Banana Split Cupcakes

I found these cupcakes over at Confessions of a Cookbook Queen & knew I had to make them.  I had a bit of trouble with the consistency of the frosting, but the flavor was absolutely delicious!

A banana cupcake with a marshmallow center, strawberry buttercream, chocolate sauce & a cherry on top.  The only thing missing is the pineapple!

Mr. Banana Cupcakes

These special cupcakes were for a special friend :)  They are banana cupcakes with a brown sugar swiss meringue buttercream, dressed up with a mustache!

Recipe from The Novice Chef

Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Buttercream & Bacon

Did you know Elvis' birthday was Sunday?  I'm sure you also knew that his favorite sandwich was a peanut butter & banana sandwich with bacon, right?  And you also know that I like to put bacon on cupcakes, right?

I had an opportunity to make these cupcakes for a group of Elvis fans that were celebrating his birthday.  The banana cake was super light, the peanut butter frosting was just sweet enough, and the crispy bacon added the perfect crunch.  I also added a drizzle of caramel, because, why not?

Stacked Fondant Cake

Another graduation cake!  This one was three layers, 6"/9"/12", and was vanilla, chocolate, and banana cake.
Vanilla buttercream was used for filing and icing underneath the homemade marshmallow fondant.

Banana Bread

Even though I already have a go-to banana bread recipe, I still love trying new recipes.  I've heard nothing but rave reviews about the recipes that come out of the Baking Illustrated by Cooks Illustrated cookbook that I bought a few months ago.  With a couple of ripe bananas to use up, I flipped to the recipe & got started.

Banana Bread
from Baking Illustrated

• 2 cups all purpose flour (unbleached) and some for dusting
• 1 1/4 cups walnuts coarse chop (optional - I omitted)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 very ripe bananas, mashed well
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt (I used vanilla)
• 2 large eggs lightly beaten
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cool
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with the rack in the middle position.  If you're going to add nuts, toast them on a baking sheet in the oven for 5-10 minutes, watching carefully.  Mix together dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking soda & salt) in a large bowl.  In another bowl, mash the bananas, and add the yogurt, eggs, butter and vanilla, mixing until well combined. Gently fold the banana mixture into the dry ingredients, until just combined; the mixture may still be a little lumpy.  Pour into your prepared 9x5 loaf pan (I just used cooking spray) and bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean - mine took closer to 65 minutes.  Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  Wrap the loaf for storage for up to 3 days.

The result?  Banana bread that had a crusty top, but was perfectly moist inside.  This rose a little higher than my usual recipe, but the taste was very similar.  Either recipe is a winner in my book!