Breaking Cat News

Breaking Cat News

Bananas Foster Cupcakes

Ingredients, bananas foster:

2 bananas, sliced

3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup rum

1 vanilla bean, seeded (or 1 tbsp vanilla extract)

Ingredients, cupcakes:

1 bananas foster

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup neutral vegetable oil (i.e., canola)

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1 vanilla bean, seeded (optional)

2 cup all-purpose flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cups coconut milk beverage (what I had on hand, but any milk should do)

Ingredients, frosting:

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (1 stick)

4 cups powdered sugar

2-4 tbsp milk

caramel sauce (optional)

ground cinnamon (optional)

banana chips (optional)

Method:

In a large frying pan, heat butter and brown sugar and stir until sugar dissolves. Stir in vanilla beans or extract.

Once brown sugar is fully dissolved and solution begins to simmer, carefully place banana slices in the frying pan, one layer deep. Pour in rum.

Continue to heat for 1-2 minutes and then, using a barbecue lighter or long match, flambé!

Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.

Add in oil, vanilla extract and optional beans, and coconut milk. Stir until batter is even.

Fold in bananas foster.

Bake at 350°F for ~18 minutes for mini cupcakes or ~28 minutes for regular cupcakes, or until toothpick inserted comes out cleanly.

Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove to cooling racks to cool completely.

While the cupcakes cool, beat together cream cheese and butter using a hand or stand mixer until light and fluffy.

Mix in 2 tbsp milk, and then gradually add in powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency. If the frosting becomes too thick, add an additional tablespoon of milk. Refrigerate until decorating cupcakes.

When cupcakes are completely cool, pipe frosting or spread on with a small spatula or butter knife. I didn’t use a fancy tip to pipe the cupcakes in the photo above, I just added the frosting to a ziplock bag and cut one of the corners ~1cm in diameter.

For extra flavor and aesthetic prowess, drizzle some caramel sauce, sprinkle with cinnamon, and add a banana chip garnish.

I bake a lot (…overstatement?), and my baked goods generally score pretty high in terms of customer satisfaction. I get asked for recipes, people specifically ask me to make things for occasions and events, I’ve won a few awards, blahblahblah - baking is one of the few things I’m actually good at. That said, I feel the need to let you know that I have never had a better response from taste testers as I did with these beauties.

These cupcakes were fucking amazing.