Banana Cupcakes with Honey Cinnamon Frosting

 

Coming in hot with a special request from my nephews:  banana!  Something banana, please!  We're bonkers for bananas, they said so here we are:  Banana Cupcakes with Honey Cinnamon Frosting!

Mike and I aren't as big into banana baked goods as my banana nephews but that's a-okay!  Mike is a banana purist, packing one or two with his work lunch but other than that, bananas are not terribly common in our household.

Mostly because as soon as a banana shows a single brown spot, Mike won't touch it.  Heh. 

Regardless, I am happy to oblige with banana baked goods and I really hope this hits the nail on the head for them.

Especially seeing as I couldn't stop myself eating these.  They are super duper tasty and the frosting, well, *mwah,* icing on the cake, if you will with the apt pun.

The great thing about these cupcakes, other than being monster delicious, is that they're also kid-friendly to make.  There's no mixer required for the cupcakes and the frosting is literally a five minute hands-off spin in the mixer.

They're fun to make -- mashing bananas, messy bowl stirring, and they come together in a flash.  Plus too, these cupcakes are a perfect entree into the world of baking for kids.

My nephews are topnotch helpful in the kitchen and know their way around a thing or two so I imagine this recipe will be a piece of cake for them, ah, another pun, but kids of near any age can get in on the action.

I will say there are a couple of keys to success to fluffy, light Banana Cupcake success, but they're not scary nor hard. 

And again, great for learning how to bake.  Which, IMO, is an excellent skill to have.  Of course, heh, duh, obviously.

But seriously, baking is learning.  Learning about food in general, about how to measure things, flavors, spices and seasonings, ya know that stuff for sure. 

But it's also learning about yourself, about success and failure.  You learn how to express yourself, be creative, enjoy your existence, learn focus, and giving.

Baking teaches you about life and the skills you learn are not limited solely to baking.

And, luckily, there are endless opportunities to learn when it comes to baking too.  From easy peasy lemon squeezy recipes all the way up to the most complicated confection.  The list, it's forever.

Baking is fun. 

Right, ok, baking soap box babble done.

Back to Banana Cupcakes with Honey Cinnamon Frosting.

First, bananas.  Don't go by the amount of, the number of bananas needed in this recipe; go by the measured amount of mashed.  Any more or any less, if going by whole banana quantity, will give you eh results in one direction or another.

Two, drop pieces of banana into a glass two cup measuring cup* and smash with a fork.  Chop chop you'll notice how a cup and a half of banana chunks suddenly becomes much less than one cup of mashed banana.

Third, be sure to not over-mix.  I know this might be a tough one with young ones in the mix but it's not a hard lesson to teach, nor is it a tricky tip to be aware of.

Over-mixing could result in hockey pucks and no one wants banana hockey pucks.

Lastly, the Honey Cinnamon Frosting doesn't make a large quantity but IMO, these cupcakes don't need a ton of frosting.  If you want, feel free to increase the recipe to one and a half.  Too, feel free to add a tablespoon of milk or heavy cream to loosen things up a tad.

Ok!  Let's make cupcakes!

First, in a large bowl,* mix the dry ingredients together.  Done.  Easy.  Set aside.

Next, bananas.  Like I said, drop chunks into a glass measuring cup and mash.  Keep adding chunks until you reach a cup and a half of mashed golden goodness.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in another bowl but not all the way.  So this is tip five:  melt until mostly melted and stir until melted.  This keeps the butter from getting too hot.

Toss the bananas into said melted butter, add the eggs and vanilla and whisk whisk* while breaking up larger 'naner chunks.

Pour the wet into the dry, stir gently with a spatula,* minimally, juuust until things are mixed.

Divide that batter up among twelve cupcake paper liners* in your cupcake tin* and bake. 
 

Soooo easy, right?! 

For the frosting, toss everything into a stand mixer* bowl or a bowl for an electric mixer* and beat that stuff up for a good five minutes.

Cool the cupcakes.  Frost.  Bam, it's Banana Cupcakes with Honey Cinnamon Frosting time. 

nom nom nom nom....

Soooo good, right?!  Wow.

Make the cupcakes and the frosting ahead if you'd like then assemble later.  Too, you can get fancy pants with the decoration by adding wee slices of banana on top.

Yum! 

Oh by the way, upon tasting, Mike said, "hot damn, these are really good," so there ya have it!  Winner!

Big thanks to my nephews for this suggestion!  Sorry, boys, that it took so long, thanks for your patience, and I hope the wait was worth it!  Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

*The glass measuring cups, mixing bowls, whisks, spatulas, paper cupcake liners, muffin tins, stand mixers, and electric mixers are Amazon affiliate links.  Happy baking!  Please see the "info" tab for more, well, info.