Banana, Peanut Butter and Bacon - Cupcakes Fit for a King!

My nephew Billy just loves bacon! Who doesn't?  But he is seriously crazy about bacon. So for his birthday party this year I made him some special cupcakes.  Roasted banana cupcakes with creamy peanut butter frosting and candied bacon! You can almost hear Elvis singing, can't you?  They were a hit.  I was skeptical about the bacon - but it was actually good.  I love me some bacon - but I was leery of having it with something sweet (other than maple syrup). But it was really tasty.

Banana Cupcakes with PB Frosting and Bacon

(shown with chocolate cupcakes with salted caramel)

Roasted Banana Cupcakes: (I doubled this recipe)

Ingredients:
3 ripe bananas
2 cups cake flour, sifted
(I always use cake flour which would be 2 cups plus 4 tbsp)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs, separated - room temp
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1.Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place 3 whole unpeeled bananas on a baking sheet and roast for
15 minutes. The peels will darken (black!).   Remove from oven and allow to cool before
peeling. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F.

2.Line a regular muffin tin or two with 16 paper liners. Sift together cake flour, baking soda,
baking powder and salt. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream the butter and sugar
until pale and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add roasted bananas, and beat to combine. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of sour cream. Beat until just combined after each. Beat in vanilla.

3.In another mixing bowl, with electric mixer on medium speed, whisk egg whites to soft peaks
(about 5 minutes); fold one-third whites into batter to lighten. Gently fold in remaining whites in two batches.

4.Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins
halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes.
Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before frosting.

I frosted with peanut butter frosting - recipe below

Peanut Butter Frosting:

Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 heaping cup creamy peanut butter (I used Peter Pan - but any good PB will do)
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
pinch of salt

Instructions

1.In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together the peanut butter and butter for 2-3 minutes. You want the color to lighten by a few shades.

2.Add the powdered sugar, scrape the sides of the bowl and mix until combined.

3.Pour in the heavy cream and beat until smooth. Scrape the bowl again.
4.Mix in the salt.

5.Beat on high for 3-4 minutes or until the buttercream has become light and fluffy.

6.Use immediately.


We also candied some bacon to crumble on top. My nephew just loves bacon!  To do this, we sprinkled brown sugar on a foil lined cookie sheet. Then laid out several strips of thick cut bacon and sprinkled more brown sugar on top. We baked it at 400 degrees, turning once, until the bacon was well done.  Lay it on parchment or wax paper or even a rack to cool. Do not put it on paper towel - it will stick.  When it's cool, crumble or cut into pieces and sprinkle a few on each cupcake.