sweet cupcakes have a touch of cinnamon and are topped with creamy vanilla-cinnamon cream cheese frosting. They’re irresistibly delicious!

We love using overripe bananas in baking! Be sure to try our Cinnamon Banana Bread, Banana Chocolate Chip Cake, or Banana Bread with Greek Yogurt the next time you find yourself with leftover overripe bananas.

Banana Cupcakes

Bananas are one of the most common things I buy at the grocery store because my whole family loves them. They make such an easy snack so I’m always offering them to my kids. We are usually pretty good about eating most of the bananas before they go bad, but every couple of weeks I end up buying more than we finish and I’m left with a bunch of overripe bananas. If I’m being honest, I think we try to always leave a few bananas to over-ripen so we can make something delicious. (Like these Chocolate Banana Muffins, these Banana Pancakes, or these Banana Crumb Muffins).

But the last few months, our project has been to use all those overripe bananas to perfect a recipe for banana cupcakes. My toddler is cupcake obsessed – he could eat cupcakes for every single meal if I let him! He also enjoys making them almost as much as he loves eating them!

Ingredients

• Flour, Baking Soda, Baking Powder: These make the cupcake mix. Flour holds it together, and baking soda and powder make it rise. 
• Spices: Use fresh spices for stronger flavor. You can also add more or less depending on how much spice you like.
• Butter, Brown & White Sugar: Mix room-temperature butter and sugars well to get light cupcakes.
• Bananas: We’re using 2 bananas to get 3/4 cup, depending on the size of your bananas you made need more or less. The riper the banana, the tastier and moister the cupcake.
• Eggs, Vanilla: Use eggs at room temperature to mix better.
• Buttermilk: Makes the cupcakes soft and slightly tangy. No buttermilk? Mix milk with vinegar as a backup.
• Cream Cheese Frosting: Use all at room temperature to make frosting easy to spread.

How To Make Banana Cupcakes

So let’s break down these incredible Banana Cupcakes, starting with a few tips on how to make them!

1. Prep: Warm cold eggs quickly by placing them in warm water for 10 minutes. Preheat your oven and get your muffin tins ready.
2. Mix Dry Ingredients: Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and spices in a bowl. Measure flour correctly by spooning and leveling it off to make sure your cupcakes aren’t too dense or wet.
3. Combine Wet Ingredients: Cream the softened butter with sugars briefly to avoid excess air, then blend in mashed banana, eggs, and vanilla.
4. Combine Dry and Wet Ingredients: Switch between adding dry ingredients and buttermilk to the wet mix, stirring just until blended to keep the cupcakes light.
5. Bake: Fill cupcake liners three-quarters full and bake in the preheated oven. They’re done when they’re light golden, the toothpick test passes, and they have smooth, rounded tops.

How To Speed Up The Ripening Process For Bananas

Want to make these cupcakes but your bananas aren’t super ripe yet? No problem; it’s easy to do this!

Take some bananas and put them on a baking sheet without peeling them. Bake them for 7-8 minutes in an oven that’s been heated to 350 degrees F. The bananas are done when their skins are completely black (you might need to turn them over to get them all black). Let the bananas cool down, and then they’re ready to be mashed for Banana Cupcakes.

Tips For Success

• Use Ripe Bananas: The riper the bananas, the more flavor and moisture they’ll add to your cupcakes.
• Room Temperature Ingredients: Make sure ingredients like eggs, butter, and cream cheese are at room temperature to mix more evenly and to get a smoother batter.
• Don’t Overmix: Mix the batter just until the ingredients are combined to avoid dense cupcakes
• Mash Bananas Well: Mash bananas until smooth so they mix well in the batter, making the cupcakes taste and feel better.

More Delicious Desserts

• Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies with a “secret” ingredient that makes these the best!
• Magic Cookie Bars sweetened condensed milk gooey bars
• Carmelitas with a chocolate caramel center
• Mini Cheesecakes with a raspberry sauce topping
• Strawberry Scones with a simple glaze topping

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4.98 from 46 votes

The BEST EVER Banana Cupcakes

By Chelsea Lords

Banana Cupcakes: These moist and sweet cupcakes have a touch of cinnamon and are topped with creamy vanilla-cinnamon cream cheese frosting. They're irresistibly delicious!

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 18 minutes minutes

Total Time: 33 minutes minutes

Servings: 16 cupcakes

Ingredients 

USMetric

 

1x2x3x

Banana Cupcakes

• ▢ 1 and 1/2 cups white all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ▢ 6 tablespoons (1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• ▢ 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
• ▢ 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• ▢ 2 overripe bananas: measured to get 3/4 cup (185g)
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ 1 large egg yolk
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢ 3/4 cup buttermilk (or use plain milk + vinegar -- see Note 1)

Cream Cheese Frosting

• ▢ 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ▢ 1 package (8 oz.) full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature (do not use low fat)
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, or use 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢ 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ 3 cups powdered sugar
• ▢ Optional: banana chips to garnish

Instructions 

• PREP: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cavity muffin pan with cupcake liners, a second pan with 4 liners, and fill unused cavities halfway with water. Set aside. (Note 2)
• DRY INGREDIENTS: Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl and set aside.
• WET INGREDIENTS: In a large bowl, beat butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until creamy using a hand mixer. Mash bananas to get 3/4 cup (185g) and blend into the mixture until smooth. Then add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla, beating until smooth.
• ALTERNATE DRY INGREDIENTS AND BUTTERMILK: Alternate adding half the dry ingredients and half the buttermilk to the wet mixture, then repeat. Beat just until combined after each addition, avoiding overmixing.
• BAKE: Fill the prepared muffin cups 3/4 full with batter, distributing evenly among 16 cavities. (Note 2.) Bake at the preheated oven for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in the tin for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the frosting:

• FROSTING: While the cupcakes cool, make the frosting. Cream the room temperature butter and cream cheese until smooth, then mix in vanilla, salt, and cinnamon. Gradually add powdered sugar while mixing on low until smooth. Chill the frosting until ready to use.
• GARNISH: Frost the cooled cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and if desired, garnish with a banana chip.
• STORAGE: Banana Cupcakes taste better on the second day, with intensified flavors. No need to bake them the same day as the event. Store leftovers in an airtight container with a paper towel in the fridge to prevent sogginess, best enjoyed within 3-4 days. Unfrosted cupcakes can be frozen for up to 2 months.

Video

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Make buttermilk by mixing 3/4 cup milk with 3/4 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice, let sit for 5 minutes before using. Don't use plain milk for this recipe.

Note 2: This recipe yields 16 cupcakes, requiring two muffin pans unless you have two 8-cavity pans. Fill empty cavities with water to prevent warping and ensure even heat distribution.

Nutrition

Calories: 423kcal | Carbohydrates: 78g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 52mg | Sodium: 130mg | Potassium: 109mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 58g | Vitamin A: 384IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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