Favorite Banana Cupcakes

banana cupcakes on cake stand with first birthday hats

This naturally sweet cupcake is perfect for a first birthday—or any birthday there after. See the Notes section under the recipe for allergy-friendly variations. We love this with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Servings cupcakes

Calories 274kcal

Author Amy Palanjian

Equipment

Ingredients

Banana Cupcakes

1½ cups all-purpose flour (or whole-wheat pastry flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cinnamon
⅓ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly (1 stick)
⅓ cup maple syrup or honey
2 cups sliced very ripe bananas (they should have brown spots for the best flavor)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese (softened at room temperature)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened at room temperature)
2 tablespoons maple syrup (or honey)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
blueberries for decorating, optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

To make the cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line 12 muffin cups with cupcake liners.
Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl.
Add the butter, maple syrup (or honey) banana, eggs, and vanilla to a blender. Blend on high for about 30 seconds or until completely smooth.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir together gently with a spatula until just combined.
Evenly divide the batter among the prepared cupcake liners with batter. Each will take about 1/4 cup of the batter. The cupcake liner will be just over half full.
Bake 20-22 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out cleanly. Transfer cupcakes to a wire rack and cool fully.
Pipe or spread on Cream Cheese Frosting and finish with a blueberry, if desired.

To make the frosting:

Beat together the cream cheese, butter, honey, and vanilla with a hand-held electric mixer.

To frost the cupcakes:

Pipe or spread the frosting onto cooled cupcakes. Add a blueberry on top of each if desired.

Notes

Gluten-free: Use cup for cup gluten free flour blend in place of the wheat flour.
Egg-free: Omit the egg and add 1/2 cup milk.
Dairy-free: Use melted and slightly cooled coconut oil instead of the butter. Substitute plain Greek nondairy yogurt for the cream cheese in the frosting. Simply let it sit in a mesh colander lined with cheesecloth for about an hour in the fridge to drain off any excess liquid.
Use very ripe bananas with brown spots for the best flavor.
Use a blender to combine the wet ingredients to ensure that there are no banana lumps in the batter. Or, mash the banana totally smooth with a fork.
Stir the batter together gently until just combined to avoid overworking it.
Remove the cupcakes from the pan as soon as you take them out of the oven. Let cool fully on a wire rack before adding icing.
You can make these up to a day ahead. Let cool fully, then store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 24 hours.
You can freeze unfrosted cupcakes in a zip top freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or overnight in the fridge.

Nutrition