What I Baked: White Chocolate Banana Cupcakes w/ Honey Cinnamon Frosting

Happy Friday Darlings!

As promised, here is my banana cupcake recipe that was a big hit last week when I had some company over. I'm quite the bananaholic as well as cupcake obsessor so this seemed to be the perfect combination for me. I took the main parts of my recipe from here & here and modified them just a bit to make them my own. 

What you will need:

Cakes:
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe bananas & 1 extra non ripe banana for garnish.
1/4 cup buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk, you can use 1/4 of plain yogurt)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup white baking chips

Truth be told - I did not use white chocolate chips in my cupcakes - though I wish I had as they taste absolutely delicious when thrown into a batch. I happened to have a bottle of Godiva white chocolate liqueur laying around that someone gave me as a gift so I used 1/2 cup of that instead - since I realize most people don't have this readily available in their house, I know that white chocolate chips would be a fantastic substitute.

Honey-Cinnamon Frosting:
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp.
3 tablespoons of honey
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

These are my approximate measurements for the honey and ground cinnamon. You can use more or less depending on how sweet and cinnamon-y you prefer it to taste. I love honey and cinnamon both, so I went a bit more heavy handed then the original recipe called for.  Also, I don't use a ton of frosting on the cupcakes.  Since frosting is sooooo sweet, I always tend to just give my cakes a nice coating instead of piling it on.

Directions:
1. (Preheat oven to 350.) In a large mixing bowl, cream shortening and sugar. Add the eggs, vanilla, bananas and buttermilk.

2. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to banana mixture.

3. Fill 18 paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.

4. While baking, begin making your frosting. In a large bowl use an electric mixer to beat your confectioners' sugar, unsalted butter, honey, and ground cinnamon until smooth - approximate 5-6 minutes. Frost cupcakes.

5. Top with a slice of banana if desired and sprinkle with a little extra ground cinnamon on top of the cupcakes as well as on the plate for a little added touch of sweet.

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Now put a cheesy smile on your face and enjoy with your friends:)

If you happen to give these a try, be sure to let me know what you think.

Catch you tomorrow darlings!

xx