Banana Cupcakes
Soft, fluffy Banana Cupcakes made with overripe bananas and topped with a classic vanilla buttercream. A delicious way to use up ripe bananas, these easy homemade cupcakes are perfect for birthdays, bake sales, or simply enjoying with a cuppa.
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Servings: 12 cupcakes
INGREDIENTS
For the Cupcakes
- 2 Bananas (ripe)
- 140 g Caster Sugar
- 55 g Soft Margarine (or Butter) (at room temperature)
- 1 Free-range Egg (at room temperature; see Egg Size note below)
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 3 tbsp Milk
- 225 g Self-raising Flour (see Self-raising Flour note below)
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
For the Icing
- 300 g Icing Sugar
- 150 g Block Margarine or Butter (at room temperature)
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2-3 tbsp Milk
EQUIPMENT
- Cupcake Cases
- Ice Cream Scoop (optional)
- Piping Bag (optional)
- Large Star Piping Nozzle (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
For the Cupcakes
- Preheat your oven to 170°c (150°c for a fan-assisted oven, Gas Mark 3 or 325°F) and line a muffin tray with 12 cupcake cases.
- In a large bowl, mash the bananas, then the margarine/butter and sugar. Mix well until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk and vanilla before adding to the mixture.
- Sift the flour and baking powder into the mixture and gently fold to form a batter.
- Spoon the batter into your prepared cupcake cases, filling each to about ⅔ full.
- Bake in your pre-heated oven for 15-20 minutes, until the cupcakes are risen, golden and a skewer inserted comes out clean.
- Once cool enough to touch, transfer the cupcakes to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
I like to use an ice cream scoop for spooning the batter into the cupcake cases, for ease and consistency.
For the Icing
- In a large bowl, mix the icing sugar, butter/margarine and vanilla together until light and fluffy. If it appears a bit thick, you can add a tablespoon of milk to thin it out - just be sure to add a little at a time until you have your desired texture.
- Once your cupcakes are completely cool, use a large star nozzle and piping bag to pipe the buttercream on top of each cupcake. Alternatively, you can spread the buttercream on the tops of the cupcakes instead. Finish by topping with a dried banana chip, if desired.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
All my recipes are developed using a digital scale and the metric system (grams and millilitres). Cup measurements are available as a conversion but these, unfortunately, won't always be as accurate. For best results, I always recommend baking with a digital scale.
NOTES
Egg Size:
When it comes to eggs, I always buy mixed-weight free-range eggs. Generally speaking, egg size doesn’t make a huge difference in most baking, unless you are using sizes that lean towards the extremes. If you’re unsure which eggs to use, I recommend medium eggs in the UK, which are roughly equivalent to large eggs in the US. That’s what this recipe has been tested with.Self-raising Flour:
Don't have self-raising flour? For this recipe, simply whisk together 225g (1⅔ cups) plain flour and 3 teaspoons baking powder instead - not forgetting the additional 1 teaspoon of baking powder the recipe also calls for, so 4 teaspoons of baking powder in total. If you bake regularly, you can also make a larger batch to keep in your baking cupboard. For full instructions, cup conversions and answers to common questions, see my Self-raising Flour Ingredient Guide.Substitutions:
- Butter or Margarine: I use a soft baking margarine for cupcakes as I find it to be more predictable and gives a lovely light cake, but would always recommend a block margarine for buttercream – I go into more detail about this in my Margarine Ingredient Guide. But if you are baking outside the UK, where margarine quality can vary massively, you can swap to unsalted butter.
- Vanilla Extract: Vanilla bean paste can be used in place of vanilla extract, if you want to go a bit extra! Or you can skip the vanilla completely if you aren't a fan.
- Decoration: Dried banana chips are my favourite for decorating, but fresh banana slices work just as well if you're serving the cupcakes straight away.
- Added Extras: If you want to shake things up a bit, you can also add some chocolate chips or chopped nuts (walnuts are my favourite) to the cupcake batter.
Storage:
Store your Banana Cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. In particularly warm weather, you may want to store them in the fridge, then bring them back to room temperature before serving for the best texture.Freezing:
The cupcakes will freeze well for up to 3 months. I recommend freezing them without the buttercream, then defrosting them at room temperature before decorating and serving. If you've already iced them, you can still freeze them, but the buttercream may lose a little of its texture once thawed.Tried this recipe?
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