Lately the bananas in our house have been an after-thought.  The market basket has been bringing lots of fresh stone fruit that is so appealing, the bananas seem to lag behind.  By the time the stone fruit is gone, the bananas are past their prime.  At least this is what my husband has been telling me – part of me thinks this is just a ploy to constantly have fresh banana bread in the house.

After making banana bread a few weeks in a row, I was ready for something new.  I saw this recipe a while ago in Bon Appetit, and all I had to do was read the ingredients for the peanut butter frosting, and I knew it would be a winner.  These cupcakes were outstanding.  The cupcakes were extremely moist and very dense – with a wonderfully strong banana flavor.  The frosting?  PERFECT!!  What could be better than peanut butter cream cheese frosting??  Nothing I tell you, absolutely nothing.  Yes, I am obsessed with cream cheese frosting – and it is not often that you would catch me taking spoonfuls of frosting since I pretty much only like marshmallow or cream cheese frosting – but let me tell you – I could not get enough.  The frosting had a hint of peanut butter, and was creamy and delicious.  I even used light cream cheese, and it was still over the top.

The next time you have some overripe bananas, instead of making banana bread, try this recipe.  Or better yet, just make the frosting, you don’t even need the overripe bananas.

Frosting

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 8-ounce package light cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter (do not use old-fashioned or freshly ground)
• Chopped lightly salted roasted peanuts (optional)

Preparation

Cupcakes

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Line 12 standard (1/3-cup) muffin cups with paper liners. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Mash bananas with fork in another medium bowl until smooth. Mix sour cream and vanilla into bananas.

Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and egg yolk and beat until well blended. Add flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with banana-sour cream mixture in 2 additions, beginning and ending with flour mixture and beating just until blended after each addition. Divide batter among prepared muffin cups (generous 1/4 cup for each).

Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center of each comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to rack and let cool completely.

Frosting

Sift powdered sugar into large bowl. Add cream cheese, butter, and peanut butter. Using electric mixer, beat mixture until smooth. Spread frosting over top of cupcakes, dividing equally. Sprinkle lightly with chopped peanuts, if desired. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

Makes 12 cupcakes.

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