It’s been awhile since I made some good ‘ole cupcakes, and I’ve had ideas rolling around in my head for quite awhile now.  Today I bring you some cupcakes including a few new techniques and tools I wanted to try.

Remember those egg whites I used for the Shamrock Meringues?  Obviously, I had the leftover yolks to contend with (I hate throwing food away; it’s something that’s literally been bred into me, I think), and the obvious solution to me was to make a pudding or cream.  Additionally I’d been wanting to make a cupcake with filling and had been reading voraciously on the best ways to do so.  Putting those two interests together, plus me having bananas in the apartment, naturally yielded the interest in banana cream pie cupcakes.

When it comes to filling cupcakes I’m always looking for the best technique to seamlessly fill them.  I’d always kind of considered the “cut a hole in the cupcake and put the lid back on” technique cheating, but after some research online, I found that it’s apparently the accepted way of handling such things.  And it turns out it actually works really well!  I was happy with the final look of the filled cupcakes.

In the spirit of a banana cream pie, I decided to fill the banana cupcakes with vanilla cream/pudding.  I made some pudding a few months ago that honestly turned into a complete disaster, so I was a little apprehensive.  Still I plunged forward and actually came out at the other end with some pretty sound pudding.  I still think it tastes a little like corn (damn you, corn starch!) but it was still completely serviceable.

 

For Slackers: Today is a sad day because I have to admit that a slacker step I’ve taken in the past really does make a big difference in how the cream/pudding turned out.  If you’ve ever made pudding before, you’re familiar with the direction to “strain the pudding to remove lumps”.  This I always ignore…waste of time, I told myself.  Who cares if it’s a bit lumpy?  Well…it’s less the removal of lumps that mattered to me and more the removal of little cooked bits of egg yolk stuck in the pudding.  For the first time ever I decided to use my strainer to remove lumps, and removed quite a few small bits of yolk that cooked, rather than blended in, when I added them.  Learn from me, kids!

 

Lastly I got to use one of my new icing tips!  Whipping up some heavy cream for the topping, I added it to the cupcakes with the star shaped tip, which I thought looked super nice.  A question though…does anyone have suggestions on the best way to fill a piping bag?  I have a really hard time filling it up without getting batter/whipped cream/icing all over everything!

Final analysis on these cupcakes?  Everyone who tried them (self included) gave them a unanimous thumbs up.  This is probably one of my favorite recipes I’ve made so far.  These guys are a little labor intensive, but oh-so worth the work!

Banana Cream Pie Cupcakes

Ingredients – Cupcakes:

Slightly adapted from Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes.

• 3 bananas
• 2 cups cake flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 eggs, separated
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions – Cupcakes:

1. Roast bananas at 400 degrees for 8 minutes (I did this, but I think it’s optional; I’m not sure how much flavor it really added to the end product.  If not roasting, just mash thoroughly).
2. Cream butter and sugar in a bowl.
3. Add egg yolks one at a time, mixing thoroughly each addition.
4. Add bananas, mix.
5. Mix dry ingredients and add them to the banana mixture in 3 batches, mixing each in thoroughly.
6. In another bowl whisk egg whites to soft peaks, then fold in the batter in 3 batches to keep light.
7. Put batter into lined muffin tins, and bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees, rotating the pan halfway through.
8. Put onto a cooling rack and cool completely.
9. Cut a cone out of each muffin and slice the tips of the cones off (eat the tip to make sure it’s not poisonous).

Ingredients – Pudding:

• 2 egg yolks slightly whisked
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 3/4 tbsp corn starch
• pinch salt
• 1 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp butter

Instructions – Pudding:

1. In a saucepan combine sugar, salt and cornstarch.
2. Over medium heat gradually whisk in milk.  Stir continuously until thick, then boil for ~1 minute.
3. Slowly add the egg yolks.  Stir continuously until thick, then boil for ~1 minute.
4. Remove from heat, blend in butter and vanilla.
5. Strain for lumps, then let cool for 5-10 minutes.
6. Spoon the pudding into each muffin, then add the lids back on top.  Don’t over-fill – you should have just enough for pudding for 1 dozen cupcakes.

Ingredients – Topping

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions – Topping:

1. Mix together all ingredients in a bowl and let chill in the fridge for 20-30 mins.
2. Whip to stiff peaks.
3. Dollop/pipe onto cupcakes.

Outside photos by Emily.