Makin' Banana Cupcakes...

This is kind of a cheat. I'm using a banana muffin recipe from Ina Garten instead of a banana cupcake recipe. I've used the Banana Crunch Muffins before and can attest to how delicious they are. My only modifications are in the butter, flour, and sugar departments. I must say that the originals are definitely worth a shot (though I only ever added the diced banana and walnuts or pecans to them).



Banana Cupcakes with Vanilla Filling and Brown Butter Frosting

The filling and frosting can be made a day ahead, so I'll start with those recipes first.

Vanilla Filling

2 cup half & half
8 tbsp sugar, divided
1 vanilla bean, seeded
pinch of salt

3 tbsp cornstarch
5 egg yolks

4 tbsp butter, sliced into 4 pieces

In a medium saucepan bring the half & half, vanilla bean (the whole bean and the scraped seeds), salt, and 6 tbsp of the sugar to a simmer over medium high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

In a separate bowl, whisk the remaining sugar, cornstarch, and egg yolks until smooth. Temper the egg yolks by gradually whisking in about a cup of the hot half & half mixture. Pour the tempered egg mixture back into the saucepan, reduce the heat to medium and whisk constantly for about 30 second to a minute. The mixture will thicken very quickly.

Remove the pastry cream from the heat and stir in the butter. Pour into a bowl and let cool. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing to the surface to avoid a skin from forming and chill until cold. For those of you that play the home game, this was the original recipe I modified to create the kahlua pastry cream a couple posts ago. It's worth noting that the recipe comes from Cooks Illustrated.

Brown Butter Frosting

This frosting comes in two parts: first, the caramel syrup; second, the actual frosting. It's a bit labor intensive, and I'm sure any other brown butter frosting would be good as well. This frosting, however, is delightfully complex and perfect with the cupcakes.

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water + 1/4 cup boiling water
sea salt to taste

Combine the sugar and the 1/4 cup water in a medium pan over medium high heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves, reduce heat to medium and cook until amber. Add the boiling water to the caramel to halt the caramelization process. Whisk over medium heat for a minute or two more until it's slightly thicker and add the salt (be aware that the caramel can be salty since it's only a component of the frosting; the salt in the caramel will be the only salt in all the frosting). Cool completely.

6 tbsp butter, browned and cooled
2 tbsp caramel syrup
2 cups confectioner's sugar
2 - 3 tbsp half & half

In the bowl of a mixer, combine the browned butter, caramel, and 1 cup of the confectioners sugar until thick paste is formed. Thin paste with 2 tbsp of half & half. Mix until incorporated. Add remaining confectioners sugar and mix until combined. If necessary ass more half & half or confectioner's sugar. Personally, I wound up adding about 2 1/2 cups of sugar and 3 tbsp of the half & half; it was very experimental, but the result was pretty phenomenal (though I'll be the first to admit that this is the style of butter cream that, to me, is too rich and sweet).

Banana Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter, browned and cooled

1 large egg
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp milk
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup ripe mashed banana (about 1 banana)

1 banana, medium diced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl of a mixer, sift the first five ingredients together. Add the browned butter and mix until combined. In a separate bowl, whisk the wet ingredients together (all except for the diced banana). Add to the butter-flour mixture and mix until combined. Scrape the bowl and mix again, but don't over mix the batter. Fold in the diced banana.

Divide cupcake batter among 12-cupcake pan. Bake at 350 for 20 - 25 minutes until tops are firm and toothpick, inserted in the center of the cake, comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, remove from pan and finish cooling.

Assembly

Core out the center of a cupcake.

Fill with vanilla pastry cream.

Top with frosting.



Enjoy! I'm happy with how these turned out, but I think I want to do something to the vanilla filling. I'm not sure the flavors integrate as well as they could. I'll be getting some opinions from friends and coworkers in a couple days.