Aren’t these cute!?

At my track meet on Friday, I couldn’t stop showing everyone the grainy pictures of these banana split cupcakes on my iPhone.
“Hey, look what I made!”
“You can’t see it in the picture, but they’re filled with banana pudding — pretty fancy, huh?”
“Those are real maraschino cherries… in case you were wondering.”
… sorry to my track team for being so annoying. But hey, they should put up with my baking bragging, because I provided two trays of my butterscotch blondies at the meet. Sorry, not sorry. 😉

Anyways, since I’ve already told my track team about them, let me tell you why these cupcakes are awesome.
1) Banana splits are arguably more American than apple pie. They’re also retro, funky, and remind me of fun, colorful diners and jukeboxes.
2) Sometimes, it’s too cold for ice cream (ahem, it was around 20 degrees yesterday). These cupcakes are a warmer twist on a classic cold favorite.
3) The recipe is multi-step, hands-on, and slightly fussy.
Reason #3 may surprise some of you, but personally, I love fussy recipes. The ones that have multiple steps and multiple flavors.
While making these cupcakes, I loved getting lost in the process of coring each cupcake, carefully filling each one with banana pudding and decadently frosting each one with layers of rich buttercream. I relished meticulously coating each one with a seamless layer of nonpareils and carefully placing a glossy maraschino cherry atop yet another swirl of buttercream. I get such a rush from putting my heart and soul into a recipe. I even made a midnight run to the grocery store to buy more nonpareils and maraschino cherries. (Shout out to mom for taking me there at 11:30 on a school night! You rock!).

These would be perfect for a summer potluck or for a cloudy Tuesday in January when I’m missing the carefree flavors of summer.

Do you like fussy recipes?
With love,
Erica

Banana Cupcakes
Adapted from The Food Network
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 large ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the butter and granulated sugar. Add the sour cream and vanilla. Slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time. Incorporate the dry mixture and wet mixture together until thoroughly combined. Add the bananas and mix until just combined.
Using an ice cream scoop, fill each cupcake liner three-quarters of the way full. Bake in the oven until the tops turn golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cupcake comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
Chocolate Glaze
Adapted from Bakers Royale
Ingredients
2/3 cups dark chocolate
2 tablespoons heavy cream
5-8 tablespoons water, warm
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 to 2 tablespoons milk
Additional Ingredients
One package Instant Banana Pudding
Nonpareils
maraschino cherries
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gahhh so adorable!
hahahahah midnight run to the store :') oh Erica, I know what that's like… #foodbloggerproblems
Thank you! I'm glad you understand! I am in the process of making some CRAZY things with all of the English goodies you sent me! Stay tuned!
Lovelly!! I NEED to try them!!
Thank you!
omg the cutest!!! I would totally be super proud of myself and showing them to everyone too 😉
Haha when you make fancy schmancy cupcakes like these, you deserve some bragging rights!
Just the sight of these darlings made me smile. They are so happy looking! Your mom DOES rock for taking you to get ingredients that late on a school night 🙂 Fussy recipes are fun when you have the time for them….how do you manage!!!!!!
Haha thank you so much! I am glad my baking made you smile! I showed my mom this comment and she thought it was pretty funny :). I somehow find the time to whip up buttercream amidst track meets, high school parties, and piles of math homework… #priorities.
Erica. We are similar baking souls. I adore fussy recipes, especially when they're of the Momofuku variety 🙂 These look like they could totally measure up! And I was JUST thinking how I want to try making a banana split layer cake! After my detox though…
How did you get those sprinkles so perfectly embedded in the ganache? Did you roll them or sprinkle them on? They look BEAUTIFUL.
No way! I am glad we are kindred spirits in the baking world! Ohhh Momofuku recipes are the best! I have been ogling many Momofuku recipes for the past year, and will hopefully make some soon! I sprinkled them on, and I used a plate to catch the "runaways."
Wow Erica, you absolutely amaze me with your writing, cooking, and photography skills, this is another fabulous looking recipe! If you ever come to Arizona I wish you could give me a lesson! Thanks for sharing, Stacey
Thank you so much! I would love to! This comment was so sweet and made me smile!
they look amazing supper yummy
Thanks Sasha!
I wouldn't be able to shut up about these either! So fun!
Haha glad you understand!
They look delicious and professional! Thanks for stopping by our blog!
Of course! Thank you so much!
These look so good and I don't even like banana! Seriously gorgeous pictures! I love the one where you cut the cupcake in half and labeled it! 🙂
Xx Ally
Thank you so much! I wanted to show you the inside of each cupcake, with the banana filling and all! So scientific!
Oh my, these look like perfection. Sounds delicious too. I love fussy recipes, especially when there are many elements in just a cupcake!
Thank you so much! I am glad that you understand my love of fussy recipes!
I can't wait to see where you are in your life in 15-20 years! Nice job – looks & sounds yummy 🙂
Thank you so much Little B!
These look absolutely gorgeous and your photos are stunning!
Thanks so much!
Yum! I will definitely be making these. Do they need to be refrigerated?
Nope! But they can be frozen if you don't need them for a while!