Banana and Nutella Cupcakes

 What is the best thing to do with overly ripe bananas? Make them into cupcakes! The recipe already calls for ripe bananas so it's perfect! 

So banana cupcake and Nutella frosting. 

Recipe (cake recipe taken from: http://www.cookingclassy.com/2013/09/banana-cupcakes-nutella-buttercream-frosting/): 

• 1 1/4 cups + 2 Tbsp all purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup mashed over-ripe bananas (from about 2 medium bananas)
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice (I just squeezed one whole lemon into it)
• 1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil, divided
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg white
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup buttermilk

The cornstarch is really important in these cupcakes. The bananas are very watery and tend to make things it is baked into very watery without the addition of cornstarch, which is a thickener.

I cooked the cupcakes at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.

While the cupcakes are cooling, it is time to make the Nutella frosting.

I just made my own frosting without a recipe.

I put about 2 cups of powdered sugar, 2 sticks of butter and a whole container of Nutella.

Frosting the cupcakes is definitely my favorite part of baking. I put the frosting into a plastic baggy and pipe it onto the cupcakes. This allows it to look "fancy" and gives it more of an impressive look.

These cupcakes are the perfect combination of banana and Nutella. The cake is moist and has banana chunks in it which gives it more of a banana taste/feel to it.

These cupcakes always earn me rave reviews at parties and family gatherings.

My ability to bake and cook is always something that I have taken for granted as it comes easy to me but I am slowly realizing how much of a gift it is that I am able to cook and bake. Not all people are as comfortable in the kitchen as I am. I am just lucky that I grew up around the kitchen baking with my mom.