When life gives you bananas, you wish they didn’t all ripen at the same time. But because your wish will never come true, you should banana cupcakes! Or rather, half banana, half chocolate cupcakes. These are banana-chocolate, yellow-brown, yin-yang cupcakes. This recipe was born out of a need to use up overly ripe bananas and some baking chocolate that was nearing its expiry.
Cake flour makes things light and airy because of its lower protein content. If you don’t have cake flour, just use all purpose flour; you’ll have slightly denser, but tasty cupcakes.
Beat sugar, eggs and salt together. Then beat in butter and vanilla. Fold in cake flour, baking soda and baking powder. This is your basic cake mixture.
Divide the batter in half. Add a mashed banana to one half and melted chocolate to the other half of the batter.
Now you are ready to make your yin yang, half and half cupcakes. Just place a spoon of the chocolate mixture to one side of a cupcake or muffin tin. Then place a spoon of the banana batter on the other side, so that the muffin cup is filled one half with chocolate and one half with banana batter.
You could also make banana-chocolate swirl or marble cakewith both these batters. Spoon the banana and chocolate batters alternatingly onto a cake tin. Then using a spatula, gently make swirling patterns through the batter to get the marbled cake effect.
Bake in a 350 oven for about 20 minutes and you’ll have banana-chocolate cupcakes!
Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for a few minutes. The mashed banana keeps the cupcakes incredibly moist.
Note: there is a consistency difference between the banana and chocolate halves of the cupcake. I find that the chocolate part is a bit brownie-like (maybe because I used melted chocolate and not cacao powder?). Next time, to even out the consistency, I may mix the mashed banana into the entire batter and then stir in some cacao powder to one half of the banana batter.
The secret to perfect cakes
Don’t over mix the batter. Only fold/mix the batter till the ingredients have just combined. Don’t over handle or over mix the batter.
Don’t over bake the cake. You’ll land up with dry cakes if you over bake them. If your kitchen smells like cake, it means its ready to come out of the oven in a few more minutes. (A tooth pick inserted into the cake must come out clean).
Makes about 12 cupcakes
6 tbsp butter at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar (use upto 3/4 cup if you want it sweeter)
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs at room temperature
¾ tsp vanilla extract
1 ¼ cup cake flour or all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
½ cup mashed ripe banana (1 large ripe banana)
3 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted over a double boiler.
Preheat oven to 350f. If you are not using a non-stick muffin tin, grease the tin with a little butter and dust it with a little flour.
Using an electric beater or stand mixer, whisk butter, sugar and salt on high speed for about 1 minute. Then add eggs and vanilla and whisk for about 4 minutes of high or till the mixture is pale and fluffy. Mix flour, baking soda and baking powder together. Fold this gently into the egg mixture. Don’t over mix. Divide the cake batter in half. Mix in mashed bananas to one half and melted chocolate to the other half.
Spoon the chocolate and banana batters into muffin tins as shown in the pictures above. Bake for about 18-22 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the middle of the cupcake comes out clean.
