Bananas roasted with cinnamon, sea salt, a few pats of butter, and a light sprinkling of sugar and a cup of local, full fat buttermilk are the secret to these perfectly moist cupcakes. They’re made extra special with the addition of a LINDOR truffle in the center of each one, making these a treat to eat while still a bit warm as the truffles create a “molten cake” effect. The classic milk chocolate flavor (in the iconic red wrapper) is a no brainer, but I love mixing it up and using different flavors (I like their create you own mix bags) so that each cupcake is a surprise. My favorite flavors for these cupcakes are coconut, white chocolate, and caramel & sea salt. Especially the coconut!
The frosting is hands down my favorite frosting for anything be it cake, cupcake, or some such other frosted creation. It works particularly well here because the addition of the truffles makes the cakes very rich, so a lighter frosting makes more sense. My favorite part about this frosting (other than the heavenly texture) is that if you’re so inclined you can infuse it with just about any flavor you dream up since the base is just egg whites and simple syrup. I think a rum-ified version of this frosting would probably go over well for an adult twist. The frosting also toasts really well, and that would be a great option here too. Just pop them under the broiler for about 30 seconds, but be careful not to burn them!
The frosting is just meringue (whipped egg whites) that are then “cooked” by adding a bubbling hot, 240°F simple syrup to them. This results in a stable (excellent for topping pies) meringue that won’t weep, deflate, or give you food poisoning (hooray!) It’s very much reminiscent of marshmallow fluff, hence the name. And it’s super easy. I particularly like this method because it doesn’t involve whipping egg whites in a bowl balanced over a pot of simmering water which I find precarious and dicey.
So you have the comforts of buttermilk cake, banana bread, molten chocolate, and marshmallow fluff all in one dangerously addictive cupcake. We brought them down to my in-laws for the weekend, and I’m not sure whether they wanted to thank us or curse us for bringing such tempting little sweets into their home. Suffice to say, none have survived the weekend. Though my husband and I are definitely responsible for a fair amount of the damage. I hope you enjoy these as much as I have! They’re a show stopper for get togethers, and perhaps some of my favorite cupcakes I’ve ever made. Ever.
Roasted Banana Cupcakes with Lindt Truffle Filling & Marshmallow Frosting
Ingredients
For Bananas
- 2 bananas halved lengthwise
- 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1/2 tablespoon sugar
- pinch of salt
- pinch of cinnamon
For Cupcakes
- 250 grams 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 100 grams 1/2 cup granulate white sugar
- 100 grams 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 150 grams 2/3 cup canola oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 240 grams 1 cup buttermilk
- 12 Lindt LINDOR Truffles chilled
For Frosting
- 3 egg whites
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 130 grams 2/3 cup sugar
- 60 grams 1/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- heat oven to 400°F and line a 12 cup cupcake tin with liners
- cut the bananas (still in their skins) in half lengthwise and place on baking sheet, skin side down
- sprinkle the tops of the bananas with sugar, salt, and cinnamon and top with thin pats of butter
- bake bananas 15 minutes or until the skins turn black then set aside until cool enough to handle. once cooled, scoop the bananas out of their peels into a small bowl and mash them with the back of a fork along with a splash of the buttermilk until they’re very smooth. set aside.
- reduce oven temperature to 350°F
- While the bananas bake, make your batter. First, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
- In a separate bowl whisk the eggs until they’re pale and frothy, and then whisk the sugars into the egg mixture until there are no clumps and they’re completely combined. Next, whisk in the canola oil and vanilla until they’re completely combined. finally stir the banana puree into the egg mixture until evenly combined.
- with a rubber spatula fold in half the flour mixture until mostly combined then stir in half of the buttermilk, repeating with the remaining flour and buttermilk until just combined (be careful not to over mix as this will result in a tough cake! when you see no dry bits or puddles of buttermilk, you’re good to go)
- divide the batter evenly between the 12 lined cups, and bake the cupcakes for 7 minutes. remove them from the oven and, working quickly, add one truffle directly into the center of each cupcake, pressing down very lightly until mostly submerged in the batter but not completely.
- place the cupcakes back in the oven and continue cooking for and additional 10-12 minutes or until they’re golden, puffed, and a cake tester or toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- While the cakes are baking, make your frosting. In a small sauce pan combine the sugar, corn syrup, and water and heat over medium high until the sugar is dissolved and it registers 240°F on a candy thermometer. Stir occasionally in the beginning to promote the dissolving of the sugar and prevent burning.
- While the syrup comes to temp, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until frothy and forming soft peaks.
- With the mixer on low pour the hot sugar syrup down the side of the bowl (very carefully…you don’t want to get spattered with this stuff!) into your whipped egg whites, and then increase the speed to high. Beat for about 7 minutes (hence “7 minute frosting”!) or until the bowl of the mixer is cool to the touch. I add the vanilla about midway through at the 3 1/2 minute mark.
- Frost your cupcakes once cool (if you try to put it on hot, the frosting might get a little melty, but we had no problem with slightly warm cupcakes). You can either use an icing bag, dollop it on with a spoon, or do what we did and cut the tip off of a ziplock bag and messily pipe it on since my icing bags are in storage somewhere!
- Store covered at room temperature.
A big thank you to Lindt for sponsoring this post! All opinions, recipes, and photos are my own.
