Desserts / June 8, 2022

banana fluffernutter cupcakes

Name: banana fluffernutter cupcakes
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups mashed banana (about 3-4 large bananas); 1/2 cup canola oil; 1/4 cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt or sour cream, at room temperature; 1/2 cup sugar; 1/3 cup brown sugar; 2 eggs, at room temperature; 2 tsp vanilla extract; 2 cups all purpose flour; 1 1/2 tsp baking powder; 1/2 tsp baking soda; 2 tsp ground cinnamon; 1/2 tsp ground ginger; 1/4 tsp ground cloves; 1/2 tsp kosher salt; 1/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature; 18 jumbo marshmallows; 1 stick butter, at room temperature; 1 cup creamy peanut butter; 2 - 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar; 1/4 cup heavy cream; 1 tsp vanilla

What happens when I find myself with an overabundance of marshmallows? Why, I stuff them in everything I possibly can. Duh.

Did ya’ll grow up on fluffernutters? I actually don’t think I ever had one as a kid. As the name suggests, a fluffernutter is a sandwich of marshmallow fluff and peanut butter. Sounds more like a dessert to me, but I guess everything back in the day was pretty skewed as far as what course it belonged to. Though, I suppose you can argue the same things happen now, what with the amount of oatmeal toppings and insanely sweet pancakes exist. Not that I’m bitching.

Overripe bananas are a wonderful canvas for various baked goods. Such creations are some of my favorites: we’ve enjoyed Easy Banana Walnut Cake with Espresso Fudge Frosting and Chocolate Chunk Buckwheat Banana Bread so far, and now we’re throwing a batch of Banana Fluffernutter Cupcakes into the mix.

These delightful little dudes are stuffed with a giant marshmallow and enrobed in a sweet peanut butter frosting, making them a lovely treat for a summer gathering, especially if kids are involved. What kid doesn’t love big fat mallows? A fucken weird one, that’s who.

Ba-Ba-Ba-Ba-Ba-Nana

The base of these cupcakes is a slightly jacked up banana bread, really, so if you can make banana bread comfortably, you’ll be just fine here. If not, follow my lead. I promise they’ll be splendid.

First, mash up your bananas. 3 big, dark dudes (the blacker the better) yielded the necessary 1 1/2 cups, but you may need 4 depending on the size of your fruits. I just use a fork for the job.

Then, mix up your liquids: canola oil, Greek yogurt, and both brown and white sugar, followed by eggs and vanilla. Whip in the mashed bananas to finish.

Next, your basic dried ensemble of flour, baking powder and soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and clove, for a bit of spiciness.

Divide the batter into 18 lined cupcake tins – so 1 1/2 pans. Fill each slot only 3/4 of the way full to prevent spillage and uneven baking. Bake for 22-25 minutes until the centers are no longer jiggly.

Mallow Mania

The next key is to let the cupcakes cool for a bit before attempting to shove a marshmallow in the center. If you don’t, the cake is likely to collapse. So, give the guys around 10 minutes to chill the hell out before attempting The Scoop.

I use a humble spoon to carve out a pocket in the center of each cupcake, wide and deep enough to fit a marshmallow. Don’t worry if you’re not entirely precise: for one, the cakes get frosted anyway, so any flaws are easily concealed. Set the marshmallow in its cubby and bake the cupcakes for 5 more minutes, just long enough to puff up the mallows. Cool the cupcakes completely.

Nuts for Peanut Butter

Cupcakes totally cooled? You sure? Feel the bottoms. If the bottom is still warm they ain’t ready, you impatient butt.

If they are, it’s time to frost. Take care to not lick up all the buttercream as you make it, because it’s so good and I definitely sampled a tablespoon or two as I whipped it up. The combination is simple but luxurious: butter, peanut butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and heavy cream. The latter gives a fluffy texture that I generally love in a frosting.

You can either pipe or smear the frosting onto each cupcake. Totally up to you. I went old-school and snipped the corner of a gallon freezer bag as my piping vessel (even though I own a proper set). Press a couple little marshmallows into the frosting, if you’d like, to up the cuteness factor.

If you’re looking to prep the cupcakes ahead of time, I recommend baking them no more than 3 days ahead and storing the undecorated cakes in the fridge. Frost when you’re closer to serving, since chilling can dull the vibrant nutty flavor of the buttercream. Not to say that leftovers taste like shit, they definitely don’t. I just like the freshest frosting when I’m dishing them out to a crowd, you know?

As far as the peanut butter goes, with any baked good involving the paste, I prefer a non-natural variety or one that uses palm oil. These tend to incorporate better and don’t leave excess oil.

What childhood mainstay found its way into your diet most often? I loved Bagel Bites. I actually have a recipe for a homemade version here!

Tried this recipe out? Leave a comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!