Banana Pudding Cupcakes

We are getting ready for a big 1st birthday bash around our house - Lindsey is turning one very soon and her party is Sock Monkey themed so I've been trying to find some banana themed goodies to serve. A friend of mine who makes a lot of yummy cupcake combos suggested banana pudding cupcakes, so I found a recipe and gave them a try. They were SO good. We all loved them!! My hubby is a huge banana pudding fan, and he and my son ate these up in no time flat. It also gave me an excuse to try out my cupcake corer and the frosting tips I just bought, so yay! :)

We will be making these again soon, and I hope everyone at the party enjoys them as much as we did! The original recipe has a from scratch pudding filling recipe (linked below) but I cheated and used Jello pudding mix, with less milk to make sure it had a good fairly firm texture so it would hold up well for a filling.

Banana Pudding Cupcakes adapted from The Baker Chick

For the cake:
3 cups all-purpose flour 

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

24 vanilla wafer cookies 

 

Pudding filling:

1 4-serving package banana flavored Jello pudding

half the called for milk

 

For the whipped cream topping:

1/4 cup powdered sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

 

Directions

1. Make your pudding and set it aside in the fridge to chill and set.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with liners.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
4. In a large mixing bowl combine the butter and sugar, cream until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Add in the eggs, one at a time, and continue beating until well incorporated. Add in the vanilla.
5. Mix in the combined dry ingredients and the buttermilk, alternating back and forth until everything is evenly mixed. Don't over mix.
6. Place a vanilla wafer in the bottom of each cupcake liner and fill each about 2/3 full of batter.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until the tops spring back when pressed lightly. Place cupcakes in their pans on a wire rack to cool for about 5 minutes, then remove them from the pan and allow to cool directly on the rack. Cool completely before adding filling and frosting.

For the whipped cream:

1. Place your mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer to chill for at least a few minutes before using.
2. Combine the powdered sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan and whisk in 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Place the saucepan over medium heat and stir continuously until the mixture thickens (it will look very much like pudding). Remove from the heat and transfer to the freezer to chill while you begin whipping the cream.
3. Remove your chilled bowl and beaters from the freezer, combine the remaining 1 1/2 cups whipping cream with the vanilla in the chilled bowl and beat until very soft peaks begin to form. Continue to beat, and slowly add in the chilled cornstarch / powdered sugar mixture a little bit at a time. Beat JUST until the mixture holds stiff peaks and seems spreadable (do NOT over mix!)

Putting it all together:

1. Core each of your cooled cupcakes (use a pairing knife, or this handy cupcake corer). Fill the middle with the prepared pudding mixture, enough to fill the cavity and spread a little over the top of the cupcake.
2. Frost generously with the whipped cream mixture and when you are ready to serve add a slice of banana and / or a mini vanilla wafer for decoration if desired. (Banana slices will brown fairly quickly, so don't slice until you're almost ready to serve).

* I recommend refrigerating these after prepping them; we found they held together best after being chilled for awhile (it allows the pudding mixture and the frosting to set up - otherwise they were a little bit "gooey" and messy)!

 

Lindsey tasting nature over Labor Day weekend at Caney Creek Preserve!