Piece of Cake

Banana Cupcakes with Creamy Spiced Frosting

To tell you the truth, I fell in love with the cupcake pan first, and the cupcakes afterward.

Lately, I’ve been buying all kinds of kitchen equipment. It’s an overwhelming urge. In fact, the more inconsequential the tool, the better. Kitchen funnels, wire whisks of different sizes, pan scrapers and all kinds of slotted spoons. Now cupcake pans aren’t inconsequential of course. But the point is until I saw the pan, I had no urge to bake cupcakes.

So on a bright Sunday morning, I adapted a Martha Stewart recipe. Including the frosting, it’s a fifteen minute job. The rest is really done by the oven. My friends love them and I now have another recipe in my little arsenal that I can go back to again and again. And probably even try a little something new with it each time.

If you’re into baking, give it a shot. And share with friends. They’ll love you for it. After a little practice on your part of course (my first few attempts were well, not exactly a piece of cake).

I also discovered this interesting tip: the amount of batter you put in the cup determines the shape of the cupcake. In cups that are half full, the batter rises to the edge (or slightly below the edge) and you get what I like to call a Tom Cruise. A small, straight-top cupcake. Cups that are two-thirds full tend to bake into George Clooney. That’s the traditional cupcake shape. And if you fill the cup three-quarters full, the cupcake will rise above the edge of the liner and expand outward. That’s Hugh Jackman.  

So think about which shapes and sizes work best for you. And fill the cups accordingly.

Banana Cupcakes with Creamy Spiced Frosting

Prep Time - 15 minutes        Total Time - 40 minutes including frosting                  Yield - Makes 12

Recipe for Banana cupcake

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups plain flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 50g unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 5 small, very ripe bananas)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Spiced frosting (recipe below)

Directions:

•  Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• Make a well in center of flour mixture. In the well, mix together butter, mashed bananas, eggs, and vanilla. Stir to incorporate flour mixture (do not overmix). Dividing evenly, spoon batter into muffin cups.
•  Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan; cool completely on a wire rack. Spread tops with spiced frosting (recipe below). Sprinkle some chocolate chips or chopped walnuts on top if desired.

Recipe for spiced frosting

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cup icing sugar
• 40g unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon milk

Directions:

• In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat all ingredients together until smooth, 4 to 5 minutes