How-To-Kill-Your-Housemate Cupcakes

I've come to the conclusion cake just tastes better with banana in it - more moist, texturally more interesting, fuller bodied and with a greater depth of taste. Unfortunately Mark is allergic to bananas, so rather than sending my housemate into anaphylactic shock (an action not conducive to smooth relations at home - quite aside from the fact he hasn't signed that Life Insurance Policy for Tanya yet), half the cupcakes I usually now make at the weekend are not banana offerings. Tanya and I just get more of those for ourselves. We aren't really complaining! Here's the recipe I use:
 

Banana Cupcakes with Almond Cream Cheese Icing & Silver Dragees

Banana & Stuff Cupcakes
Makes 10 - 12 cupcakes

1 cup self-raising flour, sifted
½ cup caster sugar
½ cup (or 4 Tb) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla essence
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp ground cinnamon
2 eggs
2 old soft bananas, mashed
½ cup coconut or chopped walnuts or other nuts

1. Preheat the oven 175C/350F/GM4 & place 10 paper cases in cupcake/muffin tins.
   
2. Combine all ingredients except the bananas & coconut/nuts together in a bowl.
   Note: the coconut/nuts add necessary texture to the recipe.
   
3. Beat until smooth.
   
4. Mix in the mashed banana, with as few strokes as necessary.
   
5. Mix in the coconut/nuts, with as few strokes as necessary.
   
6. Spoon the batter into the cases. I find filling them to 2/3 is best.
   
7. Bake for 20 minutes.
   
8. Remove and check. A toothpick should come out cleanish from the centre. If there are lots of crumbs sticking, put the cupcakes back in the oven for another 3 minutes. Repeat until cupcakes are cooked.
   
9. Remove cases/tins from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes.
   
10. Remove the cupcakes from the cases/tins and cool on a rack.
    
11. Ice if you wish (and if something goes wrong with the almond icing, it's even more aptly named)

Comments

[Jeanne]

These look too beautiful! I made healthy banana muffins a few weeks back but they were WAY overrated :( Just dry and not great. And sadly, my mom never wrote down her fabber than fab banana muffin recipe before she passed away, so I will have to give yours a bash.

[Hillary]

I love the color of that frosting! Beautiful. I'd fall for these cupcakes in a second flat!

[GirlCanBake]

Banana and Stuff Cupcakes! I LOVE it! Hilarious.

[Lori]

I tried to cook cupcakes but It was a total disaster..maybe because I'm Italian and their are not in our dna?

[brilynn]

A roommate I used to have was allergic to nuts, but not all nuts, just almonds, pecans, pinenuts and hazelnuts... she could eat peanuts no problem. It was weird. I definitely tried to kill her with nuts on multiple occasions... by accident of course.

[diva@theSugarBar]

i do believe my mum will agree with you on that. she loves bananas! :) these are beautful. if u were my housemate, i would be dead with a nosebleed and a heart attack by now. lovely touch with the silver dragee. xx

[Y]

Didn't realise that there were people out there allergic to bananas! Oh well, more of the rest of us! :D

[Leslie]

Beautiful...just beautiful!

[catering equipment]

Fantastic pictures!

[Sophie]

We would like to feature this recipe on our blog. Please email sophiekiblogger@gmail.com if interested. Thanks :)

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