Last time we made cupcakes [pumpkin cupcake link] they were quite a surprise success for us. It was truly a cupcake! The frosting was a perfect buttercream consistency, and the base was the spongy texture you’d expect when biting into a piece of cake.
Most importantly, we did all of this without making it a complete sugar bomb. Only a half cup of sweeteners total, and no granulated sugars at all. We are proud of it!
For our newest cupcake recipe, we knew we had to raise the bar.
The idea for this one started because we had some old banana chips sitting in the pantry. To be honest, they were quite stale, but they were perfect for decorating.
Usually, I would never recommend starting a dish by picking the garnish first, but sometimes you have to break the rules. Thankfully, bananas are extremely versatile. Chocolate, berries, caramel, or citrus flavors all would have paired well with banana.
In this case, we decided the next step from bananas was peanut butter. It was really hard to go wrong from there, nut butters and bananas still continue to be a perfect pairing. We are happy to say this is another successful cupcake!
Keep your frosting on your cupcake, not the floor,
Your favorite alternative chefs, K & T
Peanut Butter Banana Cupcakes
Ingredients
Batter
- ½ cup almond milk
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 eggs or flaxseed “egg” for vegan version
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup coconut oil melted
- 1 cup overripe bananas mashed (~3 bananas)
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 cup rice flour
- 1 cup cup almond flour
- 2 tbsp tapioca flour or arrowroot flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Peanut Butter Frosting – 12 cupcakes worth (~2 cups)
- ¾ cup smooth peanut butter
- ½ cup raw cashews soaked in very hot water 1 hour or cool water 6-8 hours
- ¼ cup coconut yogurt or other plain yogurt
- ½ cup coconut oil melted
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp sea salt
Instructions
Batter
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Preheat oven to 375 F and prepare 12 muffin tins with liners.
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In a small bowl, mix the almond milk and vinegar. Allow the mixture to curdle for at least 5 minutes.
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In a large mixing bowl, add the egg (or flaxseed “egg”) and whisk.
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Add the baking soda to the almond milk and vinegar mixture. Stir to combine and let it fizz for a minute.
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Pour the small bowl into the large bowl with the egg. Then, mix in the maple syrup, coconut oil, mashed bananas, and salt.
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Add the rice flour, almond flour, tapioca flour, and cinnamon into the large bowl. Mix together ~ batter should be thin and pourable.
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Pour the mix evenly into each of the muffin tins.
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Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until poking them with a toothpick comes out clean.
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Let cool for 10-15 minutes then move them to a cooling rack and let them cool completely or else the frosting will slide off and the wrappers might stick.
Frosting
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Drain all the water from the cashews.
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In a high speed blender, add all the frosting ingredients. Blend on high speed for a few seconds at a time, using a spatula to scrape the sides and ensure everything is properly blended.
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Move the frosting into a medium, freezer-safe bowl or container. Cover the frosting and place in the freezer for 30 minutes.
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Remove from the freezer and mix well to evenly distribute the frosting, place back in the freezer for 30 more minutes.
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Remove from the freezer again and mix until fluffy and soft. (You can microwave for 10-15 seconds if the frosting is too frozen)
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Once the mixture is malleable, it can be used to frost cupcakes either by spreading with a knife or by piping.