These Banana Cupcakes are my Grandpa’s recipe. Fluffy cupcakes are a fun and tasty handheld version of banana cake! Made from scratch, you’ll be buying extra bananas to make sure you have enough to make these (and of course banana bread & banana bars too)!
These cupcakes are a piece of my childhood… something we always had at Grandma and Grandpa’s! They actually started as a banana cake and are delicious topped with a fresh lemon buttercream frosting!
To Make Banana Cupcakes
Banana cupcakes are perfect for a family dessert, or a classroom or team party! The riper the bananas, the smoother your cupcakes will be and the sweeter banana flavor they will have. Remember to very gently fold in the beaten egg whites for the fluffiest results!
- Preheat the oven and prepare cupcake or muffin tins with pan release or paper cupcake liners.
- Beat egg whites on high until stiff peaks form, this gives the fluffiest ever cupcakes.
3. Cream together the butter, sugar, yolks, and milk. Add remaining ingredients (per recipe below) and of course mashed bananas.
4. Gently fold in the beaten egg whites until fully incorporated and scoop into prepared muffin or cupcake tins.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Before decorating allow to completely cool.
My Favorite Frosting for Banana Cupcakes
I love the flavor combination of banana and a rich Chocolate Buttercream Frosting! But these banana bread cupcakes are so moist, they’re great without or with frosting!
For banana cream cupcakes, cut each cupcake in half and spread cream cheese frosting between them! All the deliciousness of frosting, without any of the mess!
How Long Do They Stay Fresh?
Banana cupcakes will keep in a zippered bag or an airtight container for about a week.
They freeze great, place in a freezer bag and they’ll keep a few months!
More Cupcakes & Muffins
- cream cheese frosting – amazing flavor & texture
- Banana Nut Crunch Muffins – incredibly moist & soft!
- Pumpkin Cupcakes – all the tastes of fall
- Blueberry Bran Muffins – hearty, wholesome & delicious!
- Easy Banana Bran Muffins – full of flavor!
Ingredients
- ¾ teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup milk just shy of ¼ cup
- 2 eggs yolks separated
- ½ cup butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 3 bananas ripe, mashed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Add lemon juice to bottom of measuring cup. Add enough milk* to make ¼ cup (of lemon juice and milk) and set aside.
- Beat egg whites on high until stiff peaks form and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, cream together butter and sugar with mixer.
- Add in yolks and milk mixture.
- Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda & salt. Slowly add to butter mixture.
- Stir in bananas. Then gently fold in egg white mixture.
- Pour muffin mixture into lined (or greased) muffin tin.
- Bake for 17-20 min or until cupcakes spring back when lightly touched.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
These are so good and so fluffy. Will make again for sure. This is a keeper.
If I used an extra 2 bananas would it mess up the recipe?
Adding extra bananas can make the batter too heavy and cause dense cupcakes. If you have extra ripe bananas, you can peel them and freeze them for baking in the future!
Did anyone try to reduce the amount of butter to 1/4 cup and substitute the other 1/4cup with applesauce?
I haven’t tried swapping the butter in this recipe so I can’t say for sure Idit. Maybe another reader has and can offer some tips. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!
I replaced 1/2 cup butter with 1/4 cup + 1/4 cup apple sauce to reduce calories. I also replaced 1/2 the sugar with low cal sweetener. The cupcakes came out amazing! Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe! Now each cupcake is just around 100 calories!
I am so happy to hear your substitutions worked out Idit, thank you for sharing!
Can you show adjustments for 12 cupcakes and not 18?
You can adjust the number of cupcakes on the PRINT page once you click print. Please note that adjusting the servings will adjust only the amounts on the ingredients list (and not the written directions).
is it possible to just use 1/4c of buttermilk or is there a specific reason for the milk and lemon juice?
Buttermilk will work in place.
This has a light and fluffy almost cupcake texture which is perfect ! Thank you for an amazing recipe it’s my new go to !
Can you substitute the sugar with Splenda or apple sauce
I haven’t tried it with Splenda although I do think it would work. Let us know how it goes!
Have made these 2 times now……bid, big, BIG hit!!!!!!
Moist! Fluffy! AND NOT GREASY!!!!!
Made with home grown banana s…..DELICIOUS!!!!!
This recipe is now a staple at our house!
THANK YOU!!!!!
I’m so happy to hear you love this recipe Robert!
quite good!
these are soooo good! nice, moist, and delicious!
Such a hit! Delicious, thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome Baljinder!
As soon as I pulled them out of the oven they sunk why
Hi Lizette, the most common reason is that baking soda or baking powder has started to lose its effectiveness. It could also be that they were not fully cooked when they were removed from the oven. Hope that helps!
My grandma never made cupcakes this good! I added pineapple along with the banana. Pineapple just really makes this recipe perfect! I love it! Will make again!
Sounds delicious! but i don’t have an oven only an air fryer, do u think that will mess up the texture? And if it doesn’t, what times do u recommend?
(For example 180 for 15 mins)
Hi Jess, we have never tried this recipe in an air fryer before so I can’t say for sure. But I would guess 350°F for 10-12 minutes. You will have to let us know how they turn out!
I live in Egypt and sometimes it is difficult to find lemons. What do you think I can use instead of lemon juice? Can’t wait to try these out!
white vinegar will work too as the point of the lemon juice ( an acid) is to turn sweet milk into homemade buttermilk.
So excited to try this recipe! I have a TON of leftover caramel sauce and caramel buttercream from a prior bake that I want to use for these cupcakes. Question, would adding semisweet chocolate chips be a good addition or would that effect the rise?
That sounds delicious, Marissa! The chocolate chips should work well in this recipe. We would love to hear how it turns out for you.
So yummy!! Thank you so much for sharing! So fluffy and delicious!
Absolutely amazing recipe. I topped the cupcakes with a dollop of brown sugar cinnamon butter cream frosting and a sprinkle of crunchy walnut oat streusel. Can’t wait to eat one with coffee tomorrow morning.
Oh my, my mouth is watering! That sounds amazing, Claire!
Can you make mini muffins with this recipe…if so what cook temperature and time? I tried your banana cake recipe & it was delicious but large so I wanted to try in cupcake form. I’m looking forward to trying this recipe, & mini cupcakes also. Thanks
Hi Sarah, we have only made these full size but if trying as mini cupcakes I would check them around 12-13 minutes and every minute or so after that.
I made these today and they are delicious! I was going to make a cream cheese filled banana bread but decided to fill these with cream cheese mixture and they turned out great! I put a small amount of the batter into the bottom of a jumbo cupcake pan, spread about a tablespoon of cream cheese mixture for second layer and then topped off with another layer of batter. They are very moist and flavorful!
Would this work using cake flour?
Hi Jody, for best results we use all-purpose flour but I would love to hear how they turn out with cake flour.