Ingredients:
For the Banana Cupcakes:
2¾ cups all-purpose flour
1¼ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup vegetable shortening, at room temperature
1¾ cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
1½ cups mashed very ripe bananas (about 4 bananas)
½ cup buttermilk
For the Vanilla Pastry Cream:
3 cups half-and-half
6 large egg yolks
½ cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
To Make the Banana Cupcakes:
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two 12-cup cupcake pans with paper liners.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into a large bowl and set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle
attachment, beat the butter and shortening together on medium speed
until creamy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat on
medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl, add
the eggs, and beat until just combined. Scrape down the bowl again and
add the bananas. Beat until just combined. Turn the mixer to low. Add
the flour mixture, alternating with the buttermilk, in three additions,
beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Scrape down the bowl, then
mix on low speed for a few more seconds.
4. Fill the cupcake liners about three-quarters full. Bake for 20 to
25 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time, until a
toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Transfer
the pans to a wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes. Remove the cupcakes
from the pans and place them on the rack to cool completely.
To Make the Vanilla Pastry Cream:
1. Set a fine-mesh sieve over a medium bowl.
2. In a medium saucepan, bring the half-and-half to a simmer and keep warm.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and salt
together until the mixture is pale, about 1 minute. Whisk half of the
warm half-and-half into the egg yolk mixture, then pour that mixture
into the remaining half-and-half in the saucepan and cook over medium
heat, whisking constantly, until thickened, about 6 minutes. Remove from
the heat and whisk in the vanilla. Strain the pastry cream through the
sieve and press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the
cream to prevent a skin from forming. Put in the refrigerator for about
1 hour, or until chilled.
To Assemble the Cupcakes:
If you have a pastry bag, fit the bag with a large tip, fill the bag
with the pastry cream, and pipe out enough pastry cream to cover each
cupcake.
If you do not have a pastry bag, use an ice cream scoop with a
release mechanism to scoop the pastry cream and dispense it onto the top
of the cupcake.
You can also use an offset spatula to frost the cupcakes. Top with a single slice of fresh banana or a dried banana chip.
To Serve: You can
either top these with the pastry cream and refrigerate until ready to
serve; or keep the cupcakes at room temperature and top with the pastry
cream right before serving.
Source:http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2011/01/21/banana-cupcakes-with-vanilla-pastry-cream/
