Banana Cupcakes With Orange Cream Cheese Glaze |
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Prep Time: 30 Minutes Cook Time: 20 Minutes |
Ready In: 50 Minutes Servings: 12 |
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Indescribably delicious. Believe it or not, it's adapted from Rosie Daley's The Healthy Kitchen, her book with Andrew Weil, changed very slightly. I think it's healthy more for it's high-fiber ingredients than for being nonfattening. It's a great way to use those naughty boys Bananas Gone Bad. She says you can actually make this using just a wooden spoon and a whisk, but you have to be careful that nothing-including the sugar-is left lumpy and clumpy so I just use an electric mixer. The original recipe said walnuts but I use pecans; actually I'd say the nuts are optional. In the glaze, I also use more of the orange zest than the original recipe (which says 1/2 tsp) and I grate it on one size larger hole size on the grater than is usual. Instead of cupcakes, you can cook 1 big cake in an ordinary loaf pan, but let it bake 45 minutes instead of 20. Ingredients:
4 ripe bananas, thoroughly mashed |
1/2 large carrots or 1/2 zucchini, grated |
6 tablespoons butter, softened at room temp |
1 cup brown sugar |
2 eggs |
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract |
2 cups whole wheat flour |
1/2 cup oat bran or 1/2 cup wheat bran |
1 tablespoon baking soda |
1/4 teaspoon salt |
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves (or pumpkin spice) |
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger |
1/4 cup chopped pecans |
1 cup low-fat cream cheese, softened at room temp |
1/4 cup fresh orange juice |
1/4 cup honey |
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract |
1 teaspoon orange zest |
Directions:
1. In a bowl, thoroughly mix together the mashed bananas and grated carrot or zucchini.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the softened butter through vanilla with an electric mixer.
3. Combine flour through ginger and mix into the butter mixture with your mixer on low speed until thoroughly blended.
4. Add the banana mixture and chopped nuts and stir with large wooden spoon until completely blended into batter.
5. Spray 12 standard sized cupcake/muffin pan cups or 12 baby bundt pans with nonstick cooking spray, making sure to coat thoroughly. Divide the batter among the cups.
6. Bake at 375°F about 20 minutes (until they pass the clean toothpick test).
7. Remove from pans and let cool before glazing.
8. Glaze: Whisk together glaze ingredients until smooth and thick.
9. Use about 1 Tbs glaze per cupcake (using about 3/4 cup in all) or more on the baby bundts since you're coating all sides, not just the top.
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