Banana Cupcakes

With creamy chocolate ganache filling and not too sweet peanut butter cream cheese frosting, to be exact.

These are by far one of my favorite cupcakes. And the dairy and eggs aren’t even missed!

Banana Cupcakes

1 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup canola oil
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 banana, mushed up

Directions:
Mix together soy milk and vinegar, and let curdle. Once curdled, add oil, sugar, vanilla, and banana, mix about 3 minutes.

Add the dry ingredients, and mix until just incorporated. Fill 12 cupcake liners with the batter, and bake at 350 degrees F for about 18 minutes.

Chocolate Ganache

1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate
1/4 cup soy milk

Directions:
Simmer soy milk on stove. If chocolate  isn’t already in small pieces, chop up so it melts quicker.

Remove the simmering milk from the stove, and pour over chopped chocolate. Let sit for about 4 minutes, then whisk until smooth. If there are still chunks of chocolate, microwave for 15 second intervals stirring in between until all is melted.

Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 oz. dairy-free cream cheese (I use the tofutti brand, It’s the only kind they carry in my grocery store)
2 tablespoons margarine or dairy-free butter substitute
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1 cup powdered sugar

Directions:
Beat cream cheese, margarine, and peanut butter until smooth and fluffy. Add powdered sugar, and beat until all the ingredients are incorporated.

How To assemble the cupcake:

Directions:
Using a paring knife or melon baller, cut/scoop a small hole out of the top of the cupcake, and pipe or spoon a dollop of ganache. You can cover this with a slice of banana, a thin piece of the cake you cut out, or just leave it open.

Pipe frosting on top. I used a lot of frosting on these, the frosting only uses about one cup of powdered sugar (while a lot of recipes use close to 4!) So it’s not overly sweet. If you do want to make it sweeter however, feel free to add as much sugar as you like.

To decorate, I just drizzled some of the extra ganache on top. The cupcake on the far right has a pulled sugar garnish, that I made at school and brought back with me. You could also pipe on some peanut butter or sprinkle some chopped peanuts on top as well.