Banana Cream Pie Cupcakes

What happens when you gather a group of women together who love to bake and drink? You have a Cupcakes & Cocktails Party! A couple weekends ago, I hosted such a party with a few girlfriends. We each made a batch of some cupcakes to share and enjoyed a few cocktails while we caught up with each other. It’s a great reason for getting friends together… but then again, cupcakes have this crazy way of bringing people together anyway. For our soirée, I wanted to make a cupcake that was a bit more interesting than the usual flavors everyone is familiar with. What I finally decided on were these Banana Cream Pie Cupcakes. Heavenly. They were so light, creamy, and a much easier way to enjoy all the flavors of banana cream pie without a fork!

Cupcakes
2 1/2 cups flour
1 Tbsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 very ripe bananas, mashed
2/3 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Filling
1 package instant banana pudding
2 cups milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Frosting
1 package instant vanilla pudding
1 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
8-oz. container extra-creamy whipped topping
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

Garnish
1/4 cup crushed cinnamon graham crackers
banana slices (optional – fresh or banana chips)
almond slices, toasted (optional)

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners. In large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside. In another large bowl, with electric mixer, cream butter with granulated sugar and brown sugar until light. Add eggs, one at a time, then vanilla. Add flour mixture alternately with -bananas and yogurt, mixing on low speed just until moistened. Batter will be lumpy; do not overmix. Gently fold in chopped walnuts.

Fill each muffin cup about three-quarters full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool cupcakes 5 minutes in pan, then remove cupcakes to wire rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile, prepare filling and frosting. Mix banana pudding with milk according to package directions, adding vanilla. Chill for at least 30 minutes. For frosting, mix vanilla pudding with milk and vanilla; fold in whipped topping and confectioners’ sugar until frosting is creamy. Chill for at least 30 minutes to set.

Once cupcakes are cool, insert a paring knife into top of each cupcake, making a small hole in the center. Spoon filling mixture into a zip-top plastic bag. Snip off a small corner of the bottom. Squeeze about 1 Tbsp. filling into the hole in the top of each cupcake. Swirl frosting on top of each cupcake; sprinkle with graham-cracker crumbs. Top each with banana slices as desired. Keep chilled.