Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. My all time favorite candy.
It didn’t used to always be that way. We have definitely developed a love for each other over the years. I’ve gone from Milky Way to Butterfinger to Snickers, and ultimately my love affair has stopped with the glorious peanut butter cup.
There is just something with the marriage of milk chocolate and peanut butter that creates a utopia in the taste buds. There’s no trying to explain it, the phenomenon just exists. It’s pretty much science.
Another flavor combo I love is peanut butter and bananas. I have tried baking with this combo before and became very frustrated with the outcomes. They were never good. The two flavors just seemed to over power one another when baked together. I opted to omit the banana in these delicious Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Muffins I replaced peanut butter with pumpkin in these Pumpkin Toffee Banana Muffins, and I swapped almond butter for peanut butter in these Almond Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies.
It’s been months since I’ve attempted the peanut butter, chocolate, and banana combo so I figured why not give it a go again. I am so glad that I did!
Apparently you just have to make a cupcake in order to achieve this perfect flavor combination. Cupcakes fix everything, right?!
For these Chocolate Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting I created an extra chocolaty chocolate banana cake and topped it with peanut butter buttercream frosting. The banana yields sweetness to the cake, but the flavor does not overpower or compete with the chocolate. It’s quite subtle, yet still present.
Ben described the frosting as tasting like the filling of a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. Umm, is there any greater compliment than that?! I think not.
I passed these mini cupcakes out to quite a few neighbors and received rave reviews from all of them. I’m quite confident that these cupcakes will change your life…or at least your morning…or afternoon…or evening…depending on when you lose your willpower to eat one of these.
What is your favorite candy, and has it changed over the years?
- 1½ sticks salted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 bananas mashed (about 1 cup)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
- ⅔ cup gluten free oat flour
- ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon buckwheat flour
- ⅔ cup tapioca starch
- ⅓ cup cornstarch
- ⅔ cup water
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 4 oz. bittersweet/semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
- 1 cup chocolate chip/peanut butter chip mix
- For Frosting:
- 1 stick butter, room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar, divided
- 4 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¾ cup smooth peanut butter
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two standard sized muffin tins with paper liners. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add vanilla and mix until combined. Add in mashed bananas and mix on low speed until incorporated. Sift together baking soda, baking powder, salt, xanthan gum, oat flour, buckwheat flour, tapioca starch, and cornstarch. Add to mixer and mix until combined.
- Heat ⅔ cup water in a microwave safe bowl for 1 minute until boiling. Add cocoa powder to heated water and mix until dissolved. Add chopped bittersweet chocolate to cocoa mix and allow to sit for 2 minutes. Stir until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is smooth.
- Fold chocolate mixture into cupcake mixture. Stir until chocolate is completely incorporated into batter. Add chocolate/peanut butter chips to batter.
- Fill muffin liners ⅔ way full and bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes, rotating after 18 minutes if back cupcakes are overly browning. Cupcake tops should spring back at touch of a finger. Immediately remove cupcakes from tins onto cooling racks. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
- Begin making frosting by beating butter until smooth in a large mixing bowl. Add two cups of powdered sugar. Beat until it forms a thick frosting. Add vanilla and milk and mix until incorporated. Add remaining 2 cups of powdered sugar. Beat until smooth. Fold in peanut butter until it is completely incorporated into frosting. Add more sugar (to thicken) or milk (to thin) to reach desired frosting consistency. Pipe or spread frosting onto cupcakes. Serve at room temperature.
