Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate-Sour Cream Frosting

I spent the summer in France, then taking summer graduate courses, and then Orlando, so I haven't been doing a lot of baking or cooking lately. Anything I have made, I haven't had time to document or blog here. In two days I start my next semester of graduate school and a new job at the hospital working with heart-failure and heart-transplant patients. Chances are, this blog and my other blog , Fine Fettle Kettle, might continue to be slow for a while. However, I do have an excuse to either bake a cake, cookies, pie or other dessert each week, because my daughter works at the Center for Women and Children in Crisis, and can take whatever I make to them for a little sugar on the weekend.

Banana Cupcakes
(Found in Martha Stewart's Cupcakes and here)

Ingredients

• 3 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 4 very ripe large bananas, mashed (about 2 cups), plus sliced bananas for garnish
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 
  

Directions

1. Make cupcakes as directed in Basic Cupcake How-To, using mashed bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla for wet ingredients.

2. Stir pecans into batter. Once cupcakes are cool, frost tops with caramel buttercream. Frosted cupcakes will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to 2 days. Top with banana slices before serving.

Chocolate-Sour Cream Frosting
(Found in Martha Stewart's Cupcakes and here)

Ingredients

• 1 pound (4 cups) confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 18 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream

Directions

1. Sift together confectioners' sugar, cocoa, and salt. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat cream cheese and butter until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Gradually add sugar mixture; mix until combined. Mix in melted and cooled chocolate and then sour cream; scrape down sides of bowl and continue beating until smooth. Use immediately, or frosting can be stored in the refrigerator up to 5 days, or frozen up to 1 month, in an airtight container. Before using, bring to room temperature and beat on low speed until smooth.