Have you ever heard of Banoffee Cupcakes? When I first discovered banoffee pie, I thought it meant a combination of bananas and coffee! While I wouldn't say no to that combo, I was way more excited about what it actually stands for - bananas and toffee! These cupcakes are made with a banana cupcake base, filled with toffee sauce, and topped with chocolate ganache frosting!
These aren't just any banana cupcakes and toffee sauce though! While most recipes call for room temperature or melted butter, I took them to the next level by using brown butter in the batter and the sauce. This adds a bit of a nutty flavor which pairs beautifully with the banana and caramel flavors.
Browning butter is super easy! For this recipe, you just need 1 stick of butter for the batter, and ½ of a stick for the sauce. You'll want to brown them separately because the brown bits at the bottom are hard to separate, and the toffee will be made in the pan you brown your butter in. To cook the butter, just place it in a small sauce pan or pot, turn the heat on medium-low, and stir occasionally with a spatula until it's dark and gives off a nutty aroma. Your kitchen will be left smelling amazing!
How to Make the Toffee Sauce
If you've ever made caramel, you know how tricky it can be! This toffee sauce is no exception, but I think I've timed it out so you can make it without any issues! Once your butter is brown, turn your burner to the lowest setting and add in the dark brown sugar. Stir for a few minutes until the sugar has melted. Then, slowly (and carefully) pour in the heavy cream. Turn your burner back up to medium-low and let it come to a boil. Have it boil for 3 minutes while stirring occasionally. When the time is up, turn off your burner, remove it from the heat, and stir in the vanilla extract. If you prefer salted caramel, feel free to mix in a pinch of salt at this time as well!
Making the Batter & Frosting
Making the batter is simple! Be sure to take your cold ingredients out of the refrigerator so they can equilibrate to room temperature. It also helps to mash the bananas before you get started. Then, just mix together the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients separately, and then carefully stir the dry ones into the wet ones. Make sure you don't over-mix the batter! Stop stirring right when the flour streaks disappear. Fill the cupcake liners about ½ - ⅔ full. It should make about 16 cupcakes!
I recommend making the chocolate ganache as soon as possible so that it has time to cool down before it gets whipped into frosting! To make the ganache, add your chocolate to a glass or metal bowl. Heat the cream in the microwave or over the stove until it's simmering hot, and then pour it evenly over the chocolate. Make sure all of the chocolate is covered in the hot cream. Then, place a plate or wrap over the bowl to trap the heat in and let it sit for 5 minutes. At that time, grab a rubber spatula and carefully stir in a circular motion starting from the center, working your way to the sides of the bowl. Keep stirring until it's all melted and smooth and then let it cool and thicken. When it's completely cool, whisk it for a few minutes to turn it into a light and creamy chocolate frosting!
Assembling the Cupcakes
Filled cupcakes are my favorite cakes to make for people because you can sneak a taste and have a peace of mind! When you cut out the centers, you can't stuff the whole cake hole back in with the filling - it won't all fit! So, I just save the tops of the cutouts and snack on the rest. To cut out the holes, you can use a cupcake corer, or just carefully use a sharp knife. Add your toffee sauce to a piping bag and cut off the tip so it's about 1 cm in diameter. Then, pipe the sauce into each cupcake but leave room for the hole top to go back on. Now you're ready to pipe the frosting! My favorite piping tip to use is a large French star tip. With two quick swirls atop the cupcakes, you've got yourself some gorgeous & delicious banoffee cupcakes!
(This post contains affiliate links, meaning that I could earn from purchases made through them. It doesn't add any extra cost to you, but it does help support this blog!)
Tips & Storage
- The better quality chocolate you use for the ganache, the better your frosting will be. I recommend using semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips.
- Make sure the cupcakes have had time to completely cool before cutting out the centers.
- Don't over-boil the toffee sauce. It'll thicken as it cools, but if you boil it for too long it'll cool to be too solid to pipe into the cupcakes.
- Banoffee cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. My recommendation is to store them in the fridge but take them out ~30 minutes before serving.
- If you want to make all 3 parts separately and then assemble the cupcakes later, that's totally doable! The cupcakes can be stored at room temperature or in the fridge or freezer. Store the toffee sauce in a container in the fridge, and then microwave it for a few seconds and transfer it to a piping bag when you're ready to fill the cupcakes. The frosting can be stored in its piping bag in the fridge and thawed at room temperature.
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Banoffee Cupcakes
Equipment
- Cupcake pan
- Cupcake liners
- Medium pot
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring spoons
- Measuring cups or a scale
- Whisk
- Spatula
- Mixer
- Piping bags
- Piping tip
Ingredients
Chocolate Ganache Frosting
- 1½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1½ cups heavy whipping cream
Toffee Filling
- ¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter
- ½ cup dark brown sugar packed
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt optional
Banana Cupcakes
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter browned
- ¾ cup light brown sugar packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ cup sour cream room temperature
- 1½ cups (~3 medium bananas) bananas mashed
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Chocolate Ganache Frosting
- Measure the chocolate chips into a small/medium sized heat-resistant bowl.
- Heat the cream until it's simmering, either in the microwave or over the stove. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate so that it's covered completely. Place a plate or wrap over the bowl to trap in the heat and let it sit untouched for 5 minutes.
- Starting from the center of the bowl, swirl a spatula around, working your way to the sides of the bowl until it's a smooth mixture. Let it cool and thicken. (I recommend making the toffee sauce & cupcakes while it cools.)
- Whisk (vigorously by hand or with a mixer) the ganache for a few minutes, until it's light and fluffy. Then, transfer it to a piping bag with a piping tip.
Toffee Sauce
- Place the butter in a medium pot over medium-low heat. While stirring occasionally, let it melt and bubble until it's brown and gives off a nutty aroma.
- Turn the burner down to low and add the brown sugar. Stir for a few minutes to let the sugar melt.
- Carefully pour in the cream and turn the heat back up to medium-low. Stir and bring it to a boil. Let it boil for 3 minutes while stirring occasionally, and then remove it from the heat. Mix in the vanilla and optional pinch of salt, and then let it cool. (The sauce will thicken as it cools.)
- When the sauce has cooled, transfer it to a piping bag (no piping tip needed).
Banana Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F and fill 2 cupcake pans with 16 liners (or fill 1 pan and cool & re-use it for the remaining batter).
- Brown the butter (just like in the toffee sauce), and then carefully pour it into a large heat-resistant mixing bowl and let it cool.
- While the brown butter is cooling, mash and measure the bananas. Then, in a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
- When the butter's cooled down, mix in the sugars. Individually add the eggs, vanilla, sour cream, and mashed bananas, mixing well after each addition.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and gently fold the mixture until the flour streaks disappear.
- Fill the cupcake liners ½ - ⅔ full and bake for 13-18 minutes, or until the tops are lightly golden and a toothpick comes out of the center of one clean.
- Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 10-20 minutes, and then move them to a cooling rack.
Assembling the Banoffee Cupcakes
- When the cupcakes are completely cool, cut out the centers, but save the tops of the cutouts.
- Cut the tip of the piping bag with the toffee sauce so the opening is ~1 cm in diameter. Pipe toffee into the centers of the cupcakes but leave room to place the tops back on over the toffee.
- After placing all of the cupcake cutout tops over the toffee, pipe the frosting on each cupcake.
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