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Topped with cinnamon cream cheese frosting, these fluffy Banana Cupcakes are simply irresistible in every way.
When I’m looking for a simple, sweet, yet subtle treat, these Banana Cupcakes are the perfect solution. They’re more dessert-like than our Banana Muffins and not as dense as Banana Bread, but they still have that delicious banana flavor everyone loves!
a unique cupcake recipe
Cupcakes are always a favorite at our house, and these Easy Banana Cupcakes are both unique, delicious, and simply the BEST I’ve ever tried.
These cupcakes are so fluffy, light, and airy! They have a great banana flavor without being dense like Banana Bread, or dry like cupcakes can sometimes be.
The cinnamon cream cheese frosting is rich and velvety smooth. It goes perfectly with the cake crumb and the flavors complement each other well.
Since we love bananas, you better believe we’re baking with them all the time, especially when we have over-ripe bananas.
How to make Banana Cupcakes
These cupcakes take a little bit of time, especially when beating the egg whites, but they’re so good it’s worth it!
PREP. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare two muffin tins by lining them with paper liners.
EGG WHITES. Separate the eggs and beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then set aside.
WET INGREDIENTS. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add the mashed bananas, egg yolks, and vanilla, and mix until smooth. Gently fold in ⅓ of the egg white mixture.
DRY INGREDIENTS. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
COMBINE. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites.
BAKE. Fill paper baking cups half full and bake 11-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove and let cool completely.
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
BEAT. Beat together the butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar slowly and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla and cinnamon.
If necessary, add more powdered sugar until the frosting is firm enough to hold its shape but still light and fluffy. Frost the cooled cupcakes and enjoy!
Frosting. Pipe the frosting on using an actual piping bag and tip, or cut a corner off a Ziploc bag and use it as a piping bag. Of course, spreading it on with a knife works just fine, too.
Recipe Tips
Room temperature. Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature. This will ensure they mix well.
Stiff peaks. When whipping the egg whites you want to reach the “stiff peaks” stage. As they thicken, lift the whisk out of the whites. A peak should form.
- If the peak melts back into the whites, keep whipping it.
- If the peak holds its shape, it is ready to use.
Keep cupcakes from sticking to the liners. Purchasing a high-quality non-stick liner will help keep the cupcake from peeling off along with the liner or use reusable silicone liners.
Avoid sticky tops. Sticky tops can form on unfrosted cupcakes when there is too much moisture in the storage container.
Reduce this by cooling them completely on a wire rack before storing them or placing a paper towel in the container to help absorb any extra moisture.
Ingredient Tips
How to ripen bananas quickly. This recipe requires ripened bananas. Ripen bananas quickly by placing them in a brown paper bag along with an apple. Store it on the counter.
To ripen even faster, bake them.
- Preheat the oven to 300°F.
- Line a baking pan with parchment paper and place the bananas, peel on, on the sheet.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes. The peel will turn black and the bananas will become soft to the touch.
Cake flour. Cake flour produces a silky crumb. If you don’t have cake flour use all-purpose flour in the recipe or make your own cake flour.
Add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch into a 1-cup measuring cup. Fill it the rest of the way up with all-purpose flour. Level the top. Dump the contents of the measuring cup into a bowl and use a whisk to sift them together.
Variations
Garnish. Leave the garnish off, or add a fresh banana slice (right before serving, so they don’t get brown), banana chips (dried bananas), or chopped nuts.
Additions. These are amazing just as they are, but to switch it up, add ¾ cup of chopped nuts, shredded coconut, or mini chocolate chips to the batter.
Mini cupcakes. Use this recipe to make mini Banana Cupcakes. Use a mini cupcake tin and mini cupcake liners. Reduce the bake time to 8-11 minutes.
Storing Info
STORE. Frosted Banana Bread Cupcakes can be stored at room temperature for 1-2 days or in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. They taste even better after the flavors meld together!
