Bananas Foster Cupcakes (with Rum)

I'm feeling a bit nostalgic these days: my 30th high school reunion in July, a 25 year Unitrans reunion of bus drivers last weekend, and a trip to Ohio to see people who loved me even when they didn't have to love me.  I was feeling like making something warm and comforting.  I found these cupcakes in Intoxicated Cupcakes by Kate Legere. 

Warm cinnamon caramel, sweet bananas and what else: RUM!  

 

Oowey, gooey cinnamony goodness.


I wasn't going to make anything for the blog for a while...Guess that was a pipe dream!  Seriously, I have to STOP myself from baking more.  I'm pretty swamped now and leave tomorrow on a week-long vacation to visit very dear old friends.  Mr. and Mrs. F. are really like my parents, if the true be told.  I am grateful beyond words for their support and love all these years.

I had some very, very ripe bananas and just couldn't bring myself to make banana bread or to freeze them.  Banana Fosters sounded good, but alas no ice cream...

So, I found this recipe and was inspired by Jacqueline's Peach Upside Down Cake with Brandy.  The recipe called from banana liqueur, but I had rum.  Lots o' rum. 

Place the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon in a sauce pan.  I used a pinch of salt because I didn't have enough salted butter.  Warm it on the stove until the butter just melts, remove from the heat stirring to make sure you don't make caramels.

Then throw your thick sliced bananas into the pan, set aside.




Gently spoon the banana cinnamon nuggets into the prepared cupcake pans.  No liners here, just some really good cooking spray. 

Next you'll need to separate that egg and beat the egg white until stiff.  I used the old school method this time.  I usually use my Kitchenaid, but I don't have 2 bowls and this is a low volume batter.  The KA is just too big.  In this case, size does matter.  So, as you can see my egg white is stiff...

And, please also note the circa 1975 Sunbeam mixer.  Yes, that was my mother's and I've had it since 1981.  I also used my grandmother's Pyrex mixing bowl...As you can see, this was a very, very nostalgic cupcake journey for me.

Fold in about 1/4 of the beaten egg white to lighten the batter.  Then gently fold in the rest until you get a smooth batter.  Be gentle...

Spoon the batter over the bananas.  I used a #24 scoop, which is about 1.5 oz.  Okay, so it's technically 32oz/24 = 1.33 oz.  Pop those babies in the oven.  Please note: you will get boil-over and spillage.  And, little butter spatters ALL OVER your oven.  I'd place these on a sheet pan and adjust your cooking times.  The gooey bubbly eruptions were fun to watch, though.  Good thing the oven is self-cleaning...

They will come out like this:

Plump and see all the sugary eruptions and spillage?
You just know it's gonna be soooooo goooooood...

Cool and flip out on a sheet pan.  I used a piece of wax paper to help the process.  Came out with little hassle.

Bananas Foster Cupcakes (makes 12), adapted from Intoxicated Cupcakes by Kate Legere

Banana Topping
4 tbsp salted butter
7 tbsp dark brown sugar, packed
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 ripe bananas, cut into chunks (Kate used 2 inch strips, which fit the bottom of the cup)

Cupcakes
1 large egg, at room temperature, separated
4 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup cake flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup rum (Kate used banana liqueur, but who has that in the pantry?)

Directions
1.  Preheat the oven at 350 F.  Lightly grease each cup in a 12 cup cupcake pan (I used cooking spray).  Set aside.
2.  For the topping, melt the butter in a small sauce pan.  Stir in the sugar and cinnamon until blended (off the heat).  Gently stir in the cut bananas.  Spoon evenly into the 12 cups. 
3.  In a clean bowl, beat the egg white until stiff peaks form.   Set aside.
4.  In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy.  Beat in the egg yolk and the vanilla.
5.  In a small bowl, combine the flour (sifted), baking powder, and salt.  Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, alternating with the rum.  Beat well after each addition.  Scrape, too. 
6.  Gently fold the beaten egg white into the batter.
7.  Pour the batter (I used a #24 scoop) evenly into the cupcake pan.  Bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Cool the pan on the rack for 10 minutes.  Invert the pan over a cookie sheet and gently tap the bottom of each cup to release the cupcakes.  Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Okay, so I didn't have any ice cream.  That's okay.  Still yummy and luscious.  Oowey, gooey cinnamony goodness.  I really liked these for my post-breakfast, 4th cup of coffee, pre-chores break that morning. 

Too bad I was just too busy to make it to the gym!

P.S. Folks at work really, really loved this banana and rum cake combo.   These little guys are quite rummy, but folks didn't seem to mind too much.  And, we all recommend enjoying them warmed up just a smidge.