Friday, October 3, 2008

Banana Caramel Chocolate Swirl Cupcakes

Whenever the season or holiday changes I like to see what Super Target has in its baking section. Usually it's themed sprinkles or cupcake papers. Currently in their Fall/Halloween section the have something from Kraft called Caramel Bits. Basically, they are small pebbles of caramel made for baking. We bought a bag & have tried them so far in brownies & oatmeal cookies. The brownies came out with a weird texture (not sure if that was the fault of the caramels) but the cookies were sooooo good! I decided to also try them in this week's cupcake.
Banana Caramel Chocolate Swirl Cupcake
The cupcake is banana flavored with bits of caramel mixed in. Then I melted some chocolate chips & swirled the chocolate into the cupcake batter. The frosting is a chocolate caramel ganache, also using the caramel bits.
Inside
Oh, is this flavor combination tasty. I love the chewy chunks of caramel in the cupcakes. The caramel does stick to paper cupcake liners but comes right off the foil ones so keep that in mind if you decided to bake them.

Banana Caramel Chocolate Swirl Cupcakes

3/4 c sugar
1/4 c unsalted butter, room temperature
1 egg
1/2 t baking soda
2 T sour cream or plain yogurt
1/2 c mashed banana, about 1 banana
3/4 c flour
1/2 t vanilla
2 T caramel bits
4 T semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare 8 muffin tins.

Cream butter & sugar together until light & fluffy. Beat in the egg.

Dissolve the baking soda into the sour cream. Beat that into the the butter mixture. Stir in the banana, flour & vanilla. Once that is all combined stir in the caramel bits.

In a small microwave-safe bowl melt the chocolate chips in the microwave.

Pour about 1 T of batter into each muffin tin. Scoop 1/2 T of melted chocolate on top.
IMG_7511
Top with the remaining batter. Use a toothpick or skewer to swirl the chocolate into the batter.
IMG_7513
Bake for 20 minutes until the cupcakes are golden brown. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Makes 8 cupcakes

Chocolate Caramel Ganache

3 1/2 oz semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 oz caramel bits
6 T heavy cream
1 T butter

Put everything in a microwave-safe bowl & microwave until everything is melted, about 1 minute. I like to stop the microwave about every 20 seconds & give everything a good stir. Frost the cupcakes (if the ganache is too runny let it sit a few minutes) then put them in the fridge to allow the ganache to harden.

Frosts 8 cupcakes
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9 comments:

  1. DeborahOctober 3, 2008 at 10:57 AM

    I've actually had a bag of those caramel bits in my pantry for months, but never got around to making anything with them. My husband finally opened them up last week and has been snacking on them, so I guess I'll need a new bag so I can make these!

    ReplyDelete
  2. billjacOctober 3, 2008 at 4:53 PM

    I like the looks of the cupcakes but I think Kraft caramels taste kind of funky. They don't have any real butter in them, do they?

    I think I'll make some homemade caramel (or maybe dulce de leche) for a chocolate caramel banana ice cream.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousOctober 4, 2008 at 9:42 AM

    I love the flavor combination. Yum! They sound ooey gooey good.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Peter MOctober 4, 2008 at 10:44 AM

    Now if you brought these into work you'd be employee of the month and certainly cop a promotion!

    ReplyDelete
  5. gizOctober 4, 2008 at 11:18 AM

    Okay, you got my attention! Thanks for the great tips - very helpful.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousOctober 4, 2008 at 2:51 PM

    Oh my.. 3 of favorite things in one cupcake... I can't take it and my head is about to explode. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. HeatherOctober 5, 2008 at 9:01 PM

    yum! those look beautiful! the frosting looks delicious, and the addition of caramel sounds amazing!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. graceOctober 6, 2008 at 8:10 AM

    ooooh, glorious chocolate caramel. what a great idea for a cupcake, and what a stellar icing! this would make me very, very happy.

    ReplyDelete
  9. OrGreenicSeptember 26, 2012 at 3:24 PM

    These cupcakes sound amazing. With caramel, chocolate, and banana, what's not to love?

    ReplyDelete

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