Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Cake of the Week: Brown Sugar Banana Cupcakes with Avocado Frosting

I spend a lot of time baking for other people, but sometimes I get lucky and others bake for me! As you may remember from the Butter Tarts amazingness, LLC is quite the skilled kitchen craftswoman, and this weekend she got adventurous and tested a very intriguing recipe for our friends' enjoyment.





Brown Sugar Banana Cupcakes = totally normal. Avocado Frosting = somewhere on the far side of crazy! 



We gave these cupcakes mixed reviews. Everyone agreed that the Brown Sugar Banana Cupcakes were delicious. They're very muffin-y, and actually kinda healthy. 




But the Avocado Frosting is where things get tricky. LLC couldn't get over the fact that the smooth green goop was not guacamole (and may or may not have tested it with chips and salsa). I didn't love it plain, but combined with the cupcakes it fulfilled that creamy sweet frosting need.


And you must admit, they're striking to look at!





So basically, the avocado frosting wasn't bad, but I don't think it added anything particularly amazing to the cupcake consumption experience. I say save the avocados for some guac and next time frost these babies with buttercream! But if you're looking for something a little off the wall that'll make your friends go, Wow, hmm, weird but good! then maybe the Avocado Frosting is the thing for you.





Brown Sugar Banana Cupcakes (from How Sweet It Is)

makes 12-20 cupcakes, depending on your scoop
1 1/3 cups flour
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
1 egg
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup sour cream (or plain yogurt)
1/2 cup butter, melted


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.


Combine dry flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg and set aside. In a bowl, whisk egg and add brown sugar, mixing until smooth. Stir in vanilla extract. Add sour cream or yogurt and melted butter and mix. Stir in dry ingredients, then add mashed bananas and mix until batter comes together. The batter will be thick. Using an ice cream scoop or 1/4 cup measure, scoop batter in liners.


Bake for 15-18 minutes. Let cool completely.


Avocado Buttercream
2 ripe avocados
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups powdered sugar
pinch of salt
Cream avocado and butter together until smooth. With the mixer on low speed, add powdered sugar one cup at a time. Sprinkle in a pinch of salt and add vanilla. More sugar can be added if you’d like the frosting thicker. Frosting can be store in the fridge for up to 3 days. I recommend refrigerating the cupcakes.