These banana cupcakes are like a handheld version of my classic banana cake recipe. They’re soft, moist, and tender, with a delicious hint of cinnamon throughout. This recipe is light and fluffy without being too dense and has the perfect amount of sweet and mellow banana flavor. They are truly the ultimate dessert!
These cupcakes are perfect for parties, birthdays, or if you have ripe bananas lying around on your counter. I’m also obsessed with the tangy and creamy frosting that really takes these cupcakes to the next level. You will want to make this pairing again and again! Want to try another delicious cupcake recipe? Try my strawberry cupcake recipe, black bottom cupcakes recipe, or coconut cupcakes recipe.
What You Need to Make This Recipe
Baking soda — make sure the baking soda is fresh. If it has expired, your cupcakes will be dense and not rise properly.
Cinnamon — a bit of cinnamon adds a nice warm flavor to the cupcakes, and it pairs wonderfully with the banana flavor.
Butter — make sure you are buying unsalted butter and not salted butter. Be sure to bring the butter to room temperature, where it is soft enough, so your finger leaves a dent when you press into it. It will be challenging to beat the butter into a smooth and creamy consistency if it’s cold.
Buttermilk — using buttermilk ensures your cupcakes are moist, flavorful, and tender. Make sure it is at room temperature to ensure it effortlessly mixes into the batter. See my guide on how to make buttermilk if you do not have any on hand.
Sugar — these banana cupcakes use both granulated and brown sugar. The granulated adds sweetness and the brown sugar provides a delightful moist texture with a light caramel note.
Sour cream — the sour cream adds moisture to the cupcakes without thinning the batter and a delicious tangy flavor. It also tenderizes the cupcakes. See my post on how to make sour cream if you do not have any.
Cream cheese — be sure to use full-fat cream cheese and not the spreadable cream cheese from a tub. The cream cheese will give the frosting a thick and creamy consistency that’s slightly tangy. It needs to be room temperature, or you’ll end up with lumpy frosting.
Powdered sugar — if you’ve run out of powdered sugar, see my guide on how to make powdered sugar.
How to Make Banana Cupcakes
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and sour cream until well combined. Beat in banana.
3. With the mixer on low, add some of the buttermilk.
4. Then, add in the flour mixture alternating with the buttermilk until combined.
5. Fill each cupcake liner in the muffin tin about ¾ of the way full with the batter. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the pans from the two racks.
6. Meanwhile, make the frosting by beating the cream cheese, butter, cinnamon, and salt on medium speed until smooth and well combined.
7. With the mixer on low speed, gradually mix in the powdered sugar and until smooth and fluffy
8. Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a decorative tip and the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes. Garnish with banana chips, if desired.
Pro Tips for Making This Recipe
- If you only have one muffin pan, you can bake the cupcakes in batches. Just let the first batch cool for a few minutes in the pan, then transfer them to a wire rack. Line again and bake as instructed.
- Measure your flour correctly! Adding too much flour to the recipe is the most common mistake that will yield dry and dense cupcakes. The best and easiest way to measure flour is by using a scale. If you don’t have one, then fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off.
- Make sure you let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting, or the frosting will just melt off the top of the cupcakes.
- The eggs should be at room temperature to ensure they incorporate into your batter evenly. If you forgot to take your eggs out of the fridge ahead of time, you could quickly bring them to room temperature by placing them in a large bowl and covering them with warm tap water for 5 minutes.
- Avoid overmixing as you risk over-developing the gluten in the batter leading to tough banana cupcakes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not a problem! If you don’t have ripe bananas, place bananas on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake at 300° for 15 to 20 minutes or until they turn black. Cool, peel, and mash.
The frosting can be made a day ahead of time. Just chill after whipping and let it come to room temperature before using. Give it a quick beat again, then transfer it to a piping bag. You can also bake the cupcakes ahead of time and keep them wrapped in the fridge until ready to pipe with frosting.
Keep the cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge. If you do not have a large enough container for the frosted cupcakes, you can place the cupcakes under a large overturned bowl to keep the frosting from getting squished. Bring the cupcakes to room temperature before serving. If you are concerned about squishing the frosting, leave the cupcakes unfrosted until ready to serve.
You can! Unfrosted cupcakes freeze beautifully. Once the cupcakes are at room temperature, transfer them to a baking sheet to freeze, then transfer them to a freezer-safe bag. Store for up to 2 months. When ready to eat, thaw in the fridge overnight before frosting and serving.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this Banana Cupcakes recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Banana Cupcakes
Equipment
- Mixing Bowls
- Electric or stand mixer
- Muffin pans
- Piping bag and tip
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (240g)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened (113g)
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar (110g)
- ½ cup sugar (100g)
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ¼ cup sour cream room temperature (60g)
- 1¼ cups mashed ripe bananas 2 to 3 large bananas (328g)
- ½ cup whole buttermilk room temperature (120mL)
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 8 ounces cream cheese (226g)
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened (113g)
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 3 cups powdered sugar (360g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Cupcakes:
- Position two oven racks towards the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°. Line two 12-cup muffin pans with 18 paper cupcake liners.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs and sour cream until well combined. Beat in banana. Stop and scrape down the bowl as needed.
- With the mixer on low, add in the flour mixture alternating with the buttermilk just until combined. (Be careful not to over mix the batter!) Fill each cupcake liner about 3/4 of the way full with the batter.
- Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the pans and swapping oven positions halfway through, or until a wooden pick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely.
For the Frosting:
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, butter, cinnamon, and salt on medium speed until smooth and well combined.
- With the mixer on low speed, gradually mix in the powdered sugar and until smooth and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Stop and scrape down the bowl several times while mixing to make sure there aren’t any lumps of cream cheese and butter.
- Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a decorative tip and the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes. Garnish with banana chips, if desired. Refrigerate any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Video
Notes
- If you only have one muffin pan, you can bake the cupcakes in batches. Just let the first batch cool for a few minutes in the pan, then transfer them to a wire rack. Line again and bake as instructed.
- Measure your flour correctly! Adding too much flour to the recipe is the most common mistake that will yield dry and dense cupcakes. The best and easiest way to measure flour is by using a scale. If you don’t have one, then fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off.
- Make sure you let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting, or the frosting will just melt off the top of the cupcakes.
- The eggs should be at room temperature to ensure they incorporate into your batter evenly. If you forgot to take your eggs out of the fridge ahead of time, you could quickly bring them to room temperature by placing them in a large bowl and covering them with warm tap water for 5 minutes.
- Avoid overmixing as you risk over-developing the gluten in the batter leading to tough banana cupcakes.
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