Very Banana Cupcakes – a light, moist, and airy treat made with a doctored white cake mix and bananas, topped with vanilla buttercream for the perfect sweet bite.
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I originally posted these oh-so-delicious Very Banana Cupcakes back in July 2013. Very Banana Cupcakes was my very first Sarah’s Bake Studio blog post! They quickly became a fan favorite both on Pinterest and the blog, as well as the most popular recipe! All I can say to that is, Woohoo!!
These Very Banana Cupcakes are a crowd pleaser and a must-add to your recipe box.
I first made these Very Banana Cupcakes for my sister's birthday. She requested carrot, banana, or chocolate cupcakes, and due to poor planning, I was very limited on ingredients. Fortunately, I did have a white boxed cake mix and bananas and figured I'd make it work.
This Very Banana Cupcake is ridiculously moist and is quite banana-y. This recipe is 100% better than a typical banana-boxed cake mix because it uses bananas NOT banana flavoring. It also uses very few ingredients, which is the icing on the cupcake when you are in a bind. Plus it is super light and airy. I am not a fan of dense cake.
The Very Banana Cupcakes are made up of a short list of ingredients: white boxed cake mix, bananas, water, vegetable oil, eggs, baking soda, and baking powder. You put all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl, minus the bananas, and mix it up. Then you blend in the bananas and viola, Very Banana Cupcake batter. The cupcakes take about 12-15 minutes to bake; be careful not to over-bake.
For the delicious frosting, I used my favorite Vanilla Buttercream recipe, which is a part butter part vegetable shortening buttercream. I am partial to this type of buttercream because it has a good consistency and texture for decorating. I also enjoy the buttercream's sugary flavor and smooth texture.
To achieve a smooth, non-gritty texture, powdered sugar should be made of pure cane sugar. If it doesn't say, "pure cane sugar" on the package, it may be beet sugar.
To frost the cupcakes I used my nifty straight spatula and decorated them with white chocolate hearts using Ghirardelli White Chocolate Melting Wafers and a heart chocolate mold.
If you love banana-flavored treats, Very Banana Cupcakes are sure to be a new favorite. With their light, moist texture and perfectly sweet banana flavor, they’re a simple yet delicious dessert for any occasion. Topped with creamy vanilla buttercream, these cupcakes are a must-try for banana lovers. Bake a batch and enjoy every soft, fluffy bite!
Very Banana Cupcakes
Ingredients
Banana Cupcakes
- 1 white boxed cake mix
- ¾ cup water
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 4 small-medium ripe bananas
Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup vegetable shortening
- 2 lbs powdered sugar ¹
- ½ tablespoon clear vanilla extract ²
- ½ tablespoon butter vanilla ³
- 3-4 tablespoons milk
Instructions
For Banana Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using an electric mixer, mix together boxed cake mix, water, oil, eggs, baking soda, and baking powder on medium speed, about 2 minutes. Mixture should be combined and smooth. Add bananas; mix until combined.
- Scoop batter into cupcake liners, no more than ⅔ full or use a #24 disher. Bake for about 12-15 minutes. Check cupcakes around 13 minutes to avoid over-baking. Insert a toothpick into the center of the cupcake, if it comes out clean it is done.
- Remove cupcakes from oven and allow cupcakes to cool in cupcake pan for 4 minutes; transfer to wire rack and cool completely. Cupcakes should be cooled completely before frosting.
For Buttercream Frosting
- In a large bowl using an electric mixer, cream butter and shortening until creamy and smooth. Add vanilla and butter extracts; mix until combined.
- Turn mixer on lowest speed and slowly add 1 lb of powdered sugar; mix until creamy. Scrape down bowl as necessary. Adding the powdered sugar gets dusty - place a damp towel over the top of the mixer to shield flying powdered sugar dust.
- Continue to slowly add remaining powdered sugar; blend until completely combined.
- Once all powdered sugar has been mixed in, add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time and mix. Continue to add and mix until desired consistency is achieved.
- Decorate Very Banana Cupcakes. Eat & Enjoy!
Gina says
I bake them and my teenager does not like banana anything but this ones he loved. I made a few changes.
After I cooked them and got cold I Inserted raspberry jam
inside each cup cake in the middle. Than after frosting
I added real rasberries on top of each cupcake
And was to die for. Thanks for the recipe.
Sarah says
Gina, that's what I love to hear! I love your tweaks; sounds delicious!
Elsa | the whinery says
I love that these cupcakes use a mix but are heavy on banana. They look absolutely delicious, and you frosted them so beautifully! Yum!
Sarah says
Thank you Elsa! I was trying a new way of frosting for me. I am glad it was a crowd pleaser.
Linda Warren says
What a great idea to save time and still get that homemade real banana flavor! I am definitely going to remember this little trick. Love your new photos too!
Sarah says
It's definitely a time saver and totally delicious!! This is a go-to cupcake recipe for me! Thank you for commenting and your kind words!
Diane Homan says
These look soooo good! I am a huge fan of doctored cake mixes and this is a combo I haven't seen yet. Love the originality!
Sarah says
Thank you Diane! I like doctored cake mix recipes too!
Kari says
Beautiful cupcakes! They are so perfectly iced!
Kari
http://www.sweetteasweetie.com
Sarah says
Thank you Kari! I was trying a new way of icing! 🙂
Priscilla says
How do u make banana frosting
Sarah says
Hi Priscilla - I have not made banana frosting. I frost my banana cupcakes with Vanilla American Buttercream, Chocolate American Buttercream, or Cinnamon Buttercream.
If you have your heart set on Banana Buttercream I would suggest using the above American Buttercream recipe and either substituting the extract for banana extract or adding a mashed banana to the above recipe. I have not actually tried adding banana to the buttercream, but I've seen it done in other recipes.
I hope that helps! Thanks for checking out the blog!
Andrea says
Huh, I never knew that about powdered sugar. Thanks for the tip!