These banana bread cupcakes taste exactly like a slice of good banana bread, baked in liners and topped with a swirl of cream cheese frosting. The batter uses brown sugar, cinnamon, a full cup of mashed ripe banana, and a spoon of sour cream, so the cupcakes come out soft and moist, with just enough weight to remind you of a loaf. One batch makes 12.
They bake at 350°F for 18 to 22 minutes, and the whole recipe takes a little over an hour including cooling. Walnuts are optional in the batter, but a walnut half pressed into the frosting is the quickest decoration I know, and it tells everyone what is inside.
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Try the Recipe Converter →Ripe Bananas Make or Break These
Use bananas with lots of brown spots, the ones you would not want to eat plain. Riper bananas are sweeter and softer, and they mash into a smooth purée that keeps the cupcakes moist for days. You need 1 cup mashed, which is usually 2 to 3 bananas. Measure it. Too much banana makes the centers gummy.
Bananas still yellow? Roast them in their peels on a tray at 300°F for 15 to 20 minutes, until the skins turn black. Cool them before mashing.
The Batter, Step by Step
Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a 12 cup muffin pan. Whisk 1½ cups (190 g) flour with 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. The soda reacts with the banana and brown sugar and does most of the lifting.
Beat ½ cup (115 g) soft butter with ¾ cup (150 g) brown sugar for 2 to 3 minutes until it looks lighter and fluffy. Add 2 eggs one at a time, then 1 teaspoon vanilla. Creaming here is what makes these cupcakes instead of muffins. It traps air, and the crumb turns out finer and lighter than a quick bread.
Mix in the mashed bananas and ¼ cup sour cream or Greek yogurt. It may look a bit curdled now. Keep going. Add the dry ingredients and stir only until the flour disappears, then fold in ½ cup chopped walnuts if you like them.
Filling and Baking
Fill each liner about three quarters full; an ice cream scoop keeps them even. For banana pieces in the middle, like the cut cupcakes in the photos, press a thin banana slice into each cup of batter before baking. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes. They are done when the tops spring back and a toothpick in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
Cool them in the pan for 5 minutes, then move them to a rack. Frost only when they are completely cold. Even a slightly warm cupcake will melt cream cheese frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting That Holds a Swirl
Beat 8 ounces (225 g) soft block cream cheese with ½ cup (115 g) soft butter until smooth, then add 3 cups powdered sugar a cup at a time and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Use the block, not the tub. Tub cream cheese has more water and the frosting goes runny.
Both should be soft but still cool, around 65°F. If the frosting is too soft to pipe, chill it for 15 to 20 minutes and stir it once before filling the bag. For a nuttier version, swap in brown butter cream cheese frosting.
Small Fixes That Help
- Sunken centers: too much banana or underbaked. Measure 1 cup exactly and test with a toothpick before pulling them.
- Dense, rubbery crumb: overmixing after the flour went in. Stir by hand once the dry ingredients are added.
- Domed and cracked tops: liners overfilled. Stop at three quarters, or bake 1 or 2 extra cupcakes.
- Frosting slides off: the cupcakes were still warm, or the cream cheese came from a tub.
- Pale, bland cupcakes: the bananas were not ripe enough. Look for more brown than yellow.
Banana Bread Cupcakes or Banana Muffins?
Muffins are stirred, not creamed, and usually use oil and less sugar, so they are breakfast. These cupcakes are creamed and frosted, so they are dessert. Want the lighter morning version? Bake our healthy banana walnut muffins. For a fully frosted banana dessert with pudding inside, try banana cream pie cupcakes.
Storing and Serving
Keep frosted cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days, and let them sit out for 20 minutes before eating. Unfrosted cupcakes freeze for up to 2 months; thaw them fully before frosting. Add fresh banana slices right before serving so they do not brown, or top each one with a spoon of caramelized banana for a party.
Pin these banana bread cupcakes for the next time your bananas go spotty. If you bake them, tell me in the comments: walnuts or no walnuts?
Banana Bread Cupcakes
These banana bread cupcakes are soft banana cupcakes made with mashed ripe bananas, brown sugar, cinnamon, butter, eggs, and sour cream, topped with a thick cream cheese frosting and walnut halves. One batch makes 12 cupcakes that bake at 350°F for 18 to 22 minutes, with a moist, tender crumb that tastes like fresh banana bread. Creaming the butter and brown sugar first gives them a lighter cupcake texture than a muffin. Serve them as a birthday cupcake, a fall bake sale treat, a brunch dessert, or a way to use up overripe bananas. Use Greek yogurt in place of sour cream if you like, and keep the frosted cupcakes covered in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Ingredients
- FOR THE BANANA BREAD CUPCAKES
- 1½ cups (190g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup (150g) brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2–3 bananas)
- ¼ cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
- ½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)
- FOR THE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- 8 ounces (225g) cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- FOR GARNISH (OPTIONAL)
- Banana slices
- Walnut halves
- Ground cinnamon
Instructions
PREPARE THE OVEN: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners and set aside.
COMBINE THE DRY INGREDIENTS: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon until evenly combined. Set aside.
CREAM THE BUTTER AND SUGAR: In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and brown sugar for 2–3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract.
ADD THE BANANAS: Mix the mashed bananas and sour cream into the butter mixture until smooth and fully incorporated.
MAKE THE BATTER: Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing just until combined. Fold in the chopped walnuts if using. Avoid overmixing to keep the cupcakes tender.
FILL AND BAKE: Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake liners, filling each about three-quarters full. Bake for 18–22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack and cool completely.
PREPARE THE FROSTING: In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and softened butter until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the powdered sugar, mixing until light and fluffy. Stir in the vanilla extract and continue mixing until fully combined.
DECORATE THE CUPCAKES: Pipe or spread the cream cheese frosting onto the completely cooled cupcakes. Garnish with banana slices, walnut halves, or both. Finish with a light dusting of ground cinnamon if desired.
Notes
Use very ripe bananas with plenty of brown spots and measure exactly 1 cup mashed; extra banana makes the centers gummy. To ripen yellow bananas fast, bake them in their peels at 300°F for 15 to 20 minutes until black, then cool. Stir the dry ingredients in only until the flour disappears. Use block cream cheese, not tub, and frost only fully cooled cupcakes; if the frosting is too soft to pipe, chill it 15 to 20 minutes. Add banana slices just before serving so they do not brown. Store frosted cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Unfrosted cupcakes freeze for up to 2 months; thaw completely before frosting.
