Chocolate-dipped Peanut Butter Frosted Banana Cupcakes

Chocolate-dipped Peanut Butter Frosted Banana Cupcakes. Whoa that's a delicious mouthful! Ha ha. I wanted to bake something for Father's Day and I wanted it to be sweet and decadent, but not crazyyyy unhealthy. So, I wound up changing around a few recipes and I came up with these. :)

They are banana cupcakes topped with peanut butter buttercream and dipped in chocolate ganache. They are delish! My family all loved them. Mmmmm.



If you're interested in making them, here are the recipes:

Banana Cupcakes (adapted from: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/desserts_E0308WELD_T )
1 cup whole-wheat flour (leveled)
1/4 cup soy flour (leveled)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (leveled)
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) Smart Balance 50/50 butter blend
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 4 ripe bananas)
2 large eggs
1 cup Vanilla Yogurt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2) In separate bowl, beat together butter & mashed bananas. Mix in eggs, vanilla yogurt, and vanilla. Add in flour mixture (do not overmix).
3) Dividing evenly, spoon batter into muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 15 to 25 minutes.
4) Once cooled, place in a freezer-safe container, where the tops of the cupcakes won't be covered.
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Peanut Butter Buttercream (adapted from: http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Easy-Peanut-Butter-Buttercream-Frosting-172801)
1/2 cup (1 stick) Smart Balance 50/50 butter blend
Approx. 1 cup Smart Balance Peanut Butter
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 pinch table salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon Light Silk soy milk

Directions
1) Whip together room temperature butter & peanut butter until combined and creamy.
2) Slowly add in powdered sugar & salt and beat to combine.
3) Add in vanilla & milk and mix only until combined. (Do not overbeat the frosting!)
4) Spoon buttercream into a pastry bag with large round tip (I didn't have these available to me at the moment, so I used a ziplock bag... I spooned in the BC and then cut the tip off). Pipe the BC onto the cooled cupcakes, starting in the middle and creating round, flat circles. (This will look better underneath the ganache).
5) Place the cupcakes in the freezer to harden the BC and make it easier to dip into the chocolate ganache.

At this point, they probably look like this:


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Chocolate Ganache

1 Bar Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate + 1 Package Baking Chocolate
3/4 cup Light Soy Milk

1) Melt chocolate on double boiler, stirring constantly.
2) Warm milk in microwave 30 seconds.
3) Stir milk slowly into chocolate until smooth.
4) Dip frozen cupcakes in chocolate and let sit at room temperature until the cupcake thaws and the chocolate sets.

Aren't they cute?



Even my mom's cows liked them. Ha ha.



Do you think you'll try this recipe?