PB–banana “Elvis” cupcakes

These cupcakes from VCTOTW are a tribute to the legend of Elvis’s favorite sandwich. Since my dad is an Elvis buff, I made these for Fathers Day. I only withheld them this long because I’ve posted too many damn cupcakes in the last couple months! But I can’t keep these to myself any longer; they’re just too, too good. I made a half batch of frosting because I chose to just top them instead of also filling them, but feel free to double it if you want them filled.

For the cupcakes:
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
2/3 cup soymilk
2 tsp vanilla

For the frosting:
2T Earth Balance, softened
1T shortening
Scant 3T creamy peanut butter
1 tsp molasses
1/2 tsp vanilla
2/3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2-4 tsp soymilk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin or a 24-cup mini muffin tin with paper liners and coat with cooking spray. In a large bowl, sift together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, soymilk, vanilla, and banana (make sure it's very well-mashed).



Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, add the wet mixture, and fold in until just combined.



Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.



Bake for 20-22 minutes for regular cupcakes, or 15-16 minutes for minis. When done, let sit in the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Look at those pretty lil domes!



With an electric handheld mixer, cream together the Earth Balance and shortening at medium speed until smooth. Add the peanut butter, molasses, and vanilla...



...and beat until very smooth, 2-3 minutes. Beat in sugar a little at a time (mixture will be very stiff).



Dribble in the soymilk a little at a time, beating continuously until frosting is pale tan and very fluffy.



I used my fancy schmancy piper to frost these, but it turned out I needn’t have bothered to do such a pretty job—after awhile at room temperature, the frosting softens and becomes slightly melty. No matter; it doesn’t affect the taste at all. After frosting, you can garnish the cakes with banana chips or crushed peanuts if you like.



I LOVED LOVED LOVED these. I know I say I love a lot of things, but these are my favorite cupcakes I have ever made. They beat out such heavy hitters as pumpkin chip, mousse-filled hazelnut, tiramisu (a CLOSE runner-up), and German chocolate. That’s a big deal! My favorite smell is the world (which I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned) is fresh-baked banana bread, and when you top that with a frosting made with my beloved friend peanut butter, my heart (/tummy) can’t help but flutter.



Yield: 12 regular or 24 mini cupcakes. Per cupcake (regular): 237 calories, 11.2g fat (1g sat), 32g carbs, 2g fiber, 3.1g protein.
Per cupcake (mini): 119 calories, 5.6g fat (.5g sat), 16g carbs, 1g fiber, 1.5g protein.

If you like this, you might also like...
German chocolate cupcakes
Dreamy creamy tiramisu cupcakes
Hazelnut cupcakes w/chocolate mousse filling