Banana Cupcakes with Honey Cinnamon Frosting

This semester has been so much better for baking and blogging.  I'm glad that I get to share all of my delicious creations with you and I'm glad that I get to eat them all.

The other night I was bored and really wanted to bake.  I didn't have too many ingredients on my counter, but I did have three very, very ripe bananas.  I'm talkin' almost no yellow left on them.  If I didn't use them soon, then they would definitely start to turn into something inedible.  Since I just made those banana espresso chocolate chip muffins, I wanted to do something a little different.  I searched banana cupcakes and, voila!, Martha Stewart provided this delicious sounding banana delight.

The frosting has a pinkish hue in this picture, but is really a lovely tan color from the honey and cinnamon.

Banana Cupcakes with Honey-Cinnamon Frosting

from: Martha Stewart

Cupcake Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 4 ripe bananas), plus 1 whole banana, for garnish (optional)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. Make a well in center of flour mixture
3. In a separate bowl, mix together butter, mashed bananas, eggs, and vanilla. Pour into flour well.  Stir to incorporate flour mixture (do not overmix). Dividing evenly, spoon batter into muffin cups.
4. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. (Check at about 20 minutes, mine finished quickly) Remove cupcakes from pan; cool completely on a wire rack. Spread tops with Honey-Cinnamon Frosting. Just before serving, peel and slice banana into rounds, and place one on each cupcake, if desired.

Frosting Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature (don't microwave, but make sure it is very soft)
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I added more, just taste and see if you would like more or not)

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat confectioners’ sugar, unsalted butter, honey, and ground cinnamon until smooth, 4 to 5 minutes (your frosting may look chunky at first, but give it time).
2. Frost cupcakes.  
3. Don't refrigerate frosting until after you frost, but I would recommend putting the frosted cupcakes in the fridge, since the frosting is pure butter.