FREEZE. Banana Cupcakes are great for freezing, as long as they have not been frosted!
Cool completely and put them in an airtight container or freezer storage bag for a couple of months. When you’re ready to use them, thaw in the fridge overnight. Frost them once they have thawed.
The frosting can be stored in a separate container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw before using.
Recipe FAQ
Not overmixing plays a big part, but so do the ingredients. The best thing about these cupcakes is the banana naturally creates an incredibly moist cupcake!
The recipe card gives directions to make a delicious cinnamon cream cheese frosting. We love the hint of cinnamon, but you can leave it out for a plain cream cheese frosting, or use other types of frosting like Vanilla Buttercream, Strawberry Frosting, or Chocolate Buttercream.
For more banana recipes:
- Frosted Banana Bars
- BEST Banana Bread recipe
- Banana Crumb Muffins
- Cream Cheese Filled Banana Bread
- Banana Pudding Cheesecake
- Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
Banana Cupcake Recipe
Ingredients
Cupcake
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas from 3-4 bananas
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups cake flour (all-purpose flour can also be substituted)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Frosting
- 6 tbsp butter softened
- 4 oz cream cheese softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar (more as needed)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare two muffin tins by lining them with paper liners.
- Separate the eggs and beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then set aside.
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add the mashed bananas, egg yolks, and vanilla, and mix until smooth. Gently fold in ⅓ of the egg white mixture.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites.
- Fill paper baking cups half full and bake 11-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove and let cool completely.
- To make the frosting, beat together the butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar slowly and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla and cinnamon.
- If necessary, add more powdered sugar until the frosting is firm enough to hold its shape but still light and fluffy. Frost the cooled cupcakes and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Be sure to go to The Baker Upstairs for more great recipes from Alicia.
This is one of my favorite cupcake recipes! The frosting goes perfectly with the cake and is absolutely to die for.
Yay! So glad you love it!
these cupcakes are amazing, and the frosting is my new favorite flavor! thank you so much for sharing this recipe
You’re welcome! So glad you enjoyed the cupcakes!
These are the greatest!!!
I substituted cake flour for gluten free 1-1 baking flour and these were sooo good I had to make 5 batches and they lasted only a few hours each in my house!!!!
I made them for my 4 year old grandson Birthday everyone like time. Thumb up
I need them of my 4 year old grandson Birthday everyone like time. Thumb up
Yay! Glad to hear you enjoyed the cupcakes!
The banana cup cake batter would not get smooth. I’m baking anyway hoping they will turn out.
Mine looked like scrambled eggs, I’m still cooking it
It doesn’t need to be smooth …just mix for 4-5 min on high speed then bake, It’s just like banana bread you don’t need to worry about tiny chunks of Banana or butter in the batter because when it makes it becomes part of the cake and It all comes out smooth and perfect once they are done baking 😉
So many people say these are the BEST cupcakes they’ve ever eaten!!
I hope you think so 🙂
The icing is amazing but have tried the cupcake recipe twice and both times they come out sticky, greasy, and without much rise at all. Not great .
Hmm..I’m sorry! I wish I knew why? Did you follow the recipe exactly? Glad you like the icing 🙂
Make sure you are using enough baking powder, Instead of both baking powder and baking soda, You must use 4 times as much baking powder to substitute for the baking soda amount. If you don’t they will not rise enough. But they are supposed to be moist and sticking a bit more like banana bread, They should not be fluffy and dry like a regular cupcake. You may also need to add a bit more flour, Depending on how you measure it, I have used as much as 2 cups For this recipe because I substitute for gluten free flour and It comes out fine with 2 cups also so maybe you can try that as well.
Just made these for my husband’s birthday!
So good, were a hit with everyone!
Glad they were a hit!! Thank you!
Hi. I would like to make just 12 cupcakes. Would I just halve all of the ingredients?
Thanks so much!
Yes, you could half it to make less 🙂 Hope you like them!