Banana Party, Part 2: Banana Milk Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe

How cute was that banana garland from a coupla days ago? Well clearly you need the cupcakes recipe to go with it, to send your banana party into the stratosphere!

My one year old is banana-crazy... he gnaws away at bananas until it's a mush in his hands. Then he reaches for me to pick him up and I have to freak out because I don't want gross banana hand on my nice shirt. I need to stop wearing nice shirts. Because obviously I pick him up! Little munchkin!

So anyhoo because he's loco dingo about bananas, naturally I buy a fair amount of them... and they almost always go brown before Teddy has a chance to gobble his way through the bunch.

Did you know banana bread is just so easy to make? And, if you throw in milk chocolate, bake the batter in cupcake pans and cover it in chocolate ganache, it becomes a cupcake?

Banana Milk Chocolate Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Ganache (you read that right)

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/4 cup golden brown sugar

4 eggs, room temperature

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

4 ripe bananas

3 cups of all purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

2 cups of milk

2 cups of good quality milk chocolate, roughly chopped into chunks (or milk chocolate chips!)

For the ganache:

1 cup of heavy cream

21/2 cups of dark chocolate pieces

Make it!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cupcake pans with cupcake liners - I used yellow for more banana power!

1. Using a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar on high until light and fluffy.

2. Scrape down the bowl and add the eggs, vanilla extract and peeled ripened bananas. Mix until blended.

3. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt.

4. With the mixer on low, add 1/3rd of the dry ingredients to the banana mixture, alternating with the milk. Keep mixer running, then add another 1/3rd of the dry and then the milk, and one more time - the last 1/3rd of the dry ingredients and the rest of the milk until incorporated. Do not overmix.

5. Fold in the milk chocolate pieces with a spatula. Or your bare arm. I dare ya.

6. Pour batter evenly into cupcake-liner lined pans.

7. Bake for 16-18 minutes, turning pans halfway to ensure even baking. Test the cupcakes by inserting a clean toothpick into the center of one - if it comes out clean, cupcakes are ready!

8. Set cupcakes on wire racks to cool.

9. In a small pot on the stovetop, bring cream to a low boil over medium-high heat.

10. Remove from element and set aside pot. Add chocolate pieces so cream covers the chocolate.

11. Set your timer for ten minutes. Go check your email or surf the net.

12. After ten minutes, using a wire whisk, stir the chocolate gently into the cream as it forms a shiny ganache. Let stand for another 20 minutes to cool.

13. Spoon chocolate ganache on top of cooled cupcakes. Top with fresh raspberry if desired!