Chocolate Cake & Banana Cupcakes!

Last night my dear friend Mariah and I went to Oak to enjoy some Lillet and Brett's lovely Chocolate cake! After almost working our way through this decadent and dense chocolate creation, I began thinking about the power of sugar! After all it was my second dessert of the day, I've got a bit of a love affair with all things sweet. It is really quite the addiction!

My after lunch dessert was a simpler but a no less delicious treat. A homemade chocolate chip cookie from Sugar, with mint chocolate gelato. YUM! It seems that after all this sugar, the only thing I could think of was more sweets...which leads me to the best recipe for banana cupcakes that I've ever been given. My brilliant and beautiful friend Leslie made these sweet treats for my 25th Birthday. It was quite the celebration and these were the perfect finale. Trust me, if you love bananas foster you will want to try this cupcake rendition.

Banana Cupcakes:

Sweet-smelling, dense, and moist, these cupcakes don't really need a frosting -- it's just icing on the cake! And yes, they really do taste good made with olive oil. These cupcakes are good keepers; they stay moist for up to a week. Yields about 20 cupcakes.

Hands-on time: Cake: 15 minutes; Frosting: 10 minutes Baking time: 20 to 25 minutes Cooling Time: at least 15 minutes

Wet Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (3-4 bananas)

1/2 cup olive oil or vegetable oil

1 1/3 cups packed brown sugar

3 eggs1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup plain yogurt

Dry ingredients:

1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Coffee or Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

3 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

2 tablespoons brewed coffee or 1 tablespoon cocoa powder (I used 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; if the frosting is too thick, you can add milk until it's your desired consistency)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two standard cupcake pans with liners, cooking spray, or butter.With an electric mixer on medium speed, mix the wet ingredients until smooth and creamy, a minute or two. In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix at low speed until smooth. Spoon the batter into the cupcake pans, filling each cup about three-quarters full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
** For Bananas Foster cupcakes (a la Leslie), caramelize banana: slice one banana. Heat 1 to 2 tablespoons butter in a non-stick pan over medium to low heat. When butter foams, turn heat to low and add banana slices. Cook until banana carmelizes, then carefully turn. Make sure to cool these before you place them on the frosting, or the frosting will melt and ooze. Place on frosted cupcakes and drizzle over with caramel sauce. Voila!