Cupcakes! Choconana PeanutButter

Armed with the success of my first ever cupcake attempt with the Red Velvet, I decided to jump right in and make another simple cupcake combining flavors I love - chocolate, banana and peanut butter. Originally I wanted to top it with a crispy bacon piece, but that would be going overboard. So now, there was a decision to be made, how to combine the flavors? What would be in the cake and what would be the icing? Banana peanut butter cake with chocolate icing? Banana cake filled with chocolate ganache with peanut butter icing? Banana cake with chocolate peanut butter icing? Finally, i made a choice, chocolate banana cake with peanut butter icing was it. And here it is.

Choconana Cupcake with Peanut Butter Frosting

makes 18  3oz cupcakes

For the cupcake

1 cup  sugar

1/2 cup rice flour

1/8 cup sorghum flour 

1/8 cup potato starch

1/8 tapioca starch 

1/8 cup almond flour

½ teaspoon Xanthan gum

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, regular or Dutch-processed 

(I used Dutch processed)

3/4 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 1 medium sized banana)

1/2 cup warm water

1/4 cup buttermilk (1/4 cup milk plus 1/8 teaspoon vinegar)

1/4 cup canola, corn, or vegetable oil

3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven. Line  muffin cups with paper liners or spray each cup with a non stick vegetable spray.

In a large bowl whisk together the sugar, flours, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In another large bowl, whisk together the egg, mashed banana, water, milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir, or whisk, until combined. (The batter is quite thin.) Pour or scoop the batter into the muffin cups, about 3/4 full (around 1/4 cup), and bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.  

Remove from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack before icing

Peanut Butter Frosting

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

2  tablespoons cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 tablespoons cream or milk

Place the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter, cream cheese,  vanilla, and salt in the bowl. Using a paddle attachment or handheld mixer, mix the ingredients on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

I used Skippy's Natural Peanut butter as shown in the picture above as we should stay clear from hydrogenated fat in our diet. For the vanilla extract, I used The Vanilla Company Bourbon extract. No imitation vanilla flavoring please. I assure you, you will definitely notice the difference in taste of your sweet baked goodies. Kinda pricey, but I say worth the splurge if you want that subtle sweet aroma of vanilla that is essential in any cupcake, cake or cookie.

As i mentioned previously, I do not have a sweet tooth, so I am a minimalist when it comes to the amount of frosting in my cake. If you want more icing, go ahead and double the recipe.  Forgive my messy swirls, as I am a cupcake frosting newbie.

 

The Result? I mildly banana tasting cupcake. I think I should up the amount of banana as it tasted more chocolate than banana. The icing however was perfection. A slight tang from the small amount of cream cheese with the sweet saltiness of the peanut butter. My score: 8/10. The icing is good enough to eat with a spoon!