52 cupcakes in one year. “Why is this on your bucket list?” Well, when I was going through chemotherapy, cupcakes were brought to the chemotherapy lounge. Ironic, considering most of us were so nauseous that all we could hold down was saltine crackers and Sprite. My chemo buddy sitting next to me said, “Well if we survive, we should eat a different cupcake every week for the rest of our lives.” Well I figured, I’ll start with 52 weeks and then go from there. My chemo buddy didn’t survive. I think about him every week when taking pictures of the finished cupcakes and when I see the kids licking the yummy frostings off their faces. It brings new meaning to “Life is short. Eat dessert first.”

This week’s cupcake is brought to you by the suggestion of my friend, Megan, who was one of the key persons who helped Jeff and I through our tough time with cancer. And in this case, a great person suggested another great cupcake.

I tried to research the original recipe and hit a road block. But I believe this recipe is either the original or adapted from the recipe from Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito in Bon Appetit.

Here’s the recipe:

Cupcakes:

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 very ripe large bananas, peeled

1/2 cup sour cream

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

Frosting:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter- don’t use freshly ground or old fashioned)

Chopped lightly salted roasted peanuts

For cupcakes: Position rack in center of oven and preheat over to 350 degrees. Line 12 standard muffin cups with paper liners. Have fun and find a cute liner! Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Mash bananas with fork in another medium bowl until smooth. Mix sour cream and vanilla into bananas. Using electric mixer (I used my Kitchen Aid stand mixer- love), beat sugar and butter in large bowl until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and egg yolk and beat until well blended. Add flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with banana-sour cream mixture in 2 additions, beginning and ending with flour mixture and beating just until blended after each addition. Divide batter among prepared muffin cups about 2/3 full (generous 1/4 cup each).

For frosting: Sift powdered sugar into large bowl. Add cream cheese, butter, and peanut butter. Using electric mixer, beat mixture until smooth. Spread frosting over top of cupcakes, dividing equally. Sprinkle lightly with chopped peanuts if desired.

Store airtight at room temperature. Enjoy! I made the recipe just like I was given. I am not a professional baker, so I have only guesses as to how to make adjustments. But remember, have fun and make adjustments as you see fit.

Hailey, my niece, just ate the first one. “Hey Aunt Jenny, this tastes like Meme’s banana bread.” That my friends is a compliment as my grandmother is the best cook and baker I know.

My husband loved the cupcake and thought it was super moist. He would have like more peanut butter in the frosting, so I think I would opt for 3/4 cup – 1 cup peanut butter. That would be a lot of peanut butter but I would try it. What’s the worst that can happen? My sister suggested using the banana cake from this week with the peanut butter frosting from last week’s peanut butter filled chocolate cupcakes. Look at my family experimenting with baking- so fun!

I think I will make the cupcake portion in the future to add to breakfast meals. My kids are big scrambled egg eaters and I always like to add fruit and an “extra”. This would be a great extra. And this morning’s big extra was cinnamon rolls. Between the cupcakes and cinnamon rolls, my kitchen smells heavenly.

This is cupcake #6 of 52 cupcakes in one year challenge. I have yet to make a bad cupcake. None of these recipes belong to me and I try my best to link to the author and give full credit if at all possible. I have thoroughly enjoyed all of this baking and have been thrilled at all of the suggestions. So keep them coming in!