Here is one of my creations and it was a big hit. At the Ethical Society where I work and teach Sunday School we celebrate, sort of, Darwin Day. Years ago we had a member who would bring all the makings for Banana Splits on that day. Banana Splits for Darwin Day you say? Well, it goes like this - Darwin was about evolution right? That means we are related to monkeys/apes and what do monkeys like to eat, stereotypically? Bananas, thus, banana splits.
Well, I realized it was Darwin day like a day before that Sunday, so there wasn't time for a sign-up for people to bring items for banana splits, so I got this idea of making banana split cupcakes. Unbelievably, I could find nothing online about them. What? The internet that has ideas for everything you can imagine didn't have a banana split cupcake? A challenge for me!
So, the first part was easy. I made banana cupcakes.
I first posted this trying to get away without posting a recipe. However, I was caught being lazy, so here goes. I used this recipe from the book, "Martha Stewart's Cupcakes".
Roasted Banana cupcakes:
makes 16 - so I doubled the recipe of the cupcakes only
3 ripe bananas
2 cups cake flour (can use all-purpose)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup sour cream (can substitute yogurt if you wish)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Place 3 whole unpeeled bananas on a baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes (the peels will darken). Meanwhile, sift together cake flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Remove bananas from oven and let cool before peeling. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.
With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add roasted bananas, and beat to combine. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of sour cream, and beating until just combined after each. Beat in vanilla.
In another clean mixing bowl, with electric mixer on medium speed (clean and dried) whisk egg white to soft peaks; fold one-third whites into batter to lighten. Gently fold in remaining whites in two batches.
Divide batter evenly among lined cups, felling each 3/4s full. Bake until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to a wire rack to cool completely.
In another bowl I then made a strawberry filling which I injected into the cupcake (there is a special tip that plunges into the center of cupcakes and all you do is squeeze - so it fill's in like a Twinkie).
Strawberry filling:
One jar of strawberry preserves blended in a blender to liquify. (Or make homemade preserves and do the same).
Then I made a traditional buttercream and instead of milk or cream to thin it out, I took a can of pineapple, drained it and then whizzed it up in the blender to liquify it. I then added the pineapple to the buttercream. And let me tell you, that is YUMMO!
Pineapple Butter Cream:
2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 bag (2 lbs) powdered sugar
1 can of pineapple slices, thoroughly drained and liquified in food processor or blender.
Beat butter with mixer until smooth and creamy. Add powdered sugar in batches. Blend until smooth. Add liquified pineapple until incorporated. If it is too liquidy to spread/pipe, added powdered sugar until the desired consistency is reached.
And what is banana splits with out a fudge? So, I made a fudge sauce.
Chocolate fudge sauce:
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup heavy cream or milk
4 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla
In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine sugar, cocoa and cream. Cook on high 2-3 minutes, until sugar dissolves and mixture boils.
Stir in butter and cook on high 2-4 minutes more, watching closely and stirring every 30 seconds or so, until mixture thickens. Stir in vanilla
I then topped it with a patted dry maraschino cherry. Voila! A banana split cupcake with all the flavors - banana, strawberry, pineapple, Chocolate and cream with a cherry on top.
Aren't they cute? And they were oh so yummy! And quite easy!
And here is a tray of them and then the whole 3 dozen I made.
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