Banana Cupcakes With Peanut-Chocolate Buttercream

 Super-moist and fluffy banana cupcakes with an addicting-ly decadent PB chocolate buttercream.

Okay, let’s face it: Banana, chocolate, and peanut butter may just be the tastiest combo in the entire world. 

Today calls for chocolate and cupcakes. ‘Cause, well, it’s only Wednesday and it seems like this week is going crazy-slow. Bring on Friday—But for now….cupcakes.

This is going to have to a short post today. I’m kind of exhausted at the moment. There’s just been a lot of stuff going on and not all of it has been good. But I know you’re not here to listen to me gripe, so let’s get onto the good stuff! Cupcakes! Cupcakes. Cupcakes. (I told you I was tired—I get kind of crazy when I’m tired)

Anywho, let’s talk about the banana cupcake base for a quick sec here:

Several factors contribute to these cupcakes moistness and softness: Mashed banana (also contributes the flavor!) and buttermilk are the key ingredients in these super-moist and fluffy cupcakes.

Another tip for making super-moist and fluffy cupcakes is to NOT overmix the batter—stir only until just combined and you’ll have unbelievably moist cupcakes.

Onto the buttercream….♥

The PB/choc buttercream is one of my favorite parts about these cupcakes. Seriously, it’s so amazing I had to force myself to stop tasting it so I would have enough to frost the cupcakes. It’s smooth, creamy, chocolate-y, and completely 100% sugar-free. Did I mention it takes less than 5 minutes to whip up?

Six ingredients whipped to perfection….

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup chocolate peanut butter (I made my own, but you could always buy it—if you absolutely can’t find it anywhere, feel free to use Nutella instead)
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup powdered xylitol (make your own, by blending 1 cup xylitol and 1 tablespoon cornstarch in the blender  until powdery)
• 3-4 tablespoons heavy cream

5 minutes later…..Bam! Heaven in a bowl. Or heaven on a spoon which was the case for me. 😉

I was recently introduced to the wonders of xylitol, which is the sweetener in this buttercream—Xylitol is an all-natural sweetener that comes from birch bark, and it works wonderfully in making sugar-free frostings. (make sure that you purchase a sugar-free and artificial ingredient-free brand of xylitol)

 While I was taking pictures, I seriously had to hold myself back from licking the frosting off the cupcakes….

(True story: While I was editing this picture, my 3-year old sister, Rachel was watching me and suddenly gasped with a look of horror on her face: “Somebody took a bite out of that cupcake!!”)

Okay, no more chatter. Onto cupcakes. 😀

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Banana Cupcakes With Peanut-Chocolate Buttercream

Super-moist and fluffy banana cupcakes with an addicting-ly decadent PB chocolate buttercream.

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Servings 1 dozen cupcakes

Ingredients

• CUPCAKES:
• 1 large ripe banana mashed
• 1/2 cup butter melted
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1-3/4 cups white whole wheat flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• BUTTERCREAM:
• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 1/2 cup chocolate peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup powdered xylitol
• 3-4 tablespoons heavy cream
• Sliced bananas for garnish optional

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with muffin wrappers. Set aside.
• Prepare the cupcakes: In a large bowl whisk mashed banana, melted butter, honey, eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk until smooth. In another large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt until combined. Add dry ingredients to liquid and gently stir until just combined.
• Fill prepared muffin tin cups 3/4 full of batter. Bake cupcakes at 350F 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in middle comes out with a few crumbs sticking to it. Cool cupcakes completely on a wire cooling rack.
• While cupcakes cool, prepare the buttercream: Place butter and chocolate peanut butter in a medium bowl. With a hand-held electric mixer, beat on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy, about 1-2 minutes. Add cocoa powder, vanilla, and xylitol, beating until combined. Add cream a tablespoon at a time until a smooth and creamy consistency is reached. Refrigerate frosting until ready to use.
• Once cupcakes are cooled, frost cupcakes with buttercream. Garnish with sliced banana if desired.

Notes

Store cupcakes in refrigerator up to 3 days.

Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below. Feel free to share a picture on Instagram and tag @wholeandheavenlyoven or hashtag it #wholeandheavenlyoven

A few other cake recipes you might like….♥

Yellow Coconut Cupcakes With Cream Cheese Frosting

Gingerbread Loaf Cake With Orange Icing