Banana Cupcakes with Vanilla Icing #TipsTuesdays

Banana Cupcakes with Vanilla Icing

This is another fabulous recipe that is one of my favourites, even though I now realise I haven't made it in ages :) *Makes note to buy some bananas* I have mentioned it before on this blog, but never posted the whole thing. This would undoubtedly be really nice if you added a tablespoon of rum to the bananas and took out a tablespoon of the butter milk too ;).

Equipment:

• Large mixing bowl
• medium missing bowl
• Fork or mouli for blitzing 
• Sieve
• Two to three bun trays
• Measuring equipment (baking is a science rather than an art so you'll need to measure)
• Bun cases
• Electric hand mixer
• 2 teaspoons
• spatula (not vital, but makes life much easier)
• wire rack
• Piping bag

Ingredients:

Cup Cakes

• 255g (2 1/4 cups) of plain flour (sifted)
• 110g (1/2 cup) of unsalted butter
• 2 ripe bananas (the riper they are the better the cupcakes taste)
• 55ml (1/4 cup) of buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• 115g (1 cup) of sugar (caster)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 1/2 tsps baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

Icing:

• 440g icing sugar (confectioner's sugar)
• 300g unsalted butter (softened)
• 2 tsps of vanilla extract
• Sprinkles to decorate

Instructions

1. Preheat the over to 190C/375F/Gas mark 5
2. Place bun cases in the bun tins
3. Sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda, along with the salt into a middle sized bowl and combine thoroughly
4. Place the butter and vanilla into the big mixing bowl and use the electric mixer to whip together until creamy and light in colour (you can do it by hand, but it will take longer)
5. Add the sugar bit by bit, beating so that the mixture becomes light and fluffy
6. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating each in before adding the next
7. Mash the banana (either with a fork or an electric hand blender)
8. Add a little of the butter milk and beat in, then add in some of the dry mixture and beat in, then add some of the banana and beat in.
9. Repeat step 8 until all the ingredients are combined.
10. Using the two teaspoons, spoon the mixture into the bun cases (to just over half full – about two teaspoons full)
11. Bake in the oven for between 18 and 20 mins until golden on top - they will rise into quite sharp mounds
12. Take out of the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack
13. For the topping put all the ingredients into a large bowl (I did it in two lots to make it easier) and combine using the electric whisk until they go light and fluffy
14. Put the icing into a piping bag and pipe over the cooled cup cakes (you can spoon it on if you don't have a piping bag) - this is where the spatula comes into it's own to get the last of the icing from the bowl.
15. Sprinkle randomly with petty edible things :)