Banana Split Cupcakes

Banana Cupcakes:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line cupcake pan with baking cups.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together self-rising and all-purpose flours. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter on medium speed until smooth. Slowly pour in sugar and beat until light and fluffy, roughly 3 minutes.
4. Add eggs one at a time, mixing until thoroughly combined. Set aside.
5. In another medium bowl, whisk together milk, mashed banana, and vanilla until well combined.
6. Starting and ending with the flour mixture, add dry ingredients and wet ingredients to butter mixture alternately. With mixer on low speed, mix until combined, being careful not to overmix. Scrape down bowl as necessary after each addition.
7. Fill baking cups ¾ full with batter. (The 2-ounce #16 disher from our Ice Cream Shoppe box is the perfect tool for this!)
8. Bake for 20–25 minutes. Cupcakes are done when a wooden pick inserted in the centre comes out clean with only a few fluffy crumbs attached.
9. Cool cupcakes in pan for 15 minutes, then remove and transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Store in sealed container overnight.

Banana Cream Custard Filling:

1. In a food processor or blender, blitz all custard ingredients until fully combined.
2. Pour mixture into a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisking constantly, cook until mixture starts to bubble. Keeping whisking until mixture thickens, 4–5 minutes.
3. After custard has thickened, pour into another bowl to cool. Immediately press cling film directly onto surface. Let cool to room temperature, then transfer to fridge to chill overnight.

Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream: ^[2]

1. Using a little bit of lemon juice or white vinegar, wipe down all tools that will touch the meringue. Your meringue will not set up properly if there is any residual grease or fat on your tools.
2. In your stand mixer’s metal bowl, whisk together egg whites and sugar. Place bowl over a pot of simmering water, making sure that the bowl doesn’t touch the water’s surface. Whisking constantly, bring mixture to 150°F.
   NOTE: The mixture gets to temperature rather quickly, so start checking the temp almost immediately!
3. Place hot bowl on stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, then whip on medium to medium-high until stiff, glossy peaks have formed and meringue is no longer warm to the touch, 10–15 minutes. ^[3]
4. While meringue is whipping, cut cold butter into tablespoon-sized pieces.
5. Once meringue is ready and both the bowl and meringue are no longer warm, switch mixer to the paddle attachment.
6. On medium-high speed, add butter one tablespoon at a time, mixing to fully incorporate after each addition.
7. After all butter has been added, turn mixer speed down to medium, then add salt and vanilla. Keep mixing until frosting fully comes together. (The ideal temperature range for SMBC is between 72–74°F.)

Chocolate Dipping Sauce:

1. Melt chocolate in microwave in 30-second increments until it’s mostly melted. Add cream, then put in microwave for 20 seconds more. Stir until thoroughly combined.
2. Stir in confectioners’ sugar. Mix in water one tablespoon at a time, stopping once you reach pouring consistency. Set aside and allow to cool to warm.

Stabilized Whipped Cream:

1. In a small saucepan, whisk together confectioners’ sugar and cornstarch. Place pan on medium-high heat and gradually whisk in ½ cup (114g) of cream. Stirring constantly, bring mixture to a boil in order to activate the cornstarch. Simmer for a moment just until mixture thickens.
2. Pour mixture into a small bowl and allow to cool to room temperature.
3. While mixture is cooling, place metal mixing bowl and whisk attachment in freezer for 15 minutes.
4. In the chilly bowl of a stand mixer fitted with cold whisk attachment, whip remaining 1 ½ cups (340g) cream until soft peaks begin to form. Add cornstarch mixture a tablespoon or so at a time, whipping constantly. After all of the cornstarch mixture has been added, whip until stiff peaks form.

Assembly & Decoration:

1. If you made the custard the day before, remove from fridge and mix it a little to loosen it up a smidge.
2. Using a cupcake corer, large end of a piping tip, or paring knife, create a well in the centre of each cupcake. Fill with banana custard.
3. Place 1 teaspoon of strawberry jam on top of custard.
4. Using a round tip, pipe a ring of Swiss meringue buttercream around jam, working your way in and over the jam to create a wee dome. Smooth with offset spatula if necessary.
5. Sprinkle SMBC with 1 teaspoon finely chopped peanuts.
6. Place cupcakes in freezer for 30 minutes. If you haven’t already made your chocolate dipping sauce, now would be a good time to do so.
7. Remove cupcakes from freezer, dip in warm chocolate sauce, then sprinkle with nonpareils. Return cupcakes to freezer for 20 minutes.
8. Dab excess liquid off cherries. And if you haven’t already, go ahead and make your stabilized whipped cream.
9. Pipe whipped cream on top of hardened chocolate however you like. (We used a star tip to create a swirl.) ^[4]
10. Garnish each cupcake with a cherry! Enjoy within an hour or store in refrigerator.