Chocolate banana cupcakes–no stand mixer required!–are a delicious chocolate cupcake filled with banana curd and topped with creamy chocolate buttercream. Chocolate and bananas have never been so good together!
If last year was the year of the cheesecake cake here on IBK, then this year must be the year of the fruit curd. I kinda can’t get enough…
So far I’ve made lemon curd for cupcakes, and mango curd for coconut cake. And now I present you with banana curd!
Does that sound weird? I promise it doesn’t taste weird. It tastes like, wait for it, BANANAS! And what goes better with bananas than chocolate? (Except maybe peanut butter. But today every.single.day I want chocolate.)
These chocolate banana cupcakes are my addition to the second summer #CupcakeMondays blog party, where some cupcake-loving bloggers are getting together to post a new cupcake recipe and use the Cupcake Mondays hashtag over on Insta.
Be sure to join in the fun by posting your own cupcake pics and tagging them #CupcakeMondays! And scroll down to the end of this post to see the delicious cupcake recipes my friends posted today.
Why you’ll love these chocolate banana cupcakes:
- Soft chocolate cupcakes and creamy chocolate buttercream make them a dream for chocoholics
- You don’t need a stand mixer to make them!
- You’ll probably have a little banana curd left over and it makes a delicious topping for toast and oatmeal
How to make banana curd
Start with ripe bananas. They don’t have to be as ripe as you’d want them for banana bread, i.e. almost black, but don’t use green bananas either. Mash the bananas a bit, then combine them with sugar, lemon juice, and eggs in a food processor and puree until liquid.
Pour the liquid into a medium saucepan and add unsalted butter, then cook until thick. It will take 8 to 10 minutes to thicken properly and you’ll know it’s done when you can run your finger through it (like in the second pic above).
Pour the banana curd through a fine mesh sieve and press plastic wrap directly onto the curd to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled, or up to three days. And that’s it!
Note: The banana curd is a little gray once it’s chilled. I added a tiny bit of yellow gel food coloring once the curd was fully chilled so it looked more banana-y but that’s optional.
Chocolate Banana Cupcakes, step by step
The chocolate cupcakes couldn’t be simpler to make and they turn out super soft and chocolate-y.
This recipe calls for coffee, which makes the chocolate flavor more intense. You can substitute boiling water but I strongly recommend the coffee. You can use decaf if you’re sensitive to caffeine.
First, beat the butter, sugar, and eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in 1/3 of the dry ingredients, then half of the coffee (which you’ll mix with cocoa powder).
Beat in another third of the dry ingredients, followed by the rest of the coffee, then the remaining dry ingredients. When that’s all beaten together, the batter will look like does in that last pic—very smooth with no lumps of flour remaining.
Take care not to over-mix or your cupcakes won’t be as soft.
Fill your muffin cups 2/3 full and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Cool completely before filling and frosting!
Once the cupcakes are cool, use a sharp paring knife to cut a hold 1 inch across and 1 inch deep in each of the cupcakes and spoon the chilled curd into the hole. Replace the cake you removed from the hold to keep the filling in and you’re ready to frost them.
Baker’s tip: The cupcakes are really soft (which is one reason they’re SO GOOD). But if you have trouble cutting the holes for the filling, refrigerate them for an hour or so and they’ll firm up enough to cut them easily.
To frost these chocolate banana cupcakes (and most cupcakes I make) I used a large open star tip—I love how the swirl of frosting sort of resembles soft serve ice cream. But you can certainly just spread the frosting on top.
Chocolate banana cupcakes are DELICIOUS any way you dress them up!
More delicious cupcake recipes!
As promised, here are more delicious cupcake recipes! To continue the #CUPCAKEMONDAYS party, click through the links to see some amazing cupcake recipes from my blogger friends. And don’t forget to check out hashtag on Instagram. You’re in for a serious treat!
Brown Sugar Toffee Cupcakes from Kelly Lynn’s Sweets and Treats
Piñata Cupcakes from A Table Full of Joy
Chocolate Cherry Chip Cupcakes from Love in My Oven
Mojito Cupcakes from Nourish and Fete
Did you make these chocolate banana cupcakes? Hooray! Let me know what you think with a comment and a rating below. And post a pic on Instagram too! Tag @theitsybitsykitchen so I can see! And like IBK on Facebook and follow on Pinterest for more delicious recipes.
Chocolate banana cupcakes are rich and chocolate and filled with homemade banana filling. They're absolutely delicious!
- 1 1/4 cups mashed ripe banana about 3 large bananas
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 3 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into several chunks
- 1 cup very hot coffee or boiling water
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/4 cups + 2 tablespoons cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
- 4 to 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 6 to 8 tablespoons milk or heavy cream
- 1/4 teaspoon salt or more to taste
- Combine all the banana curd ingredients EXCEPT butter in the bowl of a food processor and process until fully combined. Transfer mixture to a medium saucepan set over medium heat and add the butter.
- Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon—do not boil. This will take about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Pour through a fine mesh sieve into a mixing bowl and press plastic wrap directly onto the top of the curd to prevent a skin from forming. (You may need to use a spatula to press the curd through the sieve.)
- Cool curd to room temperature, then refrigerate until chilled (about 2 hours). Can be made up to 3 days ahead.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 20 to 22 muffin cups with paper liners and set aside.
- Whisk the coffee (or wateand cocoa powder in a small mixing bowl. Cool to room temperature.
- Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together into a second mixing bowl and set aside.
- Beat the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla together in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer set to high speed. Continue beating on high until mixture is light and fluffy, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed—this will take about 5 minutes.
- Turn mixer to low and add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the cocoa mixture, beginning and ending with the flour.
- Divide batter among the prepared muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean.
- Cool cupcakes completely in pan for 20 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool completely before filling and frosting.
- Beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until very smooth. Add 4 cups of powdered sugar, the cocoa powder, 6 tablespoons milk, and salt and beat to combine.
- Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, then turn mixer to medium and beat for a minute or two, until frosting is smooth. Add additional powdered sugar if frosting is too thin and additional milk if frosting is too thick.
- Use a small paring knife to cut a hole about 1 inch across and 1 inch deep in each cupcake. Reserve the cake you cut out of the holes.
- Pipe or spoon about 2 teaspoons of banana curd into each cupcake. Trim the cake you removed from the holes so it will fit over the filling as a sort of plug, then replace the plug in the hole.
- Spread or pipe the chocolate frosting over each cupcake, then top slice of banana if desired. Serve.
Uneaten cupcakes can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 days or in the freezer, tightly wrapped, for up to 2 months.
Banana curd adapted from Big Book of Cupcakes
Cupcakes adapted from Tampa Treasures
mimi rippee says
Oh my!!! These are outstanding! My grandchildren would love them. The banana curd is brilliant!
Kelsie says
Thank you, Mimi!
Miriam says
Drooling over here – banana & chocolate are an unbeatable combination! Love your step by step guide. Have a great weekend ahead, Kelsie!
Kelsie says
Thank you, Miriam!
John / Kitchen Riffs says
Never ever thought of making banana curd, but I like the idea! Very creative. And terrific looking cupcakes. Thanks!
Kelsie says
Thank you, John!
Carlee says
I was actually thinking of cake filling ideas for my nephew’s first birthday cake and banana curd crossed my mind. I’ve never had it but you make it look delicious!
Kelsie says
It’s really good and it would be awesome in a layer cake! Thanks, Carlee!
Shashi at SavorySpin says
Kelsie, you have hit it out of the park with this curd recipe! You are IMO the official Fruit Curd Queen! This is my first time seeing a banana curd – what a delightful addition to these decadent looking chocolate cupcakes!
Kelsie says
Thank you, Shashi!
Katherine | Love In My Oven says
I’ve never seen or heard of banana curd, but now I MUST try it. Especially in one of these cupcakes. Kelsie, you outdid yourself! These look terrific. The only thing better than biting into a cupcake is biting into a cupcake filled with something delicious!!
Kelsie says
Definitely try it! Thank you, Katherine!
