Banana cupcakes with chocolate sour cream ganache

Banana cucpakes with Chocolate Sour Cream Ganache. Lucy Mercer/A Cook and Her Books

 Just a recipe today, a cupcake that I make from time to time to put in my daughter's lunchboxes. The banana cake on its own is very good, moist and fruity. But add the dark chocolate and it becomes a real treat. Bananas and dark chocolate kind of cry out for each other - the sometimes overwhelming sweetness of the fruit needs the tempering effect of dark chocolate. Don't let the word ganache scare you - it's just a fancy French way of saying unbelievably easy and delicious frosting. Once you make this frosting, you'll never be tempted by the canned stuff ever again.

Banana Cupcakes

2 large ripe bananas, mashed, yielding 1 cup
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs, at room temperature
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (1 stick + 2 tablespoons)
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt  

1. Preheat oven to 350. Prepare muffin tins with nonstick spray and/or cupcake liners. In a bowl, stir together bananas, sour cream and vanilla. 

2. In a mixing bowl, with an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until creamy and light-colored. Add eggs and mix for one minute. Scrape down sides of bowl, then mix for one additional minute.

3. In a small bowl, combine dry ingredients. Add one third of dry ingredients to batter, mixing until combined, then add half of the banana sour cream mixture, mixing and scraping again. Add half the remaining dry ingredients, mix and scrape. Add remaining banana sour cream, mix and scrape, and finish with the last of the dry ingredients. 

4. Divide mixture among muffin tins. Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes. Begin checking at 25 minutes. Cupcakes are done when the centers bounce back when pressed with the tips of your fingers. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack. When cool, frost with sour cream ganache.       

Chocolate Sour Cream Ganache

4 (3 oz) bars semi-sweet chocolate, broken up
1 2/3 cups sour cream, low-fat is fine

1. Place chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and zap at 50 percent power for 30 seconds. Stir and repeat for 30 second intervals until completely melted. When thoroughly melted, gradually whisk in sour cream. Frost cupcakes and store leftovers in fridge.


Text and images copyright 2012, Lucy Mercer.