I really must apologize in advance for this decadent recipe of love and happiness. You see, it all started last month when Nate and I filled up a cart to the brim at Trader Joe’s while we were in Oregon. There is no Trader Joe’s in Alaska and it breaks out heart daily, therefore we buy everything that will fit into our suitcases whenever the opportunity presents itself. We brought back Trader Joe’s dark chocolate peanut butter cups and I could not/cannot handle their deliciousness! Seriously! They are infinitely better than other candy varieties. I’m infamous in my family for hiding candy everywhere (especially in my nightstand), so I am essentially an expert.
Then the other half of the equation, bananas. I planned to make banana bread which is the usual, normal response to verrry ripe bananas sitting on my counter. But then, I realized cupcakes are way better than bread. Obviously. They fit in your hand and frosting is a necessity rather than an optional afterthought. Friends with a million children were due to come over for dinner and everything collided in a brilliant concoction of bananas, chocolate peanut butter cups stuffed inside, and cream cheese frosting. (PS can we please talk about how I am clearly the superior treat consumer over Nate? He wanted vanilla frosting. Vanilla.)
My actual decorating kit was broken to bits and I had no patience to make these extra fancy at that moment in time. Did I mention our friends with a million children were coming over for dinner that night? I simply went old school with a plastic bag and trimmed off corner for the frosting, and I actually like how rugged and homemade they look. I think it fits perfectly with the flavor combination, don’t you agree? There’s nothing fussy about bananas + dark chocolate peanut butter cups + cream cheese frosting. Nothing fussy at all and just the way I like them. I may have to hide a few of these in my nightstand.
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cake flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 3 ripe bananas
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup shredded coconut
- 18 chocolate peanut butter cups
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/14 cup powdered sugar
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line standard muffin tins with liners. Set aside.
- Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and sift together. Set aside.
- Using a mixer, combine the butter and sugars until fluffy. Add in one egg at a time until mixture is well blended and fluffy. On low, add in the mashed bananas, vanilla extract, and greek yogurt.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredient bowl and stir until combines. Gently stir in the shredded coconut.
- Fill each cupcake mold with 2-3 tablespoons of the batter. Then place a chocolate peanut butter cup on top of the batter. These will sink a little bit when baking so make sure they are higher up! Then top the peanut butter cup with 1-2 tablespoons of batter so it is level with the mold.
- Bake for 18 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
- While the cupcakes are cooling, make the frosting. Using a handheld mixer on medium-high, mix the butter and cream cheese until well combined. Add in the vanilla extract and blend until combined. Then slowly blend in the powdered sugar and mix until it has all been absorbed. Decorate as desired!
- Enjoy! I recommend keeping these in the refrigerator due to the cream cheese frosting.