Kelly Lynns Sweets and Treats says
Chocolate and banana go so well together! These cupcakes sound amazing! You always come up with the yummiest sounding recipes! Happy Cupcake Monday! PINNED 🙂
Kelsie says
Thank you, Kelly!
Leanne | Crumb Top Baking says
Banana and chocolate are always a lovely pairing! Banana curd sounds like a delicious idea, and I love that it’s a little surprise in the middle of these cupcakes. And that frosting?! I also like it when it looks like a swirl of ice cream!
Kelsie says
Thank you, Leanne!
Dana says
Happy cupcake Mondays, girlie!! These sound amazing..chocolate, bananas and coffee? YES PLEASE!! I love lemon, lime or mango curd but have never tried banana curd. What a great idea!! And you’re so right, bananas and chocolate is a winning combo (it’s up there with PB & choc for sure) and these cupcakes sound like absolute perfection.
Love your creativity with the banana curd, you constantly amaze me. Definitely trying these soon!! YUMMMY 😀 Have a wonderful week Kelsie!!
Kelsie says
Thank you so much, Dana! I hope you’re having a great week, my dear!
Ben|Havocinthekitchen says
Banana and chocolate is an amazing combination (Also, banana + peanut butter + chocolate). But banana curd? You’ve surprised me Kelsie! I never would have thought of making curd out of bananas as they don’t have any juice. But your method makes sense, and I believe treating bananas this way accentuates their flavor. Very interesting indeed, and the cupcakes look fabulous!
Kelsie says
Thank you, Ben!
Laura says
Oooh, Kelsie! I love the idea of banana curd! It sounds like something I would maybe eat before it saw the inside of the cupcake, however. I love, too that you use coffee to intensify the chocolate! So perfect! I love Cupcake Mondays!
Kelsie says
Haha! I’ve been there :). Thanks, Laura!
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen says
I’ll take all the curd you dish out Kelsie! They look fantastic!
Kelsie says
Haha! Thank you, Mary Ann!
Lisa says
Yum! These looks so tasty!!!
Kelsie says
Thanks, Lisa!
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary says
Keep it coming with all things curd, Kelsie! I mean banana curd?! I need that in my life! Especially when it comes in a cute little chocolate cupcake package! These look divine! Cheers, doll!!
Kelsie says
Thank you, Chey!
Milena says
Quite a combo between the banana curd and that good looking chocolate buttercream! Mondays definitely deserve a treat like this! As early in the day as possible! Pinned.
Kelsie says
Thank you, Milena!
annie@ciaochowbambina says
Chocolate and bananas? All the yeses!! I love how creative you can be with a cupcake!! Pure happiness, my friend!
Kelsie says
Thank you, Annie!
Kim Lange says
Banana Curd sounds so good, especially with Chocolate! That frosting looks to die for btw! I just want to happily devour those cupcakes Kelsie!! xo
Kelsie says
Thank you, Kim!
David @ Spiced says
Banana curd? Say what!? You’re killing it with the awesome curd recipes this year, Kelsie. Who knew banana curd is a thing?! But now that I know about it, I think I need some. Like now. Also, we are definitely related as I made a batch of banana muffins this weekend, too. Granted, mine didn’t include banana curd, but we were still channeling the banana love. Robbie chowed down on those muffins like you wouldn’t believe, too! I wonder what he would think about the banana curd hiding inside these cupcakes? I might have to find out. These sound (and look) delicious, my friend!
Kelsie says
Thank you so much, David!
Ron says
Banana cur? That’s a new one on me, but intriguing. We always have lemon curd in the cooler so why not banana. Those cupcakes look so good. I’m going to try making the curd and go from there. What about chocolate lemon curd cupcakes???
Kelsie says
Oooohh I like the way you think! Thank you, Ron!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food says
Banana curd doesn’t sound weird at all! Lots of yummy concentrated banana flavour inside chocolate cupcakes? Oh yeah! These look and sound heavenly, Kelsie! Lovin’ the cupcake Monday’s 🙂 Have a wonderful week, my friend!
Kelsie says
Thank you, Dawn! Happy weekend!