Although the temperatures are still in the 80′s in Charlotte, I couldn’t wait to switch over to fall flavors. I was craving the warmth of either pumpkin or spice cake. I was scouring the kitchen to see what other ingredients I had lying around and noticed some bananas that were jumping out of the fruit bowl to be used. They had this look about them that said, “Please don’t place me in the freezer. I would be much better as something sweet and delicious.” And that is where this wonderful concoction was created.
First off the spice cake. This was probably the best spice cake I have ever had! It was so flavorful, light, and moist. Take that wonderful cake and top it with some fluffy banana frosting, pure bliss. It was the perfect light dessert to transition into fall.
Spice Cupcakes with Banana Buttercream Frosting
Spice Cake Cupcake Ingredients
Adapted from allrecipes.com
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups applesauce
- 2 eggs, room temperature
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray and place cupcake liners in pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, soda, salt, baking powder, and spices. Whisk until combined. Add butter, buttermilk, and applesauce to dry ingredients. Beat for 2 minutes on medium speed, until well combined. Beat in eggs, one at a time.
3. Fill cupcake liners about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 16-19 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
4. Allow cupcakes to cool in pan for 5-10 minutes. Remove from pan and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Banana Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup mashed banana, about 1 large banana
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice
- dash of salt
- 3 cups powdered sugar
1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter until light and fluffy. Add salt and beat until combined Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine mashed banana and lemon juice.
2. Slowly add powdered sugar to butter alternating with banana mixture. Beating until combined after each addition.
3. Beat until light and fluffy. Place into piping bag and pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes.
Notes
- Make sure to add the lemon juice to the mashed banana to keep it from browning.
- Instead of doing 2 batches of cupcakes, I made 12 cupcakes and an 8×8 in cake. Bake cake form 23-25 minutes.
- Store cupcakes in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
