Happy birthday to meeee!
I turn 26 today. Probably not the most exciting age, but still one I hope will bring good things.
25 was a great year. It wasn’t full of huge changes or excitement, but I’d like to think I started spending more time on things I enjoy over the past year. I’m definitely feeling happy at the end of 25, so I can only hope 26 brings more of the same!
No big celebrations planned for 26. In case you don’t know, I kind of dread being the center of attention, so I sometimes find my birthday a bit embarrassing. Weird, I know. Last year Nate threw me a surprise party, which was amazing – I was SO surprised! – but I asked him pleeeease not to do that this year, because I just can’t handle it! My last surprise party before that was my 16th birthday, so hopefully I have another 10 years or so before the next one. On the 9 birthdays in between, I prefer just a romantic dinner with my sweetie!
Something else I think I’ll want on my birthday for the next 9 years? These cupcakes.
Peanut butter cupcakes with a banana buttercream frosting. If that doesn’t make your heart skip a beat, I’m not sure what will.
I have been on a huuuuge peanut butter kick recently. Recently, like for the past year. Peanut butter dolloped on my oatmeal, spread on my fruit, melted over vanilla ice cream and a brownie (what?), and blended into my smoothies and salad dressings. And these cupcakes are pretty much my ultimate peanut butter lovin’ creation.
As they should be; it took me THREE batches of cupcakes and FOUR batches of icing to perfect this combination. (Well, one of the batches of cupcakes was because I managed to double everything except the flour… details.) These cupcakes aren’t fussy or anything, it’s just that I wanted to make sure I had the perfect cake+icing combo to celebrate my birthday. At one point I tried to use a peanut butter frosting with the peanut butter cupcakes. I thought it was delicious, but was informed by Nate that we might as well be eating peanut butter straight from the jar. I told him not to be silly… these are much healthier than straight PB! Kidding. But I’m glad I listened, because these cupcakes and this soft buttery banana icing are meant to be together.
And as a compromise, I snuck a little extra smear of peanut butter onto each cupcake before I iced them.
Heaven!
But OMG the frosting. Let’s not forget to talk about it. It is buttery, banana-y bliss. I wasn’t too sure how a banana would fare in a frosting, but it turns out the answer is VERY WELL. As long as you use a ripe, fresh banana. First I tried using an overripe banana I had defrosted from my freezer (cause those are delicious in smoothies and banana bread), but it turns out that was the wrong choice. (Remember how I had to make four different frostings?) But use a fresh banana here and I promise you’ll want to bathe in this frosting. For real.
Also, I should mention that it seems to keep well. I was a little nervous about it turning brown as bananas tend to do while the cupcakes sat in my fridge for a few days, but that wasn’t the case. Just as purdy as on day one!
Wishing I could reach into my computer and grab that little cupcake right now. It’s my birthday, so I can totally lick the frosting off, right?
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 2/3 cup milk (I used plain unsweetened almond milk)
- 1 ripe banana, mashed (not overripe!)
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- Peanut butter
- Finely chopped toasted peanuts
- Preheat oven to 350 and place liners in cupcake tins.
- In a large bowl, beat together the butter, peanut butter and brown sugar for several minutes until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and beat until smooth.
- In a separate medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the peanut butter mixture, alternating with the almond milk, beating well after each addition.
- Spoon batter into lined cupcake tins, filling each about 2/3 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out with moist crumbs, 18-20 minutes. Remove and cool completely before frosting.
- While cupcakes cool, make frosting. With a hand mixer (or stand mixer if you have one!), cream together the banana, butter, lemon juice, vanilla and salt. Beat in the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until you have a creamy and spreadable frosting.
- Once cupcakes are completely cool, spread each with a thin layer of peanut butter, about a 1/2 teaspoon (optional). Spread or pipe with icing and sprinkle immediately with crushed peanuts, if using.
- Enjoy!
Ah! This is my dream combo! Yum. Happy birthday! 26 is the best age yet (but only until we turn 27).
Thanks Meghan!
Happy Birthday – and yum. These look good.
Thanks Penny!
Happy birthday sister! These look delicious! Enjoy :)
Thank you love! xoxo
Happy birthday! I hope it’s a good one, and I hope you have many more. These are lovely looking cupcakes. I’m saving this recipe and will be making it soon for my kids. Thanks for sharing it.
Thank you Joshua!
Happy birthday!! My bf and roomie are both 26 (I’m the baby at 24 1/2!) so you’re in good company :)
And UM OMG these sound AMAZING. I am usually peanut butter obsessed like you. Normally, I can’t keep it in the house or I’ll eat the whole jar with a spoon in a matter of days. But lately I haven’t been able to get enough almond butter! I have jars of both at the moment and they’ve both lasted more than a week :)
OK and sorry for leaving the longest comment ever but one last thing: bananas in frosting? Genius! & Beautiful photos, as always!
Thanks Katie! I just polished off the last of my Justin’s almond butter the other day. Love that stuff!
happy birthday!!!! these cupcakes look like the perfect birthday treat. Anything with peanut butter is a winner with me. And that frosting? wow!!!!
Thanks Andrea! :)
Happy Birthday!! What a perfect way to celebrate! PB cupcakes sound amazing, especially with the banana combination. My 25th birthday just happens to be this Sunday…now I just need someone to make these for me! ;)
Thanks Hannah, and happy birthday to you, too! If only cupcakes shipped well, I would totally send you some :) Hope you get to enjoy something equally as delicious!
Oh my, these look so good! What a perfect birthday treat. Happy Birthday! 26 seems so young to me (I’ll be 29 in Sept). Hope you have a great day! :)
Thank you Sarah!
Happy Birthday! (You are SO young, OMG). 26 was good for me, I had my son that year, lol. These cupcakes look yummy, I never would’ve been brave enough to make Banana frosting.
Thanks Anna! :)
Happy birthday, Erica :) These look AMAZING! Hope you enjoy. Love you!
Thank you love!
Happy birthday! I made a banana cake with peanut butter frosting on my 26th birthday last year, so this is kind of like the reverse, and sounds even more delicious!
Thanks Natalie! Great minds think alike! I have some leftover peanut butter icing from one of my trials with these cupcakes, so I’m totally going to use it to top a banana cake – that sounds delicious!
Hope you had a great birthday! I’m 26 too (seem to be in good company!) Your cupcakes look gorgeous and sound delicious. I’ve made lots of banana cakes, but never banana frosting, going to have try it now!
Thanks, Rosie! If you are a banana fan, I definitely recommend the frosting!
I hope you had a wonderful birthday celebration! My daughter is planning to make these cupcakes for me for Mother’s Day tomorrow, as I am a big peanut butter and banana fan. But, I also looove peanut butter and bacon, so her added finishing touch will be crumbled bacon.
Hope you enjoyed these and your Mother’s Day, Julianne! Crumbled bacon sounds like the perfect finishing touch :)
This looks great! I am hoping to use your frosting recipe with the addition of blueberries to top my little girl’s 1st birthday cake. Baby loves nothing more than bananas and blueberries! I am doing a big sheet cake though, not cupcakes… Any idea how the quantity of frosting from your recipe would translate onto a cake? I am deciding whether to double or triple… What size cake do you think you could frost with one recipe?
And brilliant idea with the lemon juice – that’s why the bananas didn’t turn brown! Thanks for the great recipe. Beautiful blog.
Hi Emily, this would be delicious with blueberries! My guess is that this frosting recipe would cover a cake somewhere between 9×9 and 11×11. I would err on the side of caution and triple the recipe for your sheet cake – but I’m always one that thinks the more icing, the merrier! It should freeze well, also. Happy first birthday to your daughter!
Thank you! I agree – there is no such thing as too much frosting :)
Thanks Erica! Having trouble with the consistency on the frosting. I’ve tried twice and it it is just not firm enough. The first time, I thought my banana might have been too ripe, so the second time I tried one a little less ripe, but still no better. Any thoughts on what I might be doing wrong?
I’m sorry Jamie, that’s frustrating! Is your butter perhaps too warm? The butter should be at room temperature. I would recommend adding more powdered sugar until it becomes firm enough.
Hi Erica! These sound amazing!! I am going to make them for my SIL’s housewarming party on Sat. Can I sub the PB with Almond butter? Would I use the same measurement?
Hi Becka, so sorry for the late reply on this! I would guess the flavor would be more delicate with almond butter, as it isn’t as flavorful as pb. And yes, I’d use the same amount. Let me know how they turned out if you made them!
I did make them but not with the almond butter since I didn’t hear back from you yet. :-) everyone loved them!!! I’m definitely going to make them again.
Just what I was looking for. My ten year old wants to be a baker when she grows up :) and she wants this to be her first cupcake with a little added caramel on top. Thank you, cant wait to try this with my little one!!!