These Cinnamon Swirl Banana Cupcakes are a simple, yet extraordinary treat! Super soft and moist banana cupcakes have swirls of gooey cinnamon sugar inside of it and are topped with the silkiest cinnamon cream cheese frosting!
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I had a few bananas sitting around that I was originally going to use to make my amazing banana bread recipe, but I decided last minute to make banana cupcakes instead. Funny enough, after making the banana cupcake batter, I received an email about how awesome my Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes are and a lightbulb went off!
I just knew turning what was supposed to be plain banana cupcakes into cinnamon flavoured banana cupcakes would be nothing short of incredibly delicious! So I quickly put together a simple cinnamon sugar mixture and swirled it into the cupcake liners with the banana batter. Then topped it with a melt-in-your-mouth cinnamon cream cheese frosting that’ll grace your tastebuds with every bite!
The Best Things About These Cupcakes
Oh God, where do I even start? I’m so in love with these cupcakes as a whole, but here are the parts that’ll totally have you sold:
- These are the softest cupcakes ever
- Loads of banana AND cinnamon flavour
- Ooey gooey cinnamon sugar swirled throughout
- Silky cinnamon cream cheese frosting makes these soft cupcakes even more heavenly
Soft and Fluffy Banana Cupcakes
Start with the ultra moist and soft banana cupcakes. They’re super easy to prepare! Simply combine the dry ingredients, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy, and add vegetable oil and sour cream to moisten and soften the crumb.
Vanilla for flavour and eggs for structure. Mix in the dry ingredients in thirds to keep the batter smooth throughout the mixing process. Lastly, beat in the mashed bananas. I mashed them with a fork, but if you don’t want chunks of banana in the batter, blend them in a food processor.
Cinnamon Swirl
To put the cinnamon swirl into the cupcakes, add about a tablespoon of cupcake batter to your liners. Top with a teaspoon of cinnamon sugar, add another tablespoon of batter along with another teaspoon of cinnamon sugar.
You may need to add another 1/2 – 1 tablespoon of batter on top if it didn’t reach 2/3 full before. Use a toothpick and place it all the way into the liner so you can swirl each layer.
Silky Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
With how soft and light these cupcakes are, I felt like a buttercream frosting would be too heavy. A nice, silky and equally light cream cheese frosting would pair perfectly! Besides, banana dessert + cream cheese frosting is a match made in baking heaven!
While buttercream could be too sweet and overpowering for the soft and small little cupcake, cream cheese frosting is basically just the supportive friend that lets the cupcakes flavours and textures shine!
Since the theme of these cupcakes is cinnamon, I added a bit of cinnamon to the cream cheese frosting. The best part is that even though it’s found in every inch of these cupcakes, the cinnamon isn’t overpowering at all!
Just like the cream cheese frosting, it just sits back and compliments the banana cupcake rather than letting jealousy take over and try to steal your taste buds attention for itself. Doesn’t banana cupcake have such kind and caring friends?
You can spice things up by topping these cupcakes with my salted caramel cream cheese frosting or chocolate cream cheese frosting (just exclude the caramel).
Top with banana chips or fresh banana slices if you think these cupcakes will only last a day or two (they probably will). The topping is totally optional, it’s basically to let people know what flavour these cupcakes are.
Enjoy!
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Cinnamon Swirl Banana Cupcakes
These Cinnamon Swirl Banana Cupcakes are a simple, yet extraordinary treat! Super soft and moist banana cupcakes have swirls of gooey cinnamon sugar inside of it and are topped with the silkiest cinnamon cream cheese frosting!
Ingredients
Cinnamon Sugar:
- 1/2 cup (110g) dark brown sugar, packed
- 1 and 1/2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
Banana Cupcakes:
- 1 and 1/2 cups (192g) all purpose flour
- 1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
- 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (55g) light brown sugar, packed
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup (123g) sour cream, room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2-3 overripe large bananas, puréed or mashed (about 1 and 1/2 cups)
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 4 cups (512g) powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp salt
- Banana Chips, for topping (optional)
Instructions
For the Cinnamon Sugar:
- In a small bowl, add brown sugar and cinnamon and stir with a fork to combine. Set aside until ready to use.
For the Banana Cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350° F (177°C) and line a standard cupcake pan with paper liners. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and both sugars on medium-high until light and fluffy, 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Add oil, sour cream and vanilla and mix until combined.
- Lower speed to medium-low and add the eggs one at a time. Make sure to occasionally stop and scrape down the bowl.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients in three additions and slowly mix until just combined. Add the banana purée and mix until well combined. Batter should be thick.
- Alternate between adding 1 tablespoon of batter and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon sugar, then one more tablespoon of batter and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon sugar. Use a toothpick to swirl the layers together.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Remove cupcakes from oven and allow to cool in pans for about 10 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks to cool completely.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer, beat the softened butter and cream cheese until super pale and fluffy, about 5-6 minutes.
- Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time and beat on low speed after each cup until combined.
- Once combined add vanilla, cinnamon and salt and continue to beat until combined and smooth.
- Increase speed to medium-high and beat for about 5-7 minutes, or until frosting is light and fluffy.
- Transfer frosting to piping bag fitted with a large star tip (I used Wilton 1M) pipe swirls on top of cupcakes and garnish with banana chips, if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
- Make Ahead: Cupcakes can be made a day ahead of time and stored tightly covered at room temperature. Frosting can be made a day or two ahead of time and stored covered in the refrigerator. Re-whip before using. Leftover cupcakes should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 19 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 95Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 24mgSodium: 141mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 1gSugar: 9gProtein: 1g
BON APPÉTIT!
Love, Dedra
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