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“Bananas Foster Cupcakes, (a.k.a. The Nielsen Ratings for Food)”

Berkeley, California. October 13, 2009

For Blog

In preparation for my book… I’ve been testing out quite a lot of recipes. These I like to call “Bananas Foster Cupcakes,” because they celebrate cream and rum and cake in three lavish bites. (There’s cream inside!)

I’ve discovered that to get a truly unbiased opinion on a recipe, it is best to set it in the kitchen of an anonymous office where people whisk in to grab a diet Mountain Dew or two, and may grab one of these as well as they whisk out. If they seek out answers as to how these cupcakes landed in their office kitchen, by sending out an office-wide email for example, then they probably made a lasting enough impression to be worthy of a cookbook. I like to call it the Nielsen ratings for food.

So, in the spirit of taking polls, I’m going to ask you… would you like the recipe now? Or would you like to wait for the book to come out? Do tell in the comment section below and after the tally has been taken at 12 pm Pacific time on Thursday, I will post or not post… depending on whether you all are the instant gratification type… or the waiting kind.

**********

Okay, okay, the people have spoken. Here you go!

Print
“Bananas Foster Cupcakes”

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Yield: 1 DOZEN LAVISH CUPCAKES

“Bananas Foster Cupcakes”

Ingredients

    For the Cake:
  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose or cake flour
  • 1 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/3 + 1/8 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon rum
  • 1/2 cup coconut milk
  • 4 large egg whites
  • 1 ripe banana pureed
    • For the Cream Filling:
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • ½ cup all purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1 ½ cups coconut milk
  • 1 teaspoon rum
  • 1 tablespoon butter
    • For the Icing:
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1/8 cup coconut milk
  • 1/8 cup water
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1 teaspoon rum

Instructions

    For the Cake:
  1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line one muffin pan with paper liners or butter and set aside.
  2. In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.
  3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and 1/3 cup sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down sides of the bowl as needed.
  4. Beat in the rum, then the banana. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk, until just combined. Transfer mixture to a large bowl and set aside.
  5. Rinse the bowl of the electric mixer and add the whisk attachment. Beat the egg whites on low speed until foamy. With the mixer running, gradually add the remaining 1/8 cup sugar and beat on high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 4 minutes. Don’t overbeat these lovely peaks or they will turn lumpy.
  6. Gently fold a third of the egg-white mixture into the butter-flour mixture until combined. Then gently fold in the rest.
  7. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until the cupcakes are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove and let cool.
    8. For the Cream Filling:
  8. Combine the sugar, flour and salt in a bowl, and stir well to mix so there are no lumps. Set aside.
  9. In a heavy saucepan, beat the egg yolks well with a whisk. Over low heat, add the flour mixture to the egg yolks, alternately with the milk and rum, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, scraping the sides and corners of the saucepan as you go so the egg doesn’t cook. When the mixture begins to thicken, add the butter, continuing to stir. Keep stirring until mixture reaches a nice pudding consistency, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
  10. Fit a pastry bag with a small tip and fill it with the cream. Push the tip through the bottom of each cupcake and gently squeeze the pudding into the middle.
    11. For the Icing:
  11. Combine all of the ingredients except the rum in a double boiler and whisk constantly until it becomes thick and glossy, about 7 minutes, adding the rum half way through. Let it cool a bit, then spoon pillowy mounds of it on top of each cupcake.
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Comments

  1. Sarandi says:
    October 13, 2009 at 11:31 am

    recipe now, please! :) these look (and sound) amazing. And I really support anonymity as a tactic for unbiased feedback…though it can be tricky to pull that off if people at work already know about your cooking/baking skills. Anyhow, lovely post.

    Reply
  2. Jessica says:
    October 13, 2009 at 11:59 am

    Love all your blogs Georgia! Thanks for sharing your recipes… the photographs are fantastic :) And yes, I’d very much like the recipe for those yummy looking Bananas Foster Cupcakes!

    Reply
  3. faith says:
    October 13, 2009 at 2:35 pm

    NOW. they look gorgeous and I am sure they taste even better…

    Reply
  4. Gordon says:
    October 13, 2009 at 8:31 pm

    I’ll wait.

    Reply
  5. Gordon says:
    October 13, 2009 at 8:32 pm

    Just kidding…I demand the recipe immediatel! ; )

    Reply
  6. Gordon says:
    October 13, 2009 at 8:46 pm

    immediately?

    Reply
  7. Courtney says:
    October 13, 2009 at 8:48 pm

    I would love the recipe maintenant! They look absolutely divine!!

    Reply
  8. Craig says:
    October 14, 2009 at 2:23 pm

    I think you should make us wait to buy your book. Ah, the voice of dissent!

    By the way, I saw that article on you in FTMM online… fantastic!

    Reply
  9. Eric says:
    October 15, 2009 at 9:23 am

    Recipe please. Must figure out where the fire comes in. Can’t imagine Banana Fosters without fire. Would you recommend sipping some Grand Marnier along with these little jewels?

    Reply
    • Georgia says:
      October 15, 2009 at 10:10 am

      Eric, I always recommend sipping the alcohol you’re cooking with. What fun would it be if you didn’t? I thought about torching the tops of the icing but not everyone has a large flaming torch in their kitchen now do they? But singe them if you do, go for it, light your cupcakes on fire!

      Reply
  10. Peter Gabriel says:
    October 15, 2009 at 4:33 pm

    Absolutely exquisite. I just made some with a heavy dollop of Goslings Dark Rum. A revelation to be sure!

    Reply
  11. grandma says:
    October 18, 2009 at 10:35 am

    Let’s serve them at your book-signing at next year’s Fall Festival

    Reply
  12. Chris says:
    March 6, 2010 at 12:14 am

    I just made these yesterday. Made a few tweaks to the recipe and frosted with my lazy man’s brown sugar buttercream. They were a huge hit, and will definitely be in the birthday rotation around our house!

    Reply
    • Georgia says:
      March 6, 2010 at 11:02 am

      That’s great to hear Chris! If you think there are any adjustments that need to be made to the recipe let me know since I still have time to change it in my book: )

      Reply
  13. Mary says:
    June 9, 2010 at 4:21 pm

    Those are beautiful! Wow!

    xxMK
    Delightful Bitefuls

    Reply
  14. Michelle Watts says:
    February 5, 2012 at 9:34 am

    Yummy…….this thing is so mouth watering. This looks so delicious.
    Thank you for the wonderful recipe. I’ll try it out right away.

    -Michelle

    Reply