Here’s the thing about minis: Who ever eats just one?
Seriously, though.
When’s the last time you ate one mini Snickers, or one mini Milky Way Midnight (my fav!), and thought, ‘Perfect! That one extremely tiny square of chocolate-nougat goodness was enough to satisfy all of my mid-afternoon chocolate cravings!’ and then went right back to work? …Exactly.
Minis are especially dangerous when they appear in the form of cupcakes. Especially, especially those coconut banana cupcakes that you (ok, well, I) have been dreaming about, topped with coconut cream cheese frosting.
And oh man, let’s talk about cream cheese frosting. How can I adequately describe my feelings on this subject? If you put too much butter in my cream cheese frosting, I might just punch you in the face. There’s a place for butter, and it’s called buttercream frosting. Phew, glad I got that off my chest.
But seriously. This cream cheese frosting is almost 100% cream cheese, with just a little butter and powdered sugar in there to justify the term “frosting.” Confession: I’d actually planned to add a bit of salt and vanilla extract to this frosting, but after I sampled the three-ingredient frosting, I refused to add anything else.
Side note: Am I completely crazy? Is cream cheese fiendish-ness normal? Please, please, if you, too, have strong opinions about cream cheese – one way or the other – let me know!
I could swim in this cream cheese frosting. Okay, actually, not really. But what I can do (and did) is eat this straight from the mixer. And on mini cupcakes. Three of them, to be exactly.
Luckily for me (and you!), these mini cupcakes contain bananas. And coconut (does it matter if it’s sweetened?). So, you’re really just eating small portions of fruit. And who doesn’t need more of that?
Now isn’t it time you went and baked (ate) these?
Mini Coconut Banana Cupcakes with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting (adapted from Banana Nut Coconut Cake)
Yield: 24 mini cupcakes or 12 regular cupcakes
Notes: As stated above, my frosting recipe reflects the fact that I absolutely love cream cheese. If you’re less into it than I am (it’s okay, we can still be friends), feel free to increase the ratio of butter to cream cheese. If you like your frosting sweeter, add more powdered sugar! Also, the frosting recipe makes enough cream cheese frosting for…me. Meaning, it makes a lot. Just a heads up.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 2 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
- 2 eggs
- 4 small or 3 large ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line mini cupcake tin with cupcake liners or spray with nonstick spray. You can also use a regular cupcake tin or cake pan.
- Cream together sugar and butter, then add in Greek yogurt, egg, and the mashed bananas.
- Stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder in a separate bowl. Blend dry mixture in to the creamed mixture. Then, add in milk.
- Blend in vanilla extract, then stir in the shredded coconut. Pour into cupcake liners.
Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 2 packages (16 oz total) of cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
Instructions
- Blend together cream cheese and butter, then add powdered sugar and blend until desired texture is achieved.
- Pipe on top of cupcakes, then sprinkle with shredded coconut.
3pastriesaday 