These Banana Hazelnut Cupcakes are just about everything you can ask for in a cupcake–soft, moist, full of banana flavor with a bit of crunch and earthy nuttiness from the tasted hazelnuts–all topped off with a Nutella Cream Cheese Frosting that is slightly tangy, slightly sweet, and fully as addicting and eat-it-by-the-spoonful-able as Nutella itself.
I first started baking maybe only 8 years ago. Before then, I was the person who could ruin a boxed cake mix or overbake and completely dry out a boxed brownies. My family watched a lot of Cupcake Wars though and that sparked a strange desire for me to get into the kitchen and start throwing together cupcakes. Plus, I learned how to pipe while making cakes at Dairy Queen and wanted to be able to use that skill in some way–cupcakes offered the perfect opportunity to put those skills to use.
Now, despite making them all the time, I wasn’t the biggest fan of cupcakes–they have this tendency to be overly sweet which is probably what makes them the perfect treat to send to school with your kid as birthday treats. That’s not the case with these Banana Hazelnut Cupcakes. They are way too easy to eat. I am sure that I’ve said this before and I will always stand by it: cream cheese frosting is amazing. The tanginess of the cream cheese helps to tone down the sweetness, rounding out the flavor of the Nutella and helping to bring together the flavors of the frosting and the cake rather than overwhelming the cake completely.
This cupcake recipe is one of those go-to recipes that I’ve been using for the past eight years. Of course, the frosting recipe has evolved from a basic buttercream to a white chocolate buttercream (with the Nutella mixed into a ganache that filled the center of the cake) to this Nutella Cream Cheese Frosting. I’ve adapted it a bit by adding in the hazelnuts, but the original recipe is one that I found off of StumbleUpon years ago when the site was still its own thing.
I’ve kept this recipe written in pencil on a tiny sheet of paper (think the kind from one of those tiny, top bound memo notebooks) in a sheet protector with a bunch of handwritten recipes in a binder. Sometimes I’m surprised that I haven’t lost it or completely smeared the pencil all over. But that’s just to say that I don’t really know where it came from, I wish I could credit the original I adapted. I’ve Googled the ingredients but the recipe was pasted onto an image, not typed on a site, which makes searching for it infinitely harder. I’m just happy that I never lost it because this cake definitely needs to be out there and shared.
This batter comes together quickly and the cupcakes bake slow, but they fill the kitchen with banana as they bake. Not in that overripe banana sitting on the counter way, but in that warm banana bread/impossible to resist way.
If you don’t have enough reasons to make these yet, just think about how well bananas and chocolate go together. Whether as a healthy frozen treat or in these cupcakes, the combination is undeniable. Our dining hall in college used to have a banana cake with chocolate frosting and my friends loved it so much that the guy in charge would sometimes save them a couple of pieces and bring them to our table. Trust me, once you bring these around, people will be asking for them again and again!
| Cook Time | 50-55 minutes |
| Servings |
cupcakes
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- 1 cup mashed bananas (about 2 large bananas)
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 6 Tbsp butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg large
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 2/3 cup toasted hazelnuts chopped
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened (1 package)
- 2-3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup Nutella
- 1 Tbsp meringue powder (optional)
Ingredients
Banana Hazelnut Cupcakes
Nutella Cream Cheese Frosting
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- Fit a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 275°F. Line two 12-count cupcake pan or muffins tin with cupcake liners and set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix together the mashed bananas with the lemon juice. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy (about 3-5 minutes). Add in the egg and vanilla, one at a time, and mix until combined.
- Add 1/4 of the dry ingredients and mix on low until just combined. Next, add in 1/3 of the buttermilk; mix until combined. Repeat, alternating dry ingredients and buttermilk, ending with the dry ingredients.
- Stir in the banana and the chopped toasted hazelnuts until the banana is fully mixed in.
- Scoop or spoon the batter into your prepared tins, filling the cavity evenly about 3/4 full. Bake 50-55 minutes until the tops spring back when to the touch or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs. Allow to cool about 10 minutes in the pan and then transfer to a wire cooling rack.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese on high until fluffy (about 3 minutes). Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl. Turn the mixer to low and add in the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. Mix on low until combined. Add the Nutella and mix on high until the frosting is completely smooth. If adding, stir in the meringue powder and mix until fully combined.
- Using a piping bag fitted with a metal tip, or a spatula, top the cupcakes with the frosting. Enjoy!