Strawberry Banana Cupcakes

I'm so glad I am able to bake again! Since I'm no longer employed, and Hubby and I moved very far away from everyone we know, I needed something to keep me busy. I think I'm starting the 2013 baking year out pretty well with this one, too. Just one thing before I start. I'm still trying to figure out the camera Hubby got me to replace the one I was borrowing; so bear with me.

These are literally the best cupcakes I've ever made. Seriously, I don't know how I'm going to top these. They taste fantastic! I wanted something that I could use for Valentines Day, but I wanted to keep it sort of neutral, too. Somehow, I came up with Strawberry Banana cupcakes. You won't be sorry you read this when you try them. 

Hubby got me these really cute Valerie Bertinelli cupcake liners for Christmas, and I knew they would be perfect for these cupcakes. Ok, back to the baking... You can print the recipe here.

Here's what you need:

For the cupcakes - 

• 3 medium ripe bananas
• 1 box of yellow cake mix
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup of vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup of milk
• 12 fresh strawberries, halved (optional)

For the Filling - 

• 12 fresh strawberries
• 1 8oz block of cream cheese
• Slightly more than 1/3 cup of powdered sugar

Directions for the cupcakes:

1. Preheat your oven to 350.
2. In a medium sized bowl, use a fork or a potato masher to mash up the bananas. You'll want to remove the bruises first. 
3. Add the cake mix, eggs, vanilla, milk, and oil to the mashed bananas. 
4. Use a mixer on low to moisten the ingredients.
5. Scrape the sides of the bowl, then blend for 2 minutes on a higher speed.
6. Fill your baking cups until they are 3/4 full.
7. Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes. The cupcakes should be a golden brown color.

Go ahead. Try one. They taste almost exactly like the pudding in Banana Pudding. Yum!

Now for the filling. 

1. Using a knife, dice the strawberries. 
2. Add the strawberries to a blender in order to make them small enough to use a filling tip.
3. In a small bowl, cream together the strawberries and cream cheese. 
4. Slowly add the powdered sugar until it is all mixed together. 

Now, combine the strawberries with the banana. Fill a piping bag with the strawberry filling, and attach a #230 tip. Insert the tip into the top center of the cupcake and slowly squeeze a small amount of filling into the cupcake. 

Use a 1M tip to add a small amount to leftover filling to the top of the cupcake. This will cover up that unsightly hole you made with the filling tip. Plus, it's really cute!

To pull it altogether, add strawberry halves to the top of each cupcake for decoration. Now, you're all finished. Trust me, these cupcakes are amazingly good. You won't be sorry you tried them. 

I hope you enjoy these. Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a wonderful year!

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