As we enter the final dog days of summer, I wanted to produce a twist on a classic stay cool treat, an ode to Louis Prima (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJcRoYuV2Q0). This traditional "mess of calories" is an ice cream based dessert consisting of a split banana served up with a rainbow of "red, white and brown" (strawberry, vanilla and chocolate) ice cream, each drizzled with strawberry, pineapple and chocolate syrups respectively. The whole thing is loaded with walnuts (about 16 tonnes), jimmies and whipped cream (as high as the Eiffel tower), finished with a cherry on top! And so, I present to you "Banana Split for My Baby". Today you will be indulging in a banana cupcake served up with the three ice cream flavours of buttercream frosting, each with their corresponding topping, and allllllll the fixin's. This weeks feature cupcake is quite complex and I spent quite a bit of time putting it all together. I also exposed myself to memorable test kitchen injury #2 by burning my bottom lip on a spoon of hot pineapple preserve in an attempt to blow cool air over it. The good news is I have made a full recovery and there is no permanent damage. On to the recipe!
Banana Cupcake
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup mashed banana
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease pan(s).
In a large bowl combine butter and sugar until fluffy (~2 minutes). Add in the eggs one at a time. In a small dish combine the yogurt, vanilla extract and mashed banana; set aside. In a medium bowl sift together the 2 cups of flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture in thirds alternating with the yogurt/vanilla/banana mixture, starting and ending with the dry ingredients until combined. Divide batter into pans. This batch yielded 12 regular size and 12 mini cupcakes baked at 15 and 12 minutes respectively.
Pineapple Spread
(this could probably purchased but I was unable to find it in time for this recipe, I adapted the below recipe from http://www.food.com/ but would add the juice squeezed from half a lemon in the future as the final result isn't as spreadable as I was anticipating)
4oz can crushed pineapple
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Combine the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and cook for 8 minutes stirring constantly until thick.
Chocolate Ganache (quick version, used as a drizzle)
2oz bittersweet chocolate
1/4 cup whipping cream
1 tbsp light corn syrup
Place the cream in a microwave safe bowl and heat on high for approximately 30 seconds (you should see it boil up). Remove the cream from the microwave and add in the chocolate chips allowing it to sit for 1-2 minutes. Whisk together until thick, adding in the corn syrup as you mix. Allow the mixture to come to room temperature before drizzling.
Vanilla Frosting
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature
2 cups icing/confectioners sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp whipping cream
In a medium bowl, mix the butter and sugar together until well blended/fluffy. Add the vanilla and cream, beat for 2 minutes.
Chocolate Frosting
4 oz semi sweet chocolate (I used chips)1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature
1 cup icing/confectioners sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp whipping cream
In a small bowl, melt the chocolate and allow it to come to room temperature. In a medium bowl, mix the butter and sugar together until well blended/fluffy. Add the chocolate and cream, beat for 2 minutes.
Strawberry Frosting
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cup icing/confectioners sugar
1/2 cup fresh/frozen strawberries
1 tbsp whipping cream
In a blender, puree the strawberries. This should yield approximately 1/4 cup.
In a medium bowl, mix the butter and sugar together until well blended/fluffy. Add the strawberries and cream, beat for 2 minutes.
Whipped Cream
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 tbsp icing/confectioners sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
In a chilled medium bowl, beat cream until thick. Add sugar and vanilla, beating until peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to use.
When assembling, drop one scoop of each frosting flavour onto the top of each cupcake. Proceed to drizzle each with their respective topping [vanilla with pineapple preserve from above, chocolate with chocolate ganache from above and strawberry with strawberry preserve (I used some leftover from the 4th of July jam cake)]. Sprinkle the frosting with jimmies and sprinkles, then drop a dollop of whipped cream into the middle of the frosting scoops. Add a dash of walnuts over this and top it all off with a maraschino cherry! I used leftover strawberry frosting on the mini cupcakes with chocolate drizzle for bite size banana split treats. There was frosting leftover from each flavour.
The Panel
"Beautiful" and "work of art" were recurring comments that I am very proud of. Some of the judges mentioned that the banana flavour was just enough while a couple said they couldn't taste it. The three frosting flavours were generally appreciated, though it was noted that the strawberry frosting appeared to be separating and that the vanilla may have been a little grainy. Overall, every component seemed to work well with one another. Peanut suggested presenting this cupcake with banana slices drizzled in chocolate, while Sugar Princess recommended a scoop of real ice cream.
SweetTooth: "Amazing little cupcake... What a wonderful flavor as I bit down through each ice cream flavor into the banana cupcake. Lots of "Oh, my God" comments ...and yummy moaning sounds. The cherry on top really finished off the look."
Giovanni:"Three [frosting] flavors made consumption more fun. Jimmies and walnuts went beyond theme and added appropriate texture."
JRock: "Most certainly a signature creation."
My comments
To be honest I was a little shocked that this one didn't 'take the cake' so to speak. I thought I was a shoe in for a perfect score this week, at least on presentation, but I was wrong. Fact of the matter is, I got 7 perfect scores but there were a few skeptics, but that's what it's all about! The batter seemed thick initially but the final product was of standard consistency. For the most part, each of the components was delicious on it's own so it was no surprise that it all worked well together. I was a little disappointed with the whipped cream, it was slightly bitter on it's own (luckily only Peanut seemed to notice), I'd use canned if I made these again. The bananas were mashed with chunks remaining which I believe added that perfect level of banana flavour. Though labour intensive, the end result of these cupcakes definitely met my expectations.
"Beautiful" and "work of art" were recurring comments that I am very proud of. Some of the judges mentioned that the banana flavour was just enough while a couple said they couldn't taste it. The three frosting flavours were generally appreciated, though it was noted that the strawberry frosting appeared to be separating and that the vanilla may have been a little grainy. Overall, every component seemed to work well with one another. Peanut suggested presenting this cupcake with banana slices drizzled in chocolate, while Sugar Princess recommended a scoop of real ice cream.
SweetTooth: "Amazing little cupcake... What a wonderful flavor as I bit down through each ice cream flavor into the banana cupcake. Lots of "Oh, my God" comments ...and yummy moaning sounds. The cherry on top really finished off the look."
Giovanni:"Three [frosting] flavors made consumption more fun. Jimmies and walnuts went beyond theme and added appropriate texture."
JRock: "Most certainly a signature creation."
My comments
To be honest I was a little shocked that this one didn't 'take the cake' so to speak. I thought I was a shoe in for a perfect score this week, at least on presentation, but I was wrong. Fact of the matter is, I got 7 perfect scores but there were a few skeptics, but that's what it's all about! The batter seemed thick initially but the final product was of standard consistency. For the most part, each of the components was delicious on it's own so it was no surprise that it all worked well together. I was a little disappointed with the whipped cream, it was slightly bitter on it's own (luckily only Peanut seemed to notice), I'd use canned if I made these again. The bananas were mashed with chunks remaining which I believe added that perfect level of banana flavour. Though labour intensive, the end result of these cupcakes definitely met my expectations.