Summer is approaching fast, meaning the welcoming back of ice cream and fruit pies is upon us. One of the most enjoyable aspects of warm weather is the food that accompanies it, and in honour of this being the final Eat This edition of the year, here is a classic banana split in the form of a cupcake! These are super indulgent and decadent, but since we’ve survived this school year, I would say we’re all deserving of these cupcakes. So take some time before studying for exams to make them, they are delicious!

Banana Split Cupcakes

Ingredients:

-1 1/4 cups flour

-1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

-1/4 tsp. salt

-1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

-1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

-1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

-1 cup sugar

-2 eggs, at room temperature

-3 mashed bananas

-1 tbsp. honey

-1/3 cup water

Chocolate Ganache

-2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

-1 cup heavy cream

Cream Cheese Frosting:

-4 tbsp. butter, at room temperature

-6 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

-4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

-1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Decorating:

-1 cup chocolate ganache (recipe above)

-1/4 cups crushed toasted hazelnuts

-Sprinkles

-Maraschino cherries

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line two cupcake pans with cupcake liners and set aside.

2. In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, approximately 3-5 minutes.

4. Add eggs one at a time, mixing slowly after each addition. 

5. Add the bananas and honey, mixing slowly until just incorporated. Add one third of the flour mixture followed by one third of the water, alternating between the two until all ingredients are well incorporated.

7. Use a medium-sized ice cream scoop to evenly divide the batter amongst the cupcake liners.

8. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the middle of cupcakes comes out clean. Let cool completely.

9. For the chocolate ganache, melt the chocolate and heavy cream in a medium pot over medium heat, stirring constantly, ensuring contents do not burn. Let cool slightly before decorating.

10. For the frosting, cream together butter and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer for 3 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar and vanilla extract, and set mixer on medium-high speed for an additional 5 minutes until frosting is light.

11. To decorate the cupcakes, core then centres of each cupcake with an apple corer. Fill each cupcake with slightly warm chocolate ganache. Frost each cupcake as desired, then top with chocolate ganache drizzle, crushed toasted hazelnuts, sprinkles, and maraschino cherries.