I’m not really sure where the idea for Banana Cream Pie cupcakes came from, since I don’t even like bananas. I hate the banana-flavored Runts, avoid banana nut bread like the Black Death, and let’s not even talk about regular old bananas. Tastes like old socks to me. But hey, I understand that people enjoy bananas. And the homemade banana pudding I made for these cupcakes was actually pretty amazing (yes, I tasted it, and it’s AWESOME). And that’s saying something.
For the cupcakes, I just used a standard vanilla cupcake recipe (courtesy of Magnolia Bakery, of course). I used a standard vanilla buttercream for the frosting, but I bet adding in some cinnamon would be great.
When I was looking up banana cream pie recipes to adapt into cupcakes, I was shocked at how many called for regular vanilla pudding over banana slices….really? No banana-flavored pudding? Sigh. I figured I had to do it the old-fashioned way: making banana pudding from scratch.
As for the filling, I will warn you: it’s a lot of work. I got the recipe from Salon, of all places, and it called for a banana caramel with a traditional pudding base. You could just buy a box of Jell-o vanilla pudding and add in a couple of pureed bananas. but honestly, the homemade banana pudding is worth it.
To fill the cupcakes, I used the cone method, just like I did for the apple pie cupcakes. I topped these off with a crushed vanilla wafer garnish.
I recommend making the pudding first, and have it cool while you’re baking the cupcakes.
