First Birthday Cupcake

For Henry's first birthday I wanted to make something more exciting for him than his usual no-sugar mini-muffins. I was inspired to make a banana-based cupcake or cake, but a recipe search online did not produce any results I liked. Every banana cake recipe I found contained at least 3 cups of sugar, which just seemed like too much for my no-sugar baby! I frequently make banana bread muffins for my husband and me. The recipe is my mom's banana bread recipe with a few alterations and baked in a muffin tin. I decided these muffins would be plenty decadent when topped with cream cheese frosting. Henry agreed! They were a big hit with him and the rest of the family!

Banana Cupcake (Muffin)
Yield: 12 cupcakes
Bake: 350 degrees for 14-16 minutes

Ingredients:
2 over-ripe bananas
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 stick unsalted butter (softened)
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder

Directions: 
Combine wet ingredients (bananas, sugar, eggs, and butter) until smooth in a mixer or by hand. Sift in the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Grease a standard size muffin tin or use paper liners, fill cups 3/4 full. They are fully cooked when the tops are firm to the touch. ***Tip - if you use only all-purpose flour instead of whole wheat you can omit the baking powder.

Basic Cream Cheese Frosting
Yield: piped frosting for 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:
8 oz cream cheese (I used Organic Valley)
1/2 stick (4 tbsp) unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:
Allow the cream cheese and butter to warm to room temperature (at least 4 hours). With a mixer or by hand, combine all ingredients until smooth and fluffy.

I forgot to buy a piping bag, so I just cut a corner off a ziplock bag, filled it with frosting, and piped onto the cupcakes. This was my first attempt at piping frosting and, although they didn't look professionally done, they looked pretty good!

The Finished Product

The big thing I would change is my muffin tin liners. Since this is a dark batter, my colorful liners look drab. I usually do not use liners at all, just spray the pan with canola or coconut oil spray. I bought these special for his birthday and I was disappointed. They didn't effect the flavor though!

Here's an obvious mom tip (which I wish someone had told me!)...keep the cupcake with the lit candle out of your little one's grasp!

Happy Birthday to you...

He was a little hesitant at first, but caught on quickly that cream cheese frosting is DELICIOUS!

What is frosting mom?

Unfortunately for him, I took the cupcake away. There was a lot of frosting on it. I broke off the bottom and gave him pieces of the cake which he also really enjoyed. Don't worry, the frosting didn't go to waste!

Banana Muffins are also delicious!