Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

Brayden is seventy-seven weeks old. The first daycare-trial-day was Tuesday afternoon. The mom-and-tot-coffee gathering Saturday morning at the Tulsa public library was the second-tier mom-network event I had been wanting to attend since the playgroup in Sapulpa in August 2022. The cupcakes were the contribution.

The banana cupcakes with peanut butter cream cheese frosting are a kid-friendly fruit-and-protein-balanced dessert — banana cake batter (mashed banana, flour, sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla, baking soda, salt, buttermilk) baked into cupcakes, topped with a peanut-butter-cream-cheese frosting (cream cheese, peanut butter, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla). The cupcakes are dense, banana-forward, and the frosting balances the sweetness with the protein-richness of peanut butter.

The technique question is the banana-ripeness. The banana needs to be at the speckled-brown stage for maximum flavor. A pale-yellow banana yields a cupcake with weak banana flavor. The speckled-brown banana yields a cupcake that tastes like banana cake. The riper the better.

Sunday I made twelve cupcakes. Eight for the Saturday coffee. Four for Brayden and Dustin. Dustin had three. Brayden had one (cut into small toddler-cuts). The frosting was the highlight for Brayden — the cream-cheese-peanut-butter combination was a new texture-and-flavor for him.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 40 minutes | Servings: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

For the Cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 1/4 cups)
1/3 cup sour cream
For the Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2–3 tablespoons heavy cream or milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat & prep. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake liners and set aside.
Mix dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Cream butter and sugar. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar together with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2–3 minutes.
Add eggs and vanilla. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract.
Add banana and sour cream. Mix in the mashed bananas and sour cream until combined. The batter may look slightly curdled — that’s okay.
Combine wet and dry. Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture and stir gently until just combined. Do not overmix.
Fill and bake. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cupcake liners, filling each about 2/3 full. Bake for 18–20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool completely. Allow cupcakes to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
Make the frosting. Beat the softened cream cheese and peanut butter together until smooth and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing on low. Add vanilla and 2 tablespoons of heavy cream, then beat on medium-high until light and spreadable. Add more cream as needed to reach your desired consistency.
Frost and serve. Pipe or spread frosting generously onto each cooled cupcake. Serve at the table, at the birthday party, or any night that deserves to feel like a celebration.

Nutrition (per serving)

Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting