Chocolate-Covered Banana Cupcakes

We bought too many bananas last week that were the same ripeness & ended up with a few of those nice soft brown ones that are so perfect for cooking. I told Matt I'd make him some banana bread but he said he wanted banana cupcakes with chocolate frosting. That made me think of one of my favorite summer treats frozen chocolate-covered bananas rolled in peanuts. Seems like a wonderful combination for a cupcake as well.

I didn't want the cupcake to just be a small banana bread, I was hoping for something a little lighter. I search around & found a whole bunch of recipes that were very similar so that's what I went with. This is a much moister cupcake than my typical one, probably because of the banana. It is a little heavier than I had hoped for but really it tastes so good & bananay (is that word?) that is doesn't really matter.
I used a simple chocolate ganache for the frosting because I felt it most simulated the chocolate coating on a frozen banana.

Banana Cupcake

3/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. butter
1 eggs
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tbsp. sour cream
1/2 c. mashed bananas
3/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare 8 muffin tins. Cream butter and sugar until light & fluffy. Add egg & beat again. Dissolve baking soda in sour cream, add to creamed mixture and beat well. Stir in banana, flour and vanilla until everything is combined. Fill muffin tins 3/4 full. Bake for 18 minutes or until a toothpick comes clean. There maybe a little sticking due to the banana. Allow to cool before frosting.

Makes 8

Chocolate Ganache

4 oz chopped chocolate (I used a mixture of semi & bittersweet)
1/4 c plus 2 T cream
1 T butter

Bring butter & cream to a boil. Boil over chopped chocolate & stir until chocolate is completely melted. Frost cupcakes & sprinkle with some salted chopped peanuts if you wish. Put cupcakes into the fridge to set the ganache